by A. M. Stuart
Publisher: Oportet Press, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
An important visitor casts a shadow of darkness and death over Singapore.
Harriet Gordon, newly settled in her new role as a teacher at a girls’ school in Singapore, faces uncertainty in her budding relationship with Robert Curran, who has just returned from months in Kuala Lumpur. Curran’s expected promotion turns sour when the position is given to an old adversary from his Scotland Yard days.
The arrival of the Colonial foreign secretary, Sir Henry Cunningham, revives memories of one of Curran’s unresolved cases. The death of a schoolgirl at a lavish ball, hosted by the Governor in honour of the visitor, brings Curran into direct conflict with his new superior officer. When he confides his suspicions to Harriet, she inadvertently betrays his trust, threatening his already shaky career.
With their relationship on the brink of irreparable damage, a second death changes the course of the investigation. Can Harriet and Curran bring justice to a grieving family and emerge from this ordeal with their connection intact?
Delve into the captivating world of the Harriet Gordon mysteries. Grab your copy today for a tale of intrigue and suspense set in the tropical heat of colonial Singapore.
Review
by Margaret Walsh
Agony in Amethyst is the fifth book in the Harriet Gordon detective series, which is set in Singapore during the early part of the 20th century. The main characters are the widow, Harriet Gordon, and a former Scotland Yard detective, now a detective with the Straits Settlement Police Force, Inspector Robert Curran. All of the supporting characters are well-rounded and interesting, but I found the character of Curran’s sister Samrita, the most interesting. She felt really vibrant and alive to me.
I found myself getting lost in the plot. So much so, that I pretty much read the book in one sitting. Something that is quite rare for me to do. As a crime reader I found the book ticked all the boxes. A complex crime with multiple suspects, interesting characters, and a well thought out plot. The crimes made sense within the setting, something that does not always happen with historical crime fiction.
The historical fiction reader in me was delighted by the richness of detail of both the time and the place. Ms Stuart’s research is excellent. So much so that the book transported me to exotic Singapore in 1911. The central theme of the book, which I cannot really go into without spoiling the book for readers, is something that some people tend to think of as a “modern crime” but, in reality, is probably as old as time itself. In Ms Stuart’s hands it is handled deftly, and with great sympathy.
Another thing Ms Stuart handles well is grief. Often in crime fiction the grief of the victim’s family and friends is either overplayed or simply ignored. My heart was aching reading some sections of the book. The grief and the loss were handled beautifully.
I had not read any of this series before, but, having read Agony in Amethyst, I shall be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series. Highly recommended.