Author Guide · Reportage
Books Written by
For five years Sonia Faleiro, a journalist from Goa, followed Leela, a nineteen-year-old bar dancer, through Mumbai's dance bars and their aftermath when the government banned them. Her book is one of the most intimate portraits of the city's nightlife. Later she investigated the deaths of two teenage cousins in a village in Uttar Pradesh, and what their case revealed about caste, gender and justice in India. This guide covers all four of her books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 4 books · Reportage · 2006–2021 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Sonia Faleiro has published four books: a novel, The Girl (2006); Beautiful Thing (2010), about a Mumbai bar dancer; 13 Men (2015), a short e-book about a crime in a village in West Bengal; and The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing (2021).
Where to Start with Sonia Faleiro
If you want the famous one
→ Beautiful Thing (2010).
If you want the most recent
→ The Good Girls (2021).
All 4 Sonia Faleiro Books, in Order
The Girl
Her first book, a novel.
Beautiful Thing
Five years with Leela, a young bar dancer in Mumbai, her friends and the men around her, before and after the dance bars were banned.
13 Men
A short e-book about a crime committed on the orders of a village council in West Bengal.
The Good Girls
The deaths of two teenage cousins found hanging from a tree in a village in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, and the investigations that followed, as a portrait of caste, gender and justice in rural India.
How Many Books Did Sonia Faleiro Write?
Four books between 2006 and 2021.
- Reportage — Beautiful Thing, 13 Men and The Good Girls. Read the entries →
- Fiction — The Girl (2006). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Sonia Faleiro
Her books are not a series. Beautiful Thing and The Good Girls are the essentials.
A reading path
1. Beautiful Thing (2010)
2. The Good Girls (2021)
Quick facts about Sonia Faleiro
- From
- Goa, India
- Based in
- London
- Founded
- The South Asia Long-form journalism platform Deca, as a co-founder
- Books
- 4, from 2006 to 2021
How Sonia Faleiro Works: Close and Patient
Faleiro spends years with her subjects and writes from inside their world, keeping their voices at the centre.
Her later work combines that closeness with investigation, testing official accounts against the evidence.
Frequently asked questions about Sonia Faleiro's books
How many books has Sonia Faleiro written?
Sonia Faleiro has published four books: The Girl (2006), Beautiful Thing (2010), 13 Men (2015) and The Good Girls (2021).
What is Beautiful Thing about?
Beautiful Thing (2010) follows a young bar dancer in Mumbai over five years.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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