Miranda CarterRecensioni

It's not that this book is so well written, although it isn't bad. It's the story of the three cousins, George V of England, Nicholas II of Russia, and Wilhelm II of Germany that earns my 4-star rating. Carter's book is well researched (I discovered her through watching a BBC documentary on King Edward VII (Bertie, who is far more colorful and interesting than his son George V) although I did notice a few contradictions. Then again, she does much better than Catrine Clay with her encyclopedic book on the same subject. Clay does a good job of following the lives of each of the three in parallel so that you get a good idea of what happens with each at the same period of their lives and doesn't bog you down with so many quotes. Whereas Robert Massie's excellent biography of Nicholas and Alexandra reads like a novel, Carter's doesn't. But it is readable and the subject matter is fascinating.

Here were three rather ordinary men -- cousins -- who ruled most of the world. Goodness me. How could Germany have put up with Wilhelm for so long? Although Nicholas was responsible for many terrible things, he is, by all accounts that I have read, on a personal level a very sympathetic character -- certainly the most sympathetic of the three cousins. He simply didn't have the intellect, the education, nor the personality to be an emperor. What endears him (at least to me) is his love for and devotion to his wife and family. He didn't like public life or socializing. He would have made a fine gentleman farmer, chopping wood and spending most of his time with his family. And he would have been far happier. George's betrayal of Nicholas -- who he claimed to love dearly -- is unforgiveable. Yup, a very interesting story.

This was an overview of the history of three cousins who reigned as a King, a Kaiser, and a Tsar, during the tumultuous period that was World War I. Ultimately, only the King would emerge with his throne intact.

I found the narrative to be a bit jumpy, going back and forth between the three subjects in a disjointed way. The information is all there; it was just difficult to digest. There were a few factual mistakes that should've been checked by any editor worth their salt. One example is that one of the Kaiser's sons was named Eitel Friedrich. The author, within a page, named him as "Eitel Frederick" and "Friedrich Eitel", which is enormously inconsistent.

You really should know the story before delving into this hefty tome.

Another good entry in the series. Blake wild and mysterious, Avery , finding it increasingly hard to continue in his solid , somewhat upper class persona. Dickensian, with lots of awful things, but most only hinted at. Historical details on chartists and on London in general very good, just a little liberty taken here and there to advance the plot. Historical characters like Mathew add color

Will definitely try the next one. Reminiscent of Kipling. Nice road story with a dashing innocent young hero and an older but wiser one. Had a number of dangerous adventures and a fair plot.

I preferred the India setting in the first book to the wet and gray London we have in this book. India is exotic but London is rather dull. The investigation into the whodunnit seemed less interesting because the India setting gave me more options for villains and red herrings. Moving the characters out of India was a mistake in my mind.

The setting change also affected Blake and Avery's relationship and their ability to resolve clues. While they were in India, Avery needed Blake’s fluency in multiple languages and his extensive knowledge of the cultures. In London, Blake seems to have fewer investigative tools.

This installment of the series was a miss for me and I will not be reading the series any further.

Rich historical tapestry set during the times of the East India Company. Well researched and has hint of Rudyard Kipling.

Цікава книга, яка поринає тебе у світ колонізованої Індії 17 століття. Пригодницька книга. Сюжет іноді досить повільно розвивається, багато описів.

There isn't much of a mystery in this novel. I would say it is an atmospheric mystery where the setting is predominant over the action. We mostly read about the customs, sights and sounds of India. While I love India fiction, I also want a story. There is a murder to solve but it takes second place to the setting.

A good, fun mystery novel in the romantic era of the East India Company in mid-19th century India. Makes me want to read more Kipling, but also watch for more from this author. Well written, easy to read.

A first-rate study of three cousins, King George V of the United Kingdom, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and how these three helped the world stumble into a war the magnitude of which not even previously hinted at. The fact that one of them was barking mad and the other two had no idea of the world around them merely adds to the readability of George, Nicholas and Wilhelm.

