Barbara Cleverly

Fall of Angels, the first Inspector Redfyre mystery, has all the trademarks fans of Barbara Cleverly's writing have come to expect: seamless period detail that puts readers right into the time and place of the book, witty dialogue, strong intriguing characters, and a mystery that keeps armchair sleuths guessing. These are all here in abundance, and fans should be thrilled.

Unfortunately, I wasn't. The book fell flat for me, and-- after reading books from Cleverly's Joe Sandilands and show more Laetitia Talbot series as well as this book, I have come to the conclusion that Cleverly just isn't a writer for me. Or more precisely, I'm not the reader for her. It's an extremely short list, but Cleverly is not the only author who doesn't light up my reading life. The time periods, plots, locations, and characters are all right up my alley, but there's something about the writing that just does not work for me. (And it always takes more than one book for me to arrive at this conclusion.)

So there you have it. If you're already a fan of Barbara Cleverly, chances are excellent that you're going to enjoy this book. If you're new to her work, you're probably going to enjoy it, too. This is just one of those times when I'm being a bit contrary, so take my opinion under advisement. show less

I rather liked these. Historical murder mysteries set against the British Raj after WWI, with the detective relying primarily on his wits rather than forensics (which are in their early days in Europe and pretty non-existent in India).

Commander Joe Sandilands is on secondment in India; he is tapped by Sir George Jardine (who is a shadowy power behind the Viceroy) to investigate several crimes. Despite longing to return to London, Joe agrees to stay on (effectively he isn't given a choice). show more First, he clears up a series of killings of officers' wives of the Bengal Greys, secondly he solves a couple of assassinations at Simla, thirdly he deals with a tricky case of revenge on the North West Frontier, and lastly skulduggery in the palace of a princely state.

Recommended, but I'm not sure I'll bother continuing with the series as once back in Europe, it seems to become more humdrum. show less

Good story as the new characters in this series come to the fore. Communist plots, fascist spies, atoms split and secret weapons are in development; can it be 1933 Yes, it is. The investigation of two strange deaths in one night brings Joe to Cambridge. Scarce skeins of history are woven into a complex but interesting mystery. The culprits, including a surprising one , are apprehended and Joe connects with, yet, another fascinating woman.

A saga of adventure, scheming, and murder in early 20th century India continues with an excursion northwest to the frontier near the Khyber Pass. Adventures in the northwest frontier was (and still is, I believe) a very hazardous place for non-natives. It was satisfying to see strong female characterization as very realistic participants in the action, as well as the vulnerable side of male characters in the main action.

The details in Cleverly's book about Pathan tribal customs are show more reasonably accurate along with the uneasy, often conflicted, alliance with the British occupation evident in the northwestern hills. These insights added a sense of time and place to bring the story alive. Despite a few niggles (I dithered in star-rating, and in my view it's worth 3¾-⭐︎'s), the adventures are beguiling and the story has some unexpected twists.

A few lapses in story pacing took away my full reading enjoyment and nearly created a did-not-finish designation. Side stories (supporting characters not central to the plot) disrupted the story's narrative, such that at one point, it appeared as if it was headed into the "now we're going to concentrate on military use of airplanes for surveillance and strafing the culprits" territory. Fortunately, the chronicle of events returned to ground level action, with no warfare to resolve the difficulties. Although the plot became a little too bogged down midway into the book, reader engagement picked up again. The Grace Holbrook character was especially delightful even if parts of the plot seemed too convoluted or implausible.

Despite the criticisms in my review, I think readers who like historical mysteries (and 'British Raj' intrigues) will enjoy this book. I liked the ideas that drove the plot, and characterizations better than in The Palace Tiger. which I read out of sequence while waiting for this book (3). The stories are fine as 'stand alones', with little repetitive details from earlier books: a great escape for bedtime reading. show less