Ragtime in Simla by
Barbara Cleverly
pbk out September 03
(Constable Robinson)
at £6.99
Commander Joe Sandilands is looking forward to spending the summer of 1922 in the
Himalayan hills as the guest of the Governor of Bengal. Joe's travelling companion,
flamboyant opera singer Kosovsky, is shot dead by a sniper on the last leg of the
journey up to Simla and Joe finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation. There
had been a similar killing the year before and it looks as if someone in the close-knit
community of the British Raj is the perpetrator. Beneath the glittering façade of
heady social life Joe uncovers vice, blackmail and corruption and comes close to
losing his own life in his quest.
A classic detective story in which the life of the British Raj is meticulously researched
and very convincingly portrayed. Although the reader garners a fair idea of the secret
that lurks behind the killings, the unravelling of the plot is expertly handled and has
its own surprises. The romantic interlude is less convincing however Cleverly gives
us a satisfying and enjoyable read.
M.E.N. 2.11.02
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
Ragtime in Simla by
Barbara Cleverly
