Leslie Forbes (1953–2016)

This book has great breadth and I think it could be read on many levels.
For one it is a mystery of a murder and an exploration of a complex family history. For another it is a testimony on man's abuse to the earth whether in the name of science or personal gain.

Clair Fleetwood is a forensic photographer, who inherits an old house in London's East End. Because of her almost nomadic childhood she yearns to put down roots and relishes the exploration of her family connection to Magda Ironstone (born Fleetwood) who founded the house and had very close connection to the family business in India.
She starts up a garden in the backyard of the old house with the help of her friend Sally, but Sally is murdered in the same backyard under mysterious circumstances.
Driven by grief and curiosity Claire ends up on an expedition in the remote parts of Tibet, looking for a green poppy that was described at length in some of Magda's papers and was coveted for its miraculous medicinal properties.

On this journey Claire discovers much more than she had bargained for.… (more)

I thought I might like this better than I did. I have read several books based in India and usually find it interesting to read about the culture and the place. It seemed that a thriller based here would be especially fun to read.

But for me it wasn't. What other reviewers call a "literary thriller" didn't strike me that way, in spite of the numerous literary references throughout. The protagonist, Rosalind Benegal, simply irritated me all the way through, and her interactions with others confused me. But first a bit about the story:

Rosalind travels to India as a freelance correspondent for the BBC. She tells customs officials that she is there to report on the monsoon, which is due soon. She is really there to suss out more from her sister Miranda, who has sent odd short notes to her, suggesting all is not well. Before she is able to get with Miranda, however, she is caught up in a murder.

She then follows all kinds of paths, all the time with the suspicion that her brother-in-law, her sister's husband, is at the heart of everything she finds that's evil. Throughout the novel she pursues him, blatantly, rudely, and often, to me, unfathomably. That is, she meets people, does strange things, has strange things done to her, and then goes on to the next. All the while spouting insults that one would think would get her an invitation to leave. That happens sometimes but often not. I did not find it strange that she was found by many to be "crazy".

I gather some people find this kind of gate-crashing rudeness endearing. To me it was the last way to get results. Yet of course in some way she does manage to find things out. Why people would talk to her I have no idea.

I had difficulty sorting people out. Maybe I should have started the book with a chart where I could write names and associations so I could follow along better. Seems like that should not have been necessary. I'll admit that I don't always focus all my attention as well as I could so I would not be surprised to find that I am at least partly at fault here.

As for the literary references. They didn't do much for me. Maybe if I had read more of the original sources they would have. Maybe this just wasn't the book for me, but is the book for some others.… (more)