Ragtime in Simla

Um. I loved the setting - well, I'm a Kipling nut, of course I did. The murders were interesting. I quite liked both Joe and Charlie, at least at the beginning. But as the book went on, they kept Solving the Mystery - and then they'd talk to the person they'd fingered as the culprit, and go off in an entirely different direction. Lots of very accomplished liars here, Sir George not the least of them (hmmph!). And Joe got dumber and dumber as he got more attracted. He was pretty much useless by the end - making way too many excuses. Bah. I like Maisie's twist at the end, especially as it was (or seemed to be) accurate, but that's still pretty thin soup for at least two murders (and one death-because). I was delighted, at the beginning, show more to realize this was part of a series; I got the first book (this is the second) out of the library. Now I'm almost reluctant to read it. Well, I'll see what I think of the other books, but this one wasn't much of a winner for me. show less

3.5*

This is not much of a review, but I'm having some time on my hands and thought I'd update some posts.

I picked up Ragtime in Simla a few years ago when work took me northern India. I travelled with a colleague who was going to stay for the same period and we decided to plan a trip to Shimla over the weekend. Of course, being way too busy with exploring and work, I never had a chance to read the book - not even on the plane - which is why it ended on my TBR pile for a couple of years.

Having now read the book, let me start off with the following advice:

DO NOT READ THE BLURB ON THE BACK COVER!

Seriously, I don't know if the blurbs differ much but mine (which luckily I didn't read until I finished the book) gave away many of the plot show more twists.

Other than this I was pleasantly surprised by the book. It comes very close to an Agatha Christie mystery - except with the xenophobia and snobbishness turned down a peg.

The first part of the book seems somewhat out of place as the story is set in southern France, not India, but all will become clear as the story continues and takes you to the foothills of the Himalayas in 1922.

Simla (or Shimla) served as the Raj's capital during the hot seasons as the hills provided some much-needed respite from the heat.



In Simla we meet Joe Sandilands, who is on holiday from Scotland Yard and travels on the invite of an old acquaintance of his. Pretty soon, Joe understands that this invite might come with the request to apply his professional skills to some mysterious goings on.

I will not describe any more of the story as I don't want to spoil the ride for anyone. Ragtime in Simla is pretty straight-laced murder mystery with a cast of quirky characters, humour, excessive Britishness, and so many red herrings and twists that it is unlikely you'll guess the solution to the puzzle right from the start.
In other words - it is jolly good fun.
Fans of Dame Agatha's will no doubt feel right at home with this book.

What really impressed me, though, was how well Cleverly captured the place. So watch out for the descriptions of the narrow passages, the rows of buildings, the main square, and the Jakhu temple and statue of Lord Hanuman overlooking the town.
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One of my "resting and healing from a broken patella" books. I'm not good at resting, but I'm good at reading!

Fun to go back to India again, via the book. I agree with Alrescate's review: This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it. I will say it is flawed, but not so much I found it annoying. I thought there were several predictable plot points, but I wasn't disappointed with the resolution. I will probably read the next book in the series at some point.

My favorite of the Sandilands novels, number two in the series. It's still India, and it's still the last days of the Raj, but this time Joe is bound for Simla, for a holiday in the cool of the Himalayan foothills. Murder strikes before he even arrives, and the plot thickens from there. The social and psychological complexities writhe beneath the proper British surface of Simla, and it adds up to a really good read.

This second novel of Barbara Cleverly, featuring Commander Joe Sandilands delivered quite an intriguing and twisted mystery with a pretty good gallery of characters, well fleshed out (even the secondary characters). All have their little spotlight part. This second novel is better constructed, less out of nowhere twists and turns and delivers a solid mystery with an exotic and lush background that you can almost smell and touch. Looking forward to the next one : The Damascened Blade.

RAGTIME IN SIMLA by Beverly Cleverly is the 2nd title in the Joe Sandilands series.
The scene is Simla, 1922. Simla is/was a recreational summer retreat in the foothills of the Himalayans, very popular with the British ‘expat’ community. Joe Sandilands was invited by Sir George Jardine, acting governor of Bengal, to spend time in Simla before returning to England.
The mystery is very intricate with quite a bit of backtracking to events happening during a train crash in France in 1919.
I was very interested in the descriptions of Simla, 1920’s India and colonial culture.
The major characters are British and much is told of the Pathan ‘tribal customs’. (You would think Joe would know more of Pathan customs after his run-in with a show more Pathan character in Book #1 - THE LAST KASHMIRI ROSE.)
I would recommend this book to mystery readers, especially those interested in a strong sense of foreign locale. show less

Good fun, murder mystery, with colourful characters, set in Simla under the Raj, a mixture of the exotic and the mysterious. Plenty of plot twists to keep the pages turning.