Amazon.com: The Last Kashmiri Rose: Barbara Cleverly: Books

More About the Author

Barbara Cleverly is a former teacher and a graduate of Durham University who now lives in Cambridge. Her debut, The Last Kashmiri Rose, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2002.

Customer Reviews

32 Reviews

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put it down!, November 16, 2003

By

Sam Archer (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Kashmiri Rose (Mass Market Paperback)

I've just finished this and I'm starting right over
at the beginning. This brilliantly-plotted novel had
me turning the pages right down to the last
breath-catching wriggle. I know who did it and - more
importantly - why - but I'm treating myself to a
second helping.
The Indian setting is colourfully captured and the
characters convincing and sympathetic, the whole
captured in a great style - Cleverly manages to be at
once light but authoritative. Her dialogue is
authentic and right for the period (sadly, I'm old
enough to know!) What a treat to hear that clipped,
literate, 1920's style!
The hero-detective, Joe Sandilands, is a refreshing
change from the cops we have gotten used to over the last
few years; Cleverly allows him to be charming and
principled and he comes without the heavy baggage of a
failing personal life. More in the pipe-line, I hope?

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink

Comment Comment

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Steeped in the days of tea and tiffins, October 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Kashmiri Rose (Mass Market Paperback)

This book captured me in the first page. The detective was smart, charming and handsome. There is a lady who captures his eye, a silent and intellegent side kick and lots of shady characters maskerading as Bengal Greys, an elite force of the British in India. I smelled the spices and stench, felt the rattans and coarse cottons, and heard the guns and market din. The only downside of the book was the language of the characters was a bit too contemporary and seemed jarring with the setting/time period. It was a good, fast, fun read and I hope the author follows with more of Joseph Sandilands, Scotland Yards Detective!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink

Comment Comment

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding start for a great new series, May 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Kashmiri Rose: Murder and Mystery in the Final Days of the Raj (Hardcover)

As a long-time fan of historical novels, I've gotten pretty bored with the standard Victorian, medieval, etc. periods, no matter how well they are written. I like a book which "takes" me to times and places I've never been before and know little about. This book not only satisfied me in that respect but it contained an interesting plot involving well-rounded characters with a good mixture of human strengths and foibles that I could relate to and care about. (Although I must admit that I'm happy to have learned more about this period of Indian history from a distance of over 3/4 of a century. It sounds like a terrible era that's happily behind us.)

In my opinion, all fans of historical novels should read this one. I'm eagerly looking forward to the author's second entry in this promising series.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink

Comment Comment

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 32 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A British Cop Goes To India
This is the first in a series about the London detective Joe Sandilands a veteran of WWI who like most of these guys fights demons of that war. Read more

Published 1 month ago by prairie woman

4.0 out of 5 stars An Entertaining Read
Five women have died in unusual circumstances over the past twelve years, each the wife of a British Army officer and living with her husband in the remote Indian outpost station... Read more

Published 1 month ago by amacrae

3.0 out of 5 stars Unique murder story on serial killings
In a book world with serial killings based on maniacs and pyscho killers in abundance, this book stands out by the unique motive behind the murders of a bunch of 'memsahibs' --... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Jai

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Engaging Story
Barbara Cleverly takes us to post-World War I British-ruled India and introduces us to Scotland Yard's Joe Sandilands, on assignment in the seething subcontinent. Read more

Published 16 months ago by zorba

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo, Ms Cleverly!
A beautiful, absorbing period piece with a couple of unexpected twists - a perfect jumping-off point for this new series. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Ellen C. Falkenberry

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant & leisurely mystery in a time warp.
An evocative tale from a time long gone, although the places still remain. The first in Barbara Cleverly's quartet of WWI Veteran & now Scotland Yard copper Joe Sandilands' Indian... Read more

Published on December 6, 2009 by Fierce & Fond Reader

4.0 out of 5 stars The days of bygone
Historical mysteries can be a bit of a lottery. The authors are usually very versed in the historical period they write about, but the trouble sometime starts when the characters... Read more

Published on October 5, 2009 by Srdjan Pesic

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting and fun
I liked this book, and I am generally pretty picky. Granted, I don't know much about the country or the time period, so historical mistakes went right over my head. Read more

Published on June 21, 2009 by Lexi Andreas

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Mystery
From the opening where little Midge Prentice, awakes under her mosquito net to the ending of the story, I was engaged with the flavor, scents, sounds and sights of India at a... Read more

Published on February 13, 2009 by June P. Ahern

4.0 out of 5 stars "She Mustn't Wake to This!"
Barbara Cleverly's first novel is a highly enjoyable murder-mystery set in 1920s India, drawing on the culture and history of that land as a backdrop to a series of gruesome... Read more

Published on July 29, 2008 by R. M. Fisher

› See all 32 customer reviews...

Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

First Sentence:
The night before her sixth birthday Midge Prentice woke under her mosquito net and breathed the familiar smells of a hot Indian night. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chedi Khan, Uncle George, Peggy Somersham, Bengal Greys, Dolly Prentice, Bulstrode Sahib, Giles Prentice, William Somersham, Bateman's Horse, Scotland Yard, Dickie Templar, Andrew Drummond, Midge Prentice, Joan Carmichael, Nancy Drummond, Sheila Forbes, Colonel Prentice, Commander Sandilands, Curzon Street, Police Superintendent, Alicia Simms-Warburton, George Jardine, Naurung Singh, Shropshire Light Infantry, Camberwell Beauty

New!
Concordance | Text Stats