Customer Reviews

The Last Kashmiri Rose

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

 

 

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?

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!

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.

Barbara Cleverly is an amazing author. This is the best book I've read in years. The story moved so smoothly and drew me in on every page. It is not often that I read a book in a weekend, with a very busy schedule, but reading this story was a definite priority. For a terrific plot, engaging characters and a murder mystery that is complex and intriguing, The Last Kashmiri Rose will not disappoint.

It's tough for me to find books which simply grab me with their intelligence and quality of writing. However, once I do I generally make my way through all the work of that particular author. Donna Leon and her Inspector Brunetti series is a case in point.

Barbara Cleverly has woven a tale set in the British Raj in 1922. Detective Joe Sandilands, decent, smart, human and intuitive finds himself drawn into solving a mysterious set of murders right before his scheduled return to Blighty.. His disappointment is mitigated by the appearance of a deeply attractive woman who is there to inform and guide him through exquisite British social mazes which envelop the crimes.

A very cool and compelling adventure.

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.

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.

This historical mystery set in India in the 20s amid a British colonial army outpost isn't terribly ambitious in its plotting or period detail. The murders are firmly of the "cozy" variety ala Agatha Christie; so don't look for a great deal of grit or realism. But the book does have charm. The stalwart hero and the plucky heroine may seem a bit stock, but when the author gets them talking they come pretty vividly to life, so do the rest of the regiment. There's a good resonant reveal at the end, as well. The whole thing has more of the feel of a good period melodrama like The Letter or Conduct Unbecoming than it does a really rich historical novel that transports you back to its setting.

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.

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.