Barbara Cleverly

second of her books that I have now read - realised in once she started describing the tiger hunt and I thought "I've read this scene before......." (In "Ragtime in Simla"). Not exactly the same, and I suppose that many of the tiger hunts in upper class Raj era India were all much the same, so poor comparisons cannot be necessarily drawn. It would be interesting to know if she presents a variation of this set piece in any of her other books where by I would then think she was being a little lazy or uninspired.[return][return]Anyway, the book itself is enjoyable as Commander Joe from Scotland Yard, having remained in India for longer than his planned 6 months, is sent out to investigate the deaths of two of the three sons of the Maharajah, who himself is dying and therefore his succession is in doubt. Some of the characters are lightly drawn, and tend to make short appearances, only to disappear again, making for quite a lightweight set of potential suspects when it comes to a head.… (mere)