S Hussain Zaidi (pic) achieved all this in his 25-year career, although both forays into crime reporting and writing crime novels came about by accident.
He credits his wife, a writer herself, for introducing him to journalism, specifically the crime beat.
“She said I have the potential to become a crime journalist,” he said at the ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2025, here. Daily Express is one of selected global media regularly invited to cover the event.
As for the novels, it was his friend Vikram Chandra (Sacred Games) who suggested he do so while they were visiting hideouts of gangs and criminals in Mumbai. Vikram was impressed by Zaidi’s vast knowledge on the subject.
“To write a crime book was a far bigger challenge. But he persuaded me.” What followed were “Dongri to Dubai”, “Black Friday” and his new book “Mafia Queens of Mumbai”.
Zaidi’s storytelling packs meticulous research, real-life grit and cinematic intensity, offering readers a rare glimpse into the underworld.
Later, someone in the publishing industry encouraged him to write about the Bombay terrorist blasts in 1993 where an international crime syndicate led by one Dawood Ibrahim carried out a series of bombings at various places that left 257 dead and 1,400 injured.
“I thought it was going to be easy, considering I had written about the subject for many years
“But when I started writing, I realised I can’t approach the book as a journalist. I had to tell a story.
“So, I started thinking like a writer that if, supposing I was a reader, how would I like to see this.”
Zaidi said Vikram who by then had a number of books under his belt gave him lessons on book writing.
“Vikram told me one very important lesson which I will share with you, those of you who want to become writers.
“Always try to show the story – don’t tell the story. By showing the story means to be graphic in your description.
“That was a very important advice. Because, first, whenever I’m approaching a chapter, I’m thinking of how I would like to see that chapter.
“That’s always the first principle when you’re trying to write a good crime story. The readers would like to see the scene with their own eyes. They want to see the blood, they want to see the dead body.”
He also advised aspiring writers to keep their writing simple so that even a student can understand.
He said a true-crime writer also has to come to terms with respecting the dignity of the victims and their families.
“If the victims or family members don’t want to talk about the incident, then I will not even pursue. It will not become part of my story.”
Considering the amount of research that goes into writing his books, a member of the audience asked how he stays organised.
“I’m disorganised because I try to work on several books and puzzles at the same time,” Zaidi said.
“Try to go to the old school method of using card system,” he said. “The same technique is followed in the movies. You write a scene on the card and when you want to retell the story or go into the flashback or change the scene or change the whole sequence, they will move the card.
“So, first thing that you always do in your mind, you should know how the story is going to be structured.
“The narrative is important. And the narrative should always be broken into three parts. First, you do the conflicts.
“Second, how the conflict gets escalated. And third, how you’re going to conclude the escalated conflict, tying all the loose ends.”
Zaidi said if these three things are clear in one’s head, “then even if you’re writing a huge book, you’ll be able to do this nicely.”
Everything after that will come naturally.
He also said he prefers to base his books on facts or research. “But if I don’t have enough material to support my information and research and there are very interesting stories that need to be told, I write them as fiction.
“I have the information but I can’t substantiate it. But I still want to tell the story. So, I use fiction,” he said.
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