Carter has obviously researched widely and accessed the cousins' correspondence with each other, highlighting the utter dullness of George and Nicholas and the strangeness of Wilhelm, and building a compelling story about how none of them were ready to lead their country at such a dangerous time in history.½

Really more a history book than a mystery. The portrait of poverty in London and the emerging struggles for emancipation during the 1800’s are very well done.

Excellent rendition of life in India under the rule of the British East India Company. It is more adventure and suspense than mystery, so don’t be misled by the blurbs and ads. It is a fascinating tale nonetheless. The only caveat is my total annoyance with the protagonist Avery, who keeps making the same stupid mistakes. Thank goodness, he finally grows up and the story proceeds apace.

India, 1937 and soldier William Avery is sent on a mission with Jeremiah Blake, an agent who has gone native, to find and bring back the poet Mountstuart. Involing them in murder and intrigue.
An interesting adventure, with some actual history thrown in. With the enjoyable developing bond between the two main characters, made it for me a great read. I look forward to the next in the series

I was curious about this book to see if it would give me any insight to my Anglo Indian ancestors during the era of the book. Interesting plot and I was definitely kept in suspense throughout!

a Wonderful book, I did not see the ending coming. Great fun

There were many facets to the glittering career of Anthony Blunt; art historian, director of Courtauld, international art expert, spy, Surveyor of the Queens Pictures and establishment figure. But what he is best remembered for is his betrayal; for he was a traitor.

In this book, Carter has written a forensic dissection of his life, from the privileged education at Marlborough and Cambridge, his early career in the art world, courtier to the royal family and war work in the intelligence services and post war activities where he built his reputation as an academic in the art world. In his early days he held very Marxist views and these were reflected in his articles and writing. A contemporary of Burgess, Maclean and Philby he was one of those recruited whilst at Cambridge by the Soviets. He passed a number of secrets to them during and after the war, nothing to the level of Philby, but crucial information nonetheless. Rather than this being just a principled ideology, he accepted a number of payments from them. After leaving MI5 he was passed papers from Burgess to courier to them.

Burgess and Maclean defected and slowly the net closed in. Philby was sacked from MI6 and the investigations were started on those that knew or were associated with these spies. Blunt was one of those suspected, but there was no evidence initially, but slowly through the smoke and mirrors came the evidence that they needed. The spies extracted a confession from Blunt, and quietly brushed the scandal under the carpet, with the intention of releasing the story after he had died. In 1979 though his treachery was revealed in Parliament by Thatcher. All his honours and knighthoods were stripped and he was hounded by the press.

This was a fascinating book to read in lots of ways. The amount of detail in here is immense too, even covering his visits to post war Germany to recover letters and artworks for the King. Carter has covered with almost clinical precision probably everything that you could ever want to know about Blunt; the others from the Cambridge ring play second fiddle in the book to Blunt as well, making the focus mostly on him. Blunt could have so easily not been a spy, if the right opportunity had presented itself at the time, but his Marxist sympathies and Cambridge contacts meant that he became one. It was not done out of principle either, he was paid for some of the material that he supplied showing that he was committed to these actions. The spy agencies at the time never thought that people from the establishment would ever betray their country. How wrong they were.

And having been betrayed, the establishment then sought to protect their own.

This is the second part of [a:M.J. Carter|303935|M.J. Carter|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1385642211p2/303935.jpg]'s series of books on Blake and Avery, the two Sherlock Holmes and John Watson-read-alikes. Still, this series is exciting, almost like what the first "Mummy" film was to the Indiana Jones franchise - proving that a well-made thing can keep a feeling alive.

This is set in England, where the first book was set in India.

‘How is it that you think so much faster in these situations than you do the rest of the time?’ he muttered. ‘The truth is, I’m afraid, Jeremiah, that in these situations I do not think at all.’ He gave a small smile and winced with pain. I tried again to clean the blood from his face. He pushed me away. ‘You are a dreadful sight – not that it seems to deter the ladies.’ He laughed this time and clutched his ribs.

