The Last Kashmiri Rose

Rating:
Summary: Hurrah for the Raj, what? Bip bip.
Review: I was looking forward to this book, being a sucker for mysteries (or other novels) set in and which give the flavor of exotic locales or times. I've read Kipling's "Kim" I don't know how many times over the decades. I was prepared to like, even love, it and really wanted to, since it seems the start of a new series. Now I'm glad I didn't waste money actually purchasing "Kashmiri Rose", but borrowed instead. I'm only sad for the time lost plowing on, waiting for it to get better. My two * rating is based on three *'s being neutral.

Basically, I find it impossible to get past the awkward prose and stilted dialogue. Everyone, including the author, sounds vaguely pompous, speaking in schoolbook phrases. (The characters who are, I presume, _supposed_ to be pompous sound like caricatures, Nigel Bruce as Watson.) And I honestly don't see a lot to justify the effort of slogging along, either plotwise or in the setting. The author mistakes ritually invoking period detail-words (jargon/slang, brand names, etc.) for evocation of period and place. Simply censing the reader with a haze of 'syces' and 'punkhas' does not paint a picture (at least for those of us young enough not to have been there). For all the attention to some details (for instance, the natural history seems spot on , though it could have been mentioned that the "rare in England and India" Camberwell Beauty butterfly is quite common in between) there is inattention to the details of exposition. For instance, the letter Sandilands finds which one victim was writing to her parents is referred to as "half-finished", but later in the same paragraph, we are told that she "had saved her real news for the end of the letter" ... yet she actually did write it down (p. 43 of the pb edition). A trivial rewrite (whatever became of editors?) could fix this, but it grates.

[This review is based on the first 150 pages; I simply cannot bring myself to waste more time by reading further. As to the "brilliant plotting", quite a few pages ago I had a hunch as to the villain, but thought it was maybe too obvious ... so just for fun, this very moment, I skipped to the penultimate chapter, and lo and behold, this obvious suspect was indeed the fiend. Not that I even particularly enjoy a whodunnit that fools me, but this was pathetic.]

Interestingly enough, relating to the comment of a previous reviewer who recommended the "Mamur Zapt" series instead, one of that series is in my short bedside stack for future reading. Given their opinion of "Kashmiri Rose", I hope I'm in for a treat. Jolly, what?

Added note: I did read Michael Pearce's "The Mamur Zapt & The Return of the Carpet". It was as day and night compared to "Kashmiri Rose." Literate, engaging, well plotted -- do yourself a favor and check out this series instead!

Rating:
Summary: Can't put it down!
Review: I've just finished this and I'm starting right over
at the beginning. This brilliantly-plotted novel had
me turning the pages right down to the last
breath-catching wriggle. I know who did it and - more
importantly - why - but I'm treating myself to a
second helping.
The Indian setting is colourfully captured and the
characters convincing and sympathetic, the whole
captured in a great style - Cleverly manages to be at
once light but authoritative. Her dialogue is
authentic and right for the period (sadly, I'm old
enough to know!) What a treat to hear that clipped,
literate, 1920's style!
The hero-detective, Joe Sandilands, is a refreshing
change from the cops we have gotten used to over the last
few years; Cleverly allows him to be charming and
principled and he comes without the heavy baggage of a
failing personal life. More in the pipe-line, I hope?

Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: Liked it alot, just ordered the next 2 from amazon, hope they are as good. Is joe sandylands straight? wish there was guys like that here

Rating:
Summary: Ordinary
Review: My copy of "The Last Kashmiri Rose" stated that the author won a prize for the story outline and then went on to write it up as a novel. Unfortunately, I don't think it has progressed beyond the story outline stage. Cleverly's writing is flat. She has all the right words for India, but I didn't feel myself there. Her characters talk, but they don't come alive and have no real personality. The ending should have been dramatic and shocking, but instead was tedious and even faintly silly. Certainly the plot was intriguing, but without the writing skill to bring it alive it just didn't have the interest or impact it should have had as a story. In addition, some of the motivations of the main characters when it came to personal matters (Joe, Nancy, Andrew, Uncle George) struck me as very strange, whereas a better writer might have made it believable. Joe Sandilands, the hero of the tale, himself is little more than a cipher to move the plot along. The two flashes of personality he has are that he is uncomfortable with British treatment of Indians and that he won't hesitate for as much as a second when it comes to an affair that, for all he knows, has the potential to ruin his investigation of a deadly serious matter.
Despite the gentle mockery of Agatha Christie found in this book, Cleverly has the same tendency towards old lady wish-fulfillment romance (also a failing of Ellis Peters) - but unfortunately not the same degree of writing skill.
My review sounds pretty negative, doesn't it? But it all comes down to what you want from a book. I personally prefer really good writing from authors, even for crime novels; something more than clever ideas. But if you just want clever ideas and an easy read, you may enjoy "The Last Kashmiri Rose" a lot. This is Cleverley's first book, I understand. I hope her writing skills evolve to match her plotting abilities.