second of her books that I have now read - realised in once she started describing the tiger hunt and I thought "I've read this scene before......." (In "Ragtime in Simla"). Not exactly the same, and I suppose that many of the tiger hunts in upper class Raj era India were all much the same, so poor comparisons cannot be necessarily drawn. It would be interesting to know if she presents a variation of this set piece in any of her other books where by I would then think she was being a little lazy or uninspired.[return][return]Anyway, the book itself is enjoyable as Commander Joe from Scotland Yard, having remained in India for longer than his planned 6 months, is sent out to investigate the deaths of two of the three sons of the Maharajah, who himself is dying and therefore his succession is in doubt. Some of the characters are lightly drawn, and tend to make short appearances, only to disappear again, making for quite a lightweight set of potential suspects when it comes to a head. ( )

A mystery set in India, although the main character is British. I found the conclusion to be lacking a "bad guy" as every mystery should have. There were perhaps too many "bad guys" and as a result the characters were a bit weak. The story was complicated, with so many different twists that it was not engrossing. Even as a historical fiction goes, I felt that it got too bogged down with everything the author was trying to convey. ( )

A good one with succession problems in a state, along with man-eating tigers and airplanes. ( )

Sandilands encounters what appears to be death by tiger as he visits Ranipur with Sir George. They go on a tiger hunt. However, all is not quite as it seems. There is a lot more than meets the eye with politics in British-occupied India and with other motivations. Sandilands, of course, is able to get to the heart of the matter. This is not my favorite installment of the series. At times, I had trouble focusing on the mystery. It simply was not as well written or captivating as earlier installments. Some characters are not as fully developed as they could be. It's not bad, but it just did not live up to the others. ( )

Intricate plot. A mix of politics, greed and duty pull the story along. Our hero is sent to untangle the mysteries surrounding the deaths of the two elder sons of a dying Raj. Written like that sounds boring and cliché. It's not. Cleverly at her most average is very good. India, in the 1920's, under British rule even if there is a thin veil of independence for some Indian states is shown with vivid colours and a love for the land that can't be mistaken.

The characters are a bit on the thin side, the villains are plenty and predictable, hence the 3 stars. But still it worth a read. ( )