Terror in Topaz

Terror in Topaz is the 4th and final installment of Alison Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mystery Series. It is set in 1920s Singapore and features amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon. Harriet volunteers her time at brother Julian's school for boys but after her suffragette past became known, she was fired.

The publisher's summary: Singapore 1910: Harriet Gordon has been dismissed from the job she loved and finds herself cast adrift. When her brother receives an invitation to visit a prestigious school in Kuala Lumpur, she and Julian decide to leave Singapore behind for a few days, but their pleasant visit takes a dark turn when a visitor to the school is shot dead on the front steps of the headmaster’s bungalow. After being suspended from the show more Straits Settlements Police, Inspector Robert Curran has disappeared on a personal quest to find a missing girl, but his suspension is not all it appears and he receives secretive orders to investigate the mysterious Topaz Club, which seems to be at the center of high-level corruption within the colonial government of Malaya.The uninvestigated death of a woman with links to the Topaz Club brings Harriet and Curran together in a determination to shut down the notorious establishment for good. MBut a devious criminal stands in the way and it is going to take Harriet and Curran all their resources to bring justice for the victims of the Topaz Club and in doing so, find what it is they have been looking for in each other.

I loved this series and am sad it has ended. A prequel to Singapore Sapphire was published in August 2023. Umbrella tells the story of Harriet's earlier life. It is just over 50 pages in length.

The setting for Terror in Topaz moves from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Many times when a series author changes the setting, the story suffers. This did not happen here. The plot and writing are superb. It was everything I expected and more. The relationship between Harriet and Inspector Curran grew to be a romantic one. Brother Julian's felt his career was in flux and we see him pondering his options. His usual straightlaced demeanor changes to a softer one. With all of this character growth it is difficult to accept that there is nowhere for the series to continue.

The Kuala Lumpur setting did not seem much different than Singapore. It had the usual clubs and mansions where the British sat for tea on their verandas. Both places share a climate with oppressive heat and the author has shared photographs of both of them on her Pinterest page. If you want to learn more about these novels I recommend checking out the Pinterest page. show less

When Harriet Gordon's brother Julian is invited to Kuala Lumpur to visit a respected boys school, she decides to go along as it may be a good fit for their young charge, Will, is Julian accepts a post there. Separately, Inspector Robert Curran has headed to the same area looking for his half-sister, who was forcibly taken from India to a 'gentleman's club' in the area. The colonials at this out post are a small group, and it doesn't take much to be on the ins or outs. The wife of the headmaster of the school shots a man she says was trying to attack her. While that investigation and trial begin, Curran remains undercover looking for the secret Topaz Club. It was good mystery and the attention to historical detail was very well done as show more usual. show less