Barbara Cleverly – författare

Simla 1922. The summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the jazz age. Commander Joe Sandilands is looking forward to spending a month here in the cool of the Himalayan hills as the guest of Sir George Jardine, the Governor of Bengal. When Joe''s travelling companion, a Russian opera singer, is shot dead at his side in the back of the Governor''s car on the road up to Simla, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation.Confronted by the mystery of an identical unsolved killing a year before, Joe realizes that Sir George''s hospitality comes at a price. Behind the sparkling façade of social life in Simla he finds a trail of murder, vice and blackmail. Someone in this close-knit community has a secret and the nearer Joe comes to uncovering it, the nearer he comes to his own death.

A compilation of the first four books in the suspenseful and atmospheric Joe Sandilands Series . . . The Last Kashmiri RoseIndia 1922. The wives of officers in the Bengal Greys have been dying violently, one every year and each in March. The only link between them is the bunch of small red roses that appear on their graves on the anniversary of their deaths. In order to help solve these mysterious deaths, the Governor of Bengal calls on the reluctant help of Joe Sandilands, Scotland Yard detective and war hero. Joe soon learns that the deaths are indeed connected and that the series has not yet run its course . . . But who will be the recipient of the next Kashmiri rose? Ragtime in SimlaSimla 1922. The summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the jazz age. Joe Sandilands is looking forward to spending a month in the cool of the Himalayan hills as the of the Governor of Bengal. But when Joe''s travelling companion is shot dead in the back of the Governor''s car, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation. Confronted by the mystery of an identical unsolved killing a year before, Joe realizes that the Governor''s hospitality comes at a price. Behind the sparkling façade of social life in Simla he finds a trail of murder, vice and blackmail. Someone in this close-knit community has a secret and the nearer Joe comes to uncovering it, the nearer he comes to his own death.The Damascened BladeThe North-West Frontier, 1922. On secondment from Scotland Yard, Joe is spending a fortnight with his old army friend, James Lindsay. An uneasy peace is in operation with the Afghans but into this already-delicate situation is injected an ill-assorted group of visitors to the fort. After a skirmish which results in the death of a Pathan prince and the taking of hostages, Joe and his companion James are given seven days in which to identify, arrest and execute the killer before the frontier erupts into war. Drawing on all his courage and detective skills Joe must find out who the murderer is before more bloody deaths occur, the legacy of a bitter feud with its roots hidden deep in the past.The Palace TigerIndia, 1922. Joe Sandilands arrives in the princely state of Ranipur at the request of the Maharajah, an old ally of the British. The Maharajah is dying, and the succession is unclear. The death of his first son, while panther-wrestling, is suspicious, but as Joe begins to investigate a second son dies dramatically right before his eyes. With only the youngest, aged 12, now left to succeed, can Joe ensure his survival? In the glittering and luxurious setting of the court with its array of powerful, scheming characters, Joe must find his way through the maze of intrigue to trap, at last, the palace tiger.

At dawn one morning in 1933, an amateur dowsing team digging the banks of the Thames for precious metals unearths the body of a young woman with a missing toe and a priceless gold coin in her mouth.

The case falls on Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard Joe Sandilands'' turf, but he''s been given another assignment—and a very high-profile one. London is hosting a historic global economic conference to try to solve the global Depression, and political tensions are running very high, as very influential participants are starting to take positions allied with or staunchly against the rapidly militarizing Germany. Sandilands'' job is to protect and keep an eye on the visiting American senator Cornelius Kingstone, right-hand man to President Roosevelt, throughout the conference.

When a strange set of coincidences links the river bank body to the senator, Joe realizes his assignment is much bigger than he''d thought, and that Senator Kingstone is caught up in a very dangerous game—one that might cost not just one but thousands of lives.

On his return from India, Commander Joe Sandilands, now adept at the arts of dynamic diplomacy, finds himself up to his neck in a tricky political situation. A war-weary London is reeling from IRA atrocities and Joe is further plagued by the machinations of a spy-ring being run under his nose by a Russian emigree princess. When a war hero is gunned down and the life of an even more popular Englishman threatened, Joe knows he only has days to root out the woman who is behind the killings: Irish? Russian? Or somebody quite other?With the aid of the proposed victim who offers himself as bait, and the services of a woman police constable, Joe discovers that the murderer''s motive is not political but much more devious and deranged. And when the mask comes off, the killer''s identity shocks even the battle-hardened commander.Praise for Barbara Cleverly:''Clevery''s (novel) evokes and in some way surpasses the work of Agatha Christie'' Publishers Weekly''The atmosphere of the dying days of the Raj is colourfully captured'' Sunday Telegraph''A great blood and guts blockbuster'' Guardian''Spectacular and dashing. Spellbinding'' New York Times Book Review''Stellar... as always'' New York Times Book Review''Atmospheric... intricately plotted'' Kirkus Review

It is India 1922 and the wives of officers in the Bengal Greys have been dying violently, one each year and always in March. The only link between the bizarre but apparently accidental deaths is the bunches of small red roses that appear on the women''s graves.When a fifth wife is found with her wrists cut in a bath of blood the Govenor rejects the verdict of suicide and calls in Joe Sandilands, an ex-soldier and Scotland Yard Detective. It becomes clear to Joe that the deaths are, indeed, a series of murders and they are have not yet run their course.Who will be the recipient of the next - and last - Kashmiri Roses? As he discovers the shocking truth Joe must work fast to unmask a killer whose motives are rooted in the dark history of India itself.

Joe Sandilands has been despatched to France to stay as the guest of a glamorous French war-widow on her Champagne estate. The widow is determined that Joe should support her claim that a mysterious shell-shocked soldier, suffering from amnesia and a loss of speech is her husband. The problem is that four other claimants have identified him differently, and his doctor suspects he is an English soldier.Joe decides to investigate the four claimants and picks his way through a tangle of lies, deceit, and manipulation, discovering that each of the four has an undeclared motive for claiming the unknown soldier. He uncovers a cleverly concealed murder committed during the war years and during this pursuit he finds out who the soldier really is. The discovery presents him with an even greater dilemma, he must not only to solve a killing in the past, but avert a tragedy in the future.Praise for Barbara Cleverly''s Previous Novels''A delight'' The Observer for Folly du Jour''Colourful historical detail with a modern rendition of the classic mystery novel'' The Observer.''Cleverly''s (novel) evokes and in some ways surpasses, the work of Agatha Christie.'' Publishers Weekly''A well-plotted novel... The atmosphere of the dying days of the Raj is colourfully captured.'' Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph''The historical background is as fascinating as the murder. Stiff upperlip soldiers, American heiresses, handsome Afghan tribesmen - they are all here in spades. A great blood and guts blockbuster.'' Guardian''Solidly plotted throughout, with lots of energy and all period accoutrements up to scratch and true to the Raj.'' Literary Review