New Delhi: Indians are not only the largest minority living in Britain but also the most prosperous. The community has become so deeply enmeshed in British life over the past decades that it is making an appearance in works of fiction, such as that staple of popular reading - crime thrillers.

In the past year, at least three of the top authors of crime fiction in Britain have featured Indians as minor characters or as passing references in their books, from Ruth Rendell to Ian Rankin.

Books by Ruth Rendell and noted author Quintin Jardin have an Indian as a junior detective on their crime squad.

Quintin Jardin's latest offering, "Dead and Buried", features his popular detective Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner who is in the running for chief constable's job. It is the eighth in the Bob Skinner series.

The setting for the crime thriller is Edinburgh, and Skinner's core team of detectives includes Detective Tarvin Singh, appearing for the second time in Jardine's novels. Big Singh is a tall fellow with a hearty appetite to match his large size and is well liked by his mates.

Well-known thriller writer Ian Rankin is described as Britain's No. 1 crime writer. His latest novel, "Exit Music" has his famous detective, Detective Inspector John Rebus, at work solving crimes in the final week before his retirement.