The tone and style is strengthened by the terse sentences, and it all feels very [a:Arthur Conan Doyle|2448|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1289836561p2/2448.jpg] - for the good.

The book is well written, and the action is quite good. The book felt a bit drab about four fifths in, but gained a little momentum towards the end. The first half of the book felt better than the first book entirely.

This is a well-written first novel in a planned series of three, where young William Avery from England appears in India, under The Company, i.e. The East India Company. The year is 1837, and at the start Avery gets orders to follow an older, morose and eccentric man, Blake, in order to find a poet laureate, Mountstuart.

This is an adventure along the lines of Indiana Jones, Agatha Christie, Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle. The language is spot-on and the action is thrilling; the tempo holds throughout the book, and I really wanted to find out what was happening next.

All in all: an adventure, almost veering more towards the young adult way than towards older persons, but it's a well-researched book, recommendable to all who like the above.

I enjoyed that the book provided a look at the way that all three of the cousins compared and contrasted in their reactions to the changes taking place throughout their reigns, but it was occasionally difficult for me to follow the thread of what was happening where as the book jumped from place to place. For me, the extreme amount of detail added to the difficulty, but others may appreciate it.

I must admit that I was disappointed when I started this sequel to The Strangler Vines. One of the things that drew me to the first book of the series was the location - Colonial India. The Infidel Stain opens with Captain William Avery newly returned to Victorian England where he reunites with Jeremiah Blake in London. I've read a ton of period mysteries set in this location and around this same time period. I missed the freshness of a historical fiction mystery set elsewhere. Jem Blake is now a private enquiry agent and he's been tasked to discover the person or persons responsible for a series of ghastly murders. I saw the twist and resolution coming from a mile away. I had hoped that after their experiences together in India, Avery would be a little less whiny and that perhaps Blake would be a little more open with Avery giving him less cause to mope. Alas, that was not to be. I wanted to shake them both on several occasions. Additionally, the audiobook narrator, while still good, seemed to struggle to remember his voices for the two main characters, so their dialog often ran together. Whenever the text called for them to speak in low voices, the narrator whispered and the sound level dropped significantly, making passages impossible to hear while listening in my car. Those few annoyances aside, the book was still well written and engaging. There's a lot of heavy social commentary interwoven in this novel and I felt invested in the characters and the resolution. I will certainly be reading the next in the series, although I haven't decided if I want to purchase the audiobook version.½

I absolutely loved this book. The audio is narrated by Alex Wyndham and he does an incredible job of differentiating the voices of the characters. The story is full of adventure, mystery, tension, and twists. I did guess one of them fairly early, but suspecting the truth didn't negatively impact my enjoyment of the tale. It is well written and compelling, and the characters are fascinating. I look forward to reading or listening to more Blake and Avery mysteries.

An interesting read. A mixture of historical novel, mystery and action novel. As many British novels about British rule in India contrasted with India culture, the story is rich with the contrasts of culture and the mysteries of India.

What a great start to a new series. William Avery is young and not long in Calcutta. He works for the East India Company and is homesick for England. He is very well read and loves the books of Xavier Mountstuart. He spends the evenings in the casino, playing and drinking too much and is therefore heavily in debt. Then he gets an assignment together with Jeremiah Blake to find the lost Mountstuart. What he does not know yet is that he and Blake should be pawn victims for the Company. Blake is a weird guy and often does not talk to Avery, which irritates him a lot. Over time, however, a deep friendship grows between them and both know that they can trust each other blindly. In this story, you learn a lot about life in India in the 1830's. It also shows the inglorious role played by the East India Company for India.
Avery and Blake feel like Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holms. They are in a similar relationship to each other and react very similar.
The story grabbed me from the beginning and I will definitely continue reading this series.

Read this without knowing it was the third of a series. Enjoyed it nonetheless and will now go back and read the first 2 books!

Well paced, good characters with complexities, fallibilities, no easy answers. Interesting that reading in concert with Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism, Ethics in a world of Strangers.