The Last Kashmiri Rose: Murder and Mystery in the Final Days of the Raj

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding start for a great new series
Review: Commander Joseph Sandilands of the Metropolitan Police (who had been seconded to the Bengal police for six months) is happily counting the hours to his departure from India (he didn't take to the country or the climate) when he receives an urgent missive from Sir George Jardine, the Acting Governor of Bengal, asking him to reinvestigate a few mysterious deaths. Apparently the officers of the Bengal Greys have been experiencing some rather rotten luck: over the years, the wives of at least five officers have died of accidents. And now with the suicide of Peggy Somersham, rumours are flying about the ill fated unit. Especially as someone keeps putting roses on the graves of the dead women on the anniversary of their deaths. Nancy Drummond, Sir George's married niece, and a good friend of Peggy Somersham's however believes that Peggy was murdered. And she wants someone to reinvestigate all the deaths of the officers' wives. And while Sandilands agrees that there is something very fishy about all these deaths, he is not too sanguine about getting any kind of result. A look at the files reveals that the previous police investigation into the past deaths was shoddy at best, and he knows the futility of trying to look into a cold case. But, ably assisted by a young Indian police officer, Naurung Singh, and the delectable but very married Nancy Drummond, Sandilands is determined to discover who may be killing off the wives of the Bengal Greys and why.

The mystery turned out to be an interesting and engrossing one; it also unfolded at a smooth and brisk pace. There were even a few plot twists and some red herring suspects. So that, on the whole, I should have been over the moon with this book. But I wasn't. And that was mainly because the principal characters (Sandilands and Nancy) really failed to capture my interest and concern. They seemed a little dated (esp their conversations). I'm big on historical accuracy, but I'll admit this was one instance when I'd been really happy if Nancy hadn't sounded as if she stepped out of a school girls' annual. Another thing I found disappointing was that the authour had not gone very much into the social history of 1920s India. I rather think that if she had, the novel would have been slightly more evocative and atmospheric. Sometimes I felt (while I read this book) as if all the Indians had been shipped off to Jupiter, while the English cavorted about the country side to their heart's content.

I suppose that part of the reason why "The Last Kashmiri Rose" failed totally to satisfy was that I had just finished (re)watching a couple of episodes of that excellent PBS' mystery series, "Heat of the Sun." And compared to that (even though "Heat of the Sun" takes place in 1920s Kenya), "The Last Kashmiri Rose" lacks a certain depth, as well as a charismatic and engaging detecting duo. All in all, I'd say that "The Last Kashmiri Rose" deserves a 3 1/2 star rating for possessing a really good mystery plot.

Rating:
Summary: Kept my interest, but the end was too melodramatic
Review: I enjoyed this book and the detective. I liked the details about India and most seemed accurate based on other fiction, I admit.

However, the ending was very melodramatic and that took away from my enjoyment. It wrapped up more like a romance novel than a detective story.

