Ragtime in Simla

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 fa ade 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.

“Intelligent, intriguing and splendidly atmospheric. - HatchardsHighly entertaining - Literary ReviewFast moving . . . lively characters with a vivid description of the way of life of the British Raj. Thoroughly enjoyable. - The Good Book Guide”

Intelligent, intriguing and splendidly atmospheric. - Hatchards

Highly entertaining - Literary Review

Fast moving . . . lively characters with a vivid description of the way of life of the British Raj. Thoroughly enjoyable. - The Good Book Guide

Barbara Cleverly was born in the north of England and is a graduate of Durham University. A former French teacher, her Joe Sandilands series was inspired by the contents of an old trunk in her attic. She now lives in the middle of Cambridge.

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 fa ade 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.

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