Colonial Singapore and murder! Great reading!
Singapore Sapphire (Harriet Gordon Mystery #1) by A. M. Stuart
It's the early 1900's in Singapore. So realistic I felt I was there!
Harriet Gordon, widowed and made childless in one fell swoop in India due to Typhus, went home to England. It was there she came in contact with the Suffragette Movement, an organization that espoused those things she'd not only envisioned, but felt deeply. That path ended badly and she joined her brother in Colonial Singapore where he is the Reverend and Headmaster of a prestigious boys school for expats.
Wanting to at least earn some sort of living (any work she does for the school is unpaid) Harriet takes out an advertisement to work as a private secretary.
Sir Oswald Newbold is deciding to write his memoirs and calls on her services. Unfortunately when Hattie arrives she finds Sir Oswald dead with his throat cut.
Inspector Robert Curran is quite taken with the sensibility of Harriet when he arrives at the crime scene. Throughout his investigation Harriet is there in deducing things, if not prior to the Inspector, then not far behind.
All trails point towards Burma, Sir Oswald's explorations, ruby mining and scraps of clues that include a defunct reference to the East India Company.
As the story progresses we see the cultural divide between the colonialists and Singaporeans. The author strikes just the right note as the various cultures interact.
Curran comes under the fire of gossip, almost to the point of social ostracism because he has Singaporean mistress. However as he's a sterling cricketer much is forgiven. Curran tells Harriet, "Li An is more important to me than social acceptance.” Curran would marry her but Khoo Li An doesn't want him to fly in the face of his compatriots.
I wonder where this devoted relationship will go to in the future"
If future plots are as complex and delicious as this I am looking forward to more of Curran and Harriet and any futher investigative undertakings.
An intriguing and throughly enjoyable read!
A Berkley Publication via NetGalley
*****
Harriet Gordon, widowed and made childless in one fell swoop in India due to Typhus, went home to England. It was there she came in contact with the Suffragette Movement, an organization that espoused those things she'd not only envisioned, but felt deeply. That path ended badly and she joined her brother in Colonial Singapore where he is the Reverend and Headmaster of a prestigious boys school for expats.
Wanting to at least earn some sort of living (any work she does for the school is unpaid) Harriet takes out an advertisement to work as a private secretary.
Sir Oswald Newbold is deciding to write his memoirs and calls on her services. Unfortunately when Hattie arrives she finds Sir Oswald dead with his throat cut.
Inspector Robert Curran is quite taken with the sensibility of Harriet when he arrives at the crime scene. Throughout his investigation Harriet is there in deducing things, if not prior to the Inspector, then not far behind.
All trails point towards Burma, Sir Oswald's explorations, ruby mining and scraps of clues that include a defunct reference to the East India Company.
As the story progresses we see the cultural divide between the colonialists and Singaporeans. The author strikes just the right note as the various cultures interact.
Curran comes under the fire of gossip, almost to the point of social ostracism because he has Singaporean mistress. However as he's a sterling cricketer much is forgiven. Curran tells Harriet, "Li An is more important to me than social acceptance.” Curran would marry her but Khoo Li An doesn't want him to fly in the face of his compatriots.
I wonder where this devoted relationship will go to in the future"
If future plots are as complex and delicious as this I am looking forward to more of Curran and Harriet and any futher investigative undertakings.
An intriguing and throughly enjoyable read!
A Berkley Publication via NetGalley
*****
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