Damyanti Biswas focuses on crime against women and uses a framework of a crime thriller in her new book which portrays poverty, misogyny, and political corruption.
You Beneath Your Skin came about following Biswas' experiences at NGOs Project WHY and Stop Acid Attacks.
Discussions with acid attack survivors also shaped a large part of the narrative, she says.
The book is about psychiatrist Anjali Morgan, an Indian American single mother, who juggles her job as a psychiatrist with caring for her autistic teenage son. She is in a long-standing affair with ambitious police commissioner Jatin Bhatt - an irresistible attraction that could destroy both their lives.
Jatin's home life is falling apart: his handsome and charming son is not all he appears to be, and his wife has too much on her plate to pay attention to either husband or son.
But Jatin refuses to listen to anyone, not even the sister to whom he is deeply attached.
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Across the city there is a crime spree: slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. And as events spiral out of control Anjali is horrifyingly at the centre of it all.
In this sordid world, Jatin must make some hard choices. But what he unearths is only the tip of the iceberg. Together with Anjali he must confront old wounds and uncover long-held secrets before it is too late.
The book is published by Simon & Schuster.