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.

Commander Joe Sandilands is looking forward to spending a month in Simla, the summer capital of the British Raj. But behind the sparkling facade of social life in Simla he finds a trail of murder, vice and blackmail.

Enjoyable little effort, one of a series it appears judging by the back page. Just out of the first world war and a visit to Simla, and there's investigations into the murder of a newly arrived international singing star. ( )

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. ( )

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 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.



( )

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, 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. ( )

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 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. ( )