Hist Fic Saturday ~ Dark Clouds Over Nuala by Harriet Steel

On Hist Fic Saturday 

Let's go back to... 1930s Ceylon

Stane Street Press
2017
My thanks to the author for  my copy of this book

Returning to 1930 Ceylon in the company of Inspector Shanti de Silva and his delightful wife, Jane, is rather like becoming reacquainted with old friends, in whose convivial company you enjoy a pleasant afternoon in a delightful setting.

It also sees a welcome return of all the lovely characters we met in the first book and it's a real pleasure to see how they are all progressing, especially, Constable Nadar as he struggles with the pitfalls of new parenthood, and Sergeant Prasanna's rather dangerous entanglement with a young lady from a neighbouring village gives us a rather shadowy side to the story.

The mystery at the heart of the novel is perhaps a little more complex in this second book and I enjoyed watching how all the clues pieced together. As always, Inspector de Silva is a shrewd operator, keeping everything perfectly in control and never giving too much away until all the pieces of the puzzle fit comfortably together.

The author writes well, both in terms of keeping a complicated plot ticking along nicely but also in the way the people and place come vividly to life so that it becomes very easy to imagine the genteel brightness of 1930s Ceylon. The whirl of social activities and the well mannered behaviour of the colonials is in direct contrast with the sinister activities in which Silva finds himself immersed in, especially when his investigation into an alleged suicide turns into something far more complicated.

There is no need to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this second Inspector de Silva mystery however, Trouble in Nuala is such a lovely start to the series that, for greater enjoyment, you would do well to follow the series from the beginning.

You can find out more about the author on her blog

Follow on Twitter @harrietsteel1

Amazon UK

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