I would read another of her books, though, and that says a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat expert thinking
Review: I lived in the state of Bihar in India from 1956 to 1959, when I was a child. Bihar is the state immediately to the west of Bengal, where The Last Kashmiri Rose is set, so I was interested to see how Barbara Cleverly handled her story. On the positve side she gets a lot of the factual stuff right, Bengali is the major language in Bengal, although Hindi (which she invariably calls Hindustani) is spoken by many. The plot is interesting, and the solution to the mystery is quite inventive; however, I ended up having a lot of problems with both the plot and the handling of India as a backdrop to the story. No one living in India would refer to Hindi as Hindustani repeatedly, 2 syllables are always better than 4; the younger Englishwomen's hair and dress lengths in 1922 are about 3 to 5 years ahead of what they would have been, but these are small things. I felt there was way too much of the happy darky syndrome, a la old Hollywood and the plantation slaves. India became independent in 1947, the book is advertised as the final days of the Raj, which is also not accurate, but not Cleverly's fault; however, even in 1922 all Indians across the board would not have been so happy to be servants, or villagers, or field workers, and not so deferential, or even submissive as they are pictured, particularly the Sikhs. One important plot twist centers around our hero, an interesting guy and a supposed English gentleman and his interest in one of the women in the story - his reactions to her are out of character, or, perhaps shallowly portrayed. The most important plot twist centers around the appearance of the killer, and Cleverly's solution, while interesting, is also physically impossible. Which gave me a lot of problems. Ultimately, if you're someone who knows India at all, this is probably not the book for you, but if you don't, it is, if you remain pretty uncritical, not a bad read.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat expert thinking
Review: I lived in the state of Bihar in India from 1956 to 1959, when I was a child. Bihar is the state immediately to the west of Bengal, where The Last Kashmiri Rose is set, so I was interested to see how Barbara Cleverly handled her story. On the positve side she gets a lot of the factual stuff right, Bengali is the major language in Bengal, although Hindi (which she invariably calls Hindustani) is spoken by many. The plot is interesting, and the solution to the mystery is quite inventive; however, I ended up having a lot of problems with both the plot and the handling of India as a backdrop to the story. No one living in India would refer to Hindi as Hindustani repeatedly, 2 syllables are always better than 4; the younger Englishwomen's hair and dress lengths in 1922 are about 3 to 5 years ahead of what they would have been, but these are small things. I felt there was way too much of the happy darky syndrome, a la old Hollywood and the plantation slaves. India became independent in 1947, the book is advertised as the final days of the Raj, which is also not accurate, but not Cleverly's fault; however, even in 1922 all Indians across the board would not have been so happy to be servants, or villagers, or field workers, and not so deferential, or even submissive as they are pictured, particularly the Sikhs. One important plot twist centers around our hero, an interesting guy and a supposed English gentleman and his interest in one of the women in the story - his reactions to her are out of character, or, perhaps shallowly portrayed. The most important plot twist centers around the appearance of the killer, and Cleverly's solution, while interesting, is also physically impossible. Which gave me a lot of problems. Ultimately, if you're someone who knows India at all, this is probably not the book for you, but if you don't, it is, if you remain pretty uncritical, not a bad read.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful new character, wonderful new writer
Review: I loved this book for a lot of reasons. Firstly it is a brilliantly told detective story - right up there with the best. Secondly, it transports you to an incredibly vivid and intriguing world. Thirdly, the central character is a genuinely fascinating one, credible, nuanced and heroic. Finally, with more books coming out by this author, you just know this is going to be one of those literary franchises that becomes an a keenly anticipated event in your personal literary calender. Wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: An atmospheric mystery set in India during the British Raj
Review: In this pleasantly restrained murder mystery, a Scotland Yard detective comes to a British Army post in India to look into a series of deaths among officers' wives. The story conveys the inbred atmosphere of the time (the 1920's) and the place. Adventures and romances illuminate personal histories and reveal tensions under the surface of polite discourse. The story ends with an unexpected and very effective twist. The book is mercifully free of gruesome descriptions.

Rating:
Summary: An atmospheric mystery set in India during the British Raj
Review: In this pleasantly restrained murder mystery, a Scotland Yard detective comes to a British Army post in India to look into a series of deaths among officers' wives. The story conveys the inbred atmosphere of the time (the 1920's) and the place. Adventures and romances illuminate personal histories and reveal tensions under the surface of polite discourse. The story ends with an unexpected and very effective twist. The book is mercifully free of gruesome descriptions.

Rating:
Summary: a surprise ending
Review: This book was not perfect, though I found it a great effort from a first-time novelist. I love mysteries, and I have always been fascinated by India, so this was a great combination. I didn't feel that the main character, Joe Sandilands, was as well-developed as I would like, and at the end of the book I still felt I didn't know him well, and didn't know what motivated him. I also felt his relationship with Nancy was a bit shallowly developed and not quite convincing.

However I thought the mystery part was very well-developed and interesting, and while the identity of the killer became obvious about 3/4 of the way through the book I was stumped as to motive, and the motive as revealed at the end was a complete surprise to me. I do wish I knew what a previous reviewer considered to be a physical impossibility in the solution. If so I sure didn't spot it. :-)

Anyway, never having been to India I guess I can be less critical of the less-than-authentic aspects mentioned. But I have recently read the 3-volume autobiography of author MM Kaye who was born and raised in India and spent much of her young adult life there as well. She was born in 1908 so her life coincided with the era of this novel. She frequently spoke of and referred to speaking Hindustani and said it was a shame no one seemed to speak in anymore as they had in her youth. According to her book Hindustani is NOT Hindi, but a language that combined elements of Hindi and Urdu, so I admit I just took that reference in the book for granted.

Anyway, I still look forward to additional novels by Cleverly, and can't wait for the second to come out in paperback. I hope that we will learn more about Joe as the series progresses.