In The Satapur Moonstone, being female is an advantage when Perveen is asked to represent the ruling British and sort out a disagreement between the widow of a maharaja and her late husband’s mother. The late maharaja had died a year or so ago of cholera, and his thirteen-year-old heir mauled to death on a hunting trip not long after. Two terrible tragedies in one family - my crime-novel antennae are already twitching.
The two maharani are at loggerheads over the best options for the younger prince's education. Satapur is tucked away in the mountains, and the widows are in purdah, so no male visitors are allowed within the walls of their palace.
Perveen makes the arduous journey by train, then in the back of a mail cart, and finally in a palanquin (a litter carried by four bearers and considered a safe bet through a forest which is home to tigers and leopards!). Fortunately she gets to relax at the house of British agent, Colin Sandringham, whose home is also frequented by some interesting guests, and these add to the the number of possible suspects.
But up at the palace, stories of curses, tragic accidents and power plays make reaching an informed and agreeable decision about the young prince’s future impossible. It doesn’t help when Perveen begins to fear for the boy’s safety and eventually her own. The tension builds to a suitably exciting showdown, where the killer threatens our heroine, shots are fired, while some long-suppressed secrets are revealed.
I really enjoyed the character of Perveen, as well as the exotic location, the politics of India under the British Raj, just as Ghandi is beginning to stir things up – even the role of women in this very traditional society gets a look-in. The Perveen Mistry series in one I shall enjoy returning to, and as for reading them in order, yes - probably a good idea. There is a hint of unfinished business at the end of The Satapur Moonstone, and I am keen to find out what happens next. Roll on Book Three.
Perveen makes the arduous journey by train, then in the back of a mail cart, and finally in a palanquin (a litter carried by four bearers and considered a safe bet through a forest which is home to tigers and leopards!). Fortunately she gets to relax at the house of British agent, Colin Sandringham, whose home is also frequented by some interesting guests, and these add to the the number of possible suspects.
But up at the palace, stories of curses, tragic accidents and power plays make reaching an informed and agreeable decision about the young prince’s future impossible. It doesn’t help when Perveen begins to fear for the boy’s safety and eventually her own. The tension builds to a suitably exciting showdown, where the killer threatens our heroine, shots are fired, while some long-suppressed secrets are revealed.
I really enjoyed the character of Perveen, as well as the exotic location, the politics of India under the British Raj, just as Ghandi is beginning to stir things up – even the role of women in this very traditional society gets a look-in. The Perveen Mistry series in one I shall enjoy returning to, and as for reading them in order, yes - probably a good idea. There is a hint of unfinished business at the end of The Satapur Moonstone, and I am keen to find out what happens next. Roll on Book Three.
Posted by JAM
Catalogue link: The Satapur Moonstone
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