Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM
![[3.5 stars]](../images/spots/3_puzzle_35.gif)
The Last Kashmiri Rose: Murder and Mystery in the Final Days of the Raj
Amazon US PB Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Barbara Cleverly
Class/Genre: Mystery Historical
Series: Joe Sandilands # 1
2002, 288 pp.
Normally, my mystery of choice doesn't fall into the romantic category, but I enjoyed this book quite a bit! The story is set in the plains near Calcutta, India, in the 1920's. Over a period of years, several wives of British military officers have died in rather gruesome circumstances - in a household fire, a drowning, a snake bite, a fall from a horse, and so on. Joe Sandilands, a British policeman has been posted to Calcutta to assist in a training program for the Bengali police force, and as his term is ending, the regional governor assigns him to investigate the latest death - judged a suicide by the local police superintendent, but with several facts at odds with that verdict.
Rich in the atmosphere of the imperial presence in India, and presenting quite a few likeable characters, the story gradually begins to make sense of the chain of deaths, and presents an early 20th century use of "criminal profiling" in a way that seems entirely believable. Naturally there is a beautiful British wife among the residents of the military station, and Sandilands must deal with his complicated feelings towards her.
I was also gratified that a few Indian characters - a police investigator, a public stenographer, and various household servants inhabit the story without condescension on the part of the author. This is Cleverly's first published book, and she does a nice job keeping the story on track, believable, and free from distracting side plots.
Recommended for those who enjoy a little romance & history with their whodunits!
Woodstock - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM
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