The Five Wounds · Reading order

The Five Wounds books in order

Five novels and a companion volume by Manu Vishranti, about one family across thirty years. Read the novels in their numbered order, Book One to Book Five, then the companion volume, The Third Woman, which crosses all five. Every one of them can be started here tonight, with no waiting for delivery: the first chapters are free.

All six

The order

  1. 1
    Book OneClean HandsA surgeon with an unbroken record and a locked room.With Dev Mehra, Sudha, Ira, Dr Khanna, Umpire Baba, Prem Babu, Kamla, Raghunath, Ashu, Nandita

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹149 ₹239

    Paperback ₹324 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-307-3

  2. 2
    Book TwoPeacetimeA woman who counted a whole town and left one line in a register.With Kamla, Raghunath, Dev Mehra, Ira

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹159 ₹269

    Paperback ₹361 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-308-0

  3. 3
    Book ThreeAll the Summers at OnceA postmaster carrying the letter he chose not to deliver.With Sudha, Dr Khanna, Prem Babu, Divya, Ashu

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹149 ₹249

    Paperback ₹336 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-310-3

  4. 4
    Book FourThe House of Auspicious HoursA family that buys its life in sanctioned hours.With Divya, Shanti Dadi, Kishori Lal, Myra, Adit, Umpire Baba, Ashu

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹239 ₹399

    Paperback ₹526 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-311-0

  5. 5
    Book FiveDead LetterA man with no surname, looking for the word that is his.With Chandulal, Nalin, Ashu, Umpire Baba, Prem Babu, Divya, Adit

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹259 ₹439

    Paperback ₹583 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-312-7

  6. Diary
    The companion volumeThe Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita MehraAnd the wife who was told last, who wrote all of it down.With Nandita, Dev Mehra, Ira, Raghunath

    Start reading freeWhole book · ₹139 ₹229

    Paperback ₹309 · Amazon · Flipkart · ISBN 978-93-6926-314-1

Reading all six? A membership pass opens every book at once, from ₹99, paid once.

The complete edition. All six books as one set, The Five Wounds, ISBN 978-93-6926-306-6, 1,391 pages, list price 2,299 rupees: on Amazon, on Flipkart and from Walnut Publication. Every volume is a paperback from Walnut Publication, out now on Amazon and Flipkart.

The family, book by book

Who is in which book

The same people cross from one book into another. A dot means the person is in that book; the numbers are the five novels, and Diary is the companion volume.

Characters of The Five Wounds and the books they appear in
Character1 Clean Hands2 Peacetime3 All the Summers at Once4 The House of Auspicious Hours5 Dead LetterDiary The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra
Portrait of Ashu, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiAshuA fixer with no surname.in Clean Handsin All the Summers at Oncein The House of Auspicious Hoursin Dead Letter
Portrait of Dev Mehra, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiDev MehraThe cleanest surgeon in the country.in Clean Handsin Peacetimein The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra
Portrait of Ira, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiIraArmy nurse. Never speaks of her mother.in Clean Handsin Peacetimein The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra
Portrait of Umpire Baba, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiUmpire BabaFour thousand decisions. One raised finger.in Clean Handsin The House of Auspicious Hoursin Dead Letter
Portrait of Raghunath, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiRaghunathThe dispensary doctor. Seat 23.in Clean Handsin Peacetimein The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra
Portrait of Prem Babu, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiPrem BabuPostmaster for forty years. Two cups at five.in Clean Handsin All the Summers at Oncein Dead Letter
Portrait of Sudha, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiSudhaSchoolteacher. Drinks her tea standing up.in Clean Handsin All the Summers at Once
Portrait of Dr Khanna, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiDr KhannaThe surgeon across the river.in Clean Handsin All the Summers at Once
Portrait of Kamla, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiKamlaThe first name in the register.in Clean Handsin Peacetime
Portrait of Nandita, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiNanditaShe kept the accounts.in Clean Handsin The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra
Portrait of Divya, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiDivyaShe sees what others cannot.in All the Summers at Oncein The House of Auspicious Hoursin Dead Letter
Portrait of Adit, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiAditFour sheets in the second drawer.in The House of Auspicious Hoursin Dead Letter
Portrait of Shanti Dadi, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiShanti DadiShe rules the house, and the calendar.in The House of Auspicious Hours
Portrait of Kishori Lal, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiKishori LalThe pandit who reads the sky without seeing it.in The House of Auspicious Hours
Portrait of Myra, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiMyraFourteen. Phone face down.in The House of Auspicious Hours
Portrait of Chandulal, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiChandulalNinety-two. A window in Rajkot.in Dead Letter
Portrait of Nalin, a character in The Five Wounds by Manu VishrantiNalinA man in Ahmedabad who knows the whole story.in Dead Letter

Every character in these books is fictional, and every face drawn here is invented.

Questions readers ask

Questions about the order

What order should I read The Five Wounds in?

In the numbered order: Clean Hands (Book One), Peacetime (Book Two), All the Summers at Once (Book Three), The House of Auspicious Hours (Book Four), Dead Letter (Book Five). Then the companion volume, The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra, which crosses all five novels.

How many books are in The Five Wounds?

Six: five novels and one companion volume, by Manu Vishranti, published by Walnut Publication on 18 September 2026 and out now on Amazon and Flipkart. There is also a complete edition with all six in one, ISBN 978-93-6926-306-6.

Which book comes first?

Clean Hands, Book One. A surgeon with an unbroken record and a locked room.

Which book is last?

Dead Letter is the fifth and last of the novels. The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra is a companion volume beside the five, not a sixth novel.

Which characters appear in more than one book?

Dev Mehra: Clean Hands, Peacetime, The Third Woman. Sudha: Clean Hands, All the Summers at Once. Ira: Clean Hands, Peacetime, The Third Woman. Dr Khanna: Clean Hands, All the Summers at Once. Umpire Baba: Clean Hands, The House of Auspicious Hours, Dead Letter. Kamla: Clean Hands, Peacetime. Raghunath: Clean Hands, Peacetime, The Third Woman. Prem Babu: Clean Hands, All the Summers at Once, Dead Letter. Divya: All the Summers at Once, The House of Auspicious Hours, Dead Letter. Adit: The House of Auspicious Hours, Dead Letter. Ashu: Clean Hands, All the Summers at Once, The House of Auspicious Hours, Dead Letter. Nandita: Clean Hands, The Third Woman.

Is there another book called The Five Wounds?

Other books share the title, including a single novel by a different author. The Five Wounds by Manu Vishranti is a series of six volumes that begins with Clean Hands, ISBN 978-93-6926-307-3.

What are the ISBNs, in order?

Book One, Clean Hands: ISBN 978-93-6926-307-3. Book Two, Peacetime: ISBN 978-93-6926-308-0. Book Three, All the Summers at Once: ISBN 978-93-6926-310-3. Book Four, The House of Auspicious Hours: ISBN 978-93-6926-311-0. Book Five, Dead Letter: ISBN 978-93-6926-312-7. The companion volume, The Third Woman: The Diary of Nandita Mehra: ISBN 978-93-6926-314-1. The complete edition: ISBN 978-93-6926-306-6.