Ragtime in Simla: The Second in the Detective Joe Sandilands Series - Hardcover

Cleverly, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786712465 ISBN 13: 9780786712465

Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub, 2003

Synopsis

Simla 1922. While the rest of India bakes in the hot season, up in the pine-scented coolness of the Himalayan hills, the English have recreated a vision of home. Here are half-timbered houses, amateur theatricals, gymkhanas and a glittering vice-regal court for the socialites. The summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the jazz age.
It is toward this delightful country that detective Joe Sandilands is heading as the guest of Sir George Jardine, the governor of Bengal. But when Joe's travelling companion, a Russian opera singer, is shot dead at his side in the governor's car on the road up to Simla, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation. Confronted by the mystery of an identical unsolved killing a year before, Joe realizes that Sir George's hospitality comes at a high price.
As Joe begins to unravel a mystery which has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, he discovers that behind the sparkling facade of social life in Simla lies a trail of murder, vice and blackmail. Someone in this close-knit community has a sinister secret and the nearer Joe comes to uncovering it, the nearer he comes to his own death.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Simla 1922. While the rest of India bakes in the hot season, up in the pine-scented coolness of the Himalayan hills the English have recreated a vision of home. Here are half-timbered houses, amateur theatricals, gymkhanas and a glittering vice-regal court for the socialites. The summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the jazz age. It is toward this country that detective Joe Sandilands is heading as the guest of the governor of Bengal. But when Joe's travelling companion, a Russian opera singer, is shot dead at his side on the road to Simla, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation. As Joe begins to unravel the mystery which has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, he discovers that behind the sparkling facade of Simla lies a trail of murder, vice and blackmail.

About the Author:

Barbara Cleverly is a former teacher and a graduate of Durham University who now lives in Cambridge. Her debut, "The Last Kashmiri Rose", was a New York Times Notable Book of 2002.

About this edition

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0786712465
• ISBN 13: 9780786712465
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288