An "invitation to dine" quickly loses a letter as DI John Redfyre returns for his second investigation in the hallowed halls of Cambridge academia. Cambridge, 1924 in early summertime. May Balls, punting, flirting and dancing the tango are the preoccupations of bright young people, but bright young Detective Inspector John Redfyre finds himself mired in multiple murders. One morning, his dog discovers a corpse neatly laid on a tombstone in the graveyard adjoining St. Bede's College. An army greatcoat and well-worn boots suggest the dead man may have been a former soldier, though the empty bottle of brandy and a card bearing the words "An Invitation to Dine" on the victim ring a discordant note. Even more unsettling is the autopsy, which reveals death by strangulation and unusual contents in the stomach from the man's last meal. Redfyre learns that this murder is one of several unsolved cases linked to a secretive and sinister dining club at St. Bede's....

Simla 1922. While the rest of India bakes in the hot season, up in the pine-scented coolness of the Himalayan hills the English have recreated a vision of home. Here are half-timbered houses, amateur theatricals, gymkhanas and a glittering vice-regal court for the socialites. The summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the jazz age. It is toward this country that detective Joe Sandilands is heading as the guest of the governor of Bengal. But when Joe's travelling companion, a Russian opera singer, is shot dead at his side on the road to Simla, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation. As Joe begins to unravel the mystery which has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, he discovers that behind the sparkling facade of Simla lies a trail of murder, vice and blackmail. ### From Publishers Weekly Fully developed characters and a convincing portrayal of time and place lift Cleverly's second historical (after 2002's The Last Kashmiri Rose) featuring Commander Joe Sandilands, a Scotland Yard detective stationed in post-WWI India. Sandilands has a personal stake in catching a cunning murderer, as the victim was struck down just inches away from him as they paused to admire the view from a spot known as Devil's Elbow in Simla, the summer capital of the Raj. Despite his fleeting acquaintance with the murdered man, a noted Russian singer, the sleuth feels compelled to put all his energies into avenging him, a challenge that's compounded when he learns of a nearly identical killing at the same spot a year earlier. The circumstances of that crime lead him to a young, attractive British expat, who's managed to successfully run a major trading house despite numerous personal tragedies. Working with the local superintendent, Sandilands maneuvers through the interlocking threads of Simla's colonial power base, which include a well-protected brothel, a spiritualist and Indian nationalists. The murderer's identity comes as a nice and logical surprise. While the ending suggests that Sandilands may next apply his considerable gifts outside India, the author's talent seems capable of transcending any shift in scene. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Booklist Scotland Yard Commander Joseph Sandilands, a World War I hero, has accepted an invitation to spend his vacation at the guesthouse of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal in Simla, the summer capital of the British Raj. A noted Russian opera singer who will be performing there shares a ride with him from the train station in the governor's car. As they climb the steep mountain road, a sniper kills the singer and Sandilands' vacation turns into an investigation. Working with the police, he discovers that there was an identical shooting a year earlier that remains unsolved. As he learns more about Simla, a transplanted slice of England in the Himalayan hills, he finds a web of blackmail, vice, and other nasty secrets behind the proper British facade. Ms. Cleverly (*The Last Kashmiri Rose* [BKL Ag 02]) deftly transports readers to an exotic locale filled with intrigue, suspense, and characters skilled in the art of deception. This is perfect armchair travel for historical mystery fans. *Barbara Bibel* *Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

In Burgundy, France, in 1926, a famed archaeologist dies a terrible death in a country not his own.…Thus begins CWA Historical Dagger Award winner Barbara Cleverly’s dazzling new mystery novel. And soon aspiring archaeologist Laetitia Talbot will find herself embroiled in a murderous conspiracy centuries in the making. Letty’s joy at snaring a place in the excavation of an ancient church in Burgundy is dimmed by the tragedy of her godfather Daniel’s violent death. But when Letty receives a posthumous encoded message, she begins to believe that Daniel’s death was not a random act. Her investigation into Daniel’s murder sends her on a journey into a country’s remote history…into the orbit of a privileged French family harboring its own damning secret…into ancient Celtic mysteries and one sacred truth kept through the ages. It is an explosive revelation that could rock modern Christianity—and force a killer out of the shadows as a country devastated by one war lays the groundwork for another.…From the Trade Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyDagger Award–winner Cleverly's third Laetitia Talbot mystery falls short of the high standard set by the first in this historical series, The Tomb of Zeus (2007). Talbot, a fiercely independent amateur sleuth in the spirit of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher, is plunged into international intrigue after her godfather, Daniel Thorndon, is stabbed to death in Burgundy in 1926. Before dying, Thorndon managed to mail a coded postcard to Talbot, using a cipher the two had shared when she was much younger. Aided by an improbable bodyguard, a military chaplain who served in WWI, Talbot journeys to France, where she uses her archeological skills to link up with a dig that may enable her to solve the mystery of Thorndon's death. Stock characters abound, like an enigmatic but handsome French nobleman, rather than the original creations who populate Cleverly's Joe Sandilands historical series (Ragtime in Simla, etc.). (Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistCleverly brings readers an engrossing new historical mystery. British archaeologist Laetitia “Letty” Talbot secures a place working on the excavation of an ancient church in Burgundy, France, in 1926. Her happiness is tempered by the fact that her godfather, Daniel Thorndon, died violently while working there. As she works, she realizes that Daniel’s death was not an accident and begins investigating the circumstances. As she delves into the case, she uncovers some of the region’s ancient history and its links to a powerful French family with a shocking secret. She also learns about Celtic mysteries and uncovers a revelation that could have major implications for the future of Christianity. Cleverly’s complex plot and doom-laden atmosphere will appeal to a diverse group of readers, from Da Vinci Code devotees to those who relish the archaeological mysteries of Elizabeth Peters. --Barbara Bibel

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.

India, 1922. In this, the fourth in the acclaimed Joe Sandilands series, Scotland Yard detective Joe 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.

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...

In her acclaimed mysteries set in the age of the British Raj, Barbara Cleverly brilliantly captures a fascinating collision of cultures against a backdrop of jasmine-scented nights and neatly trimmed English gardens. In her gripping new novel, the author of The Last Kashmiri Rose and Ragtime in Simla transports us to the remote and exotic setting of India’s North-West Frontier, where a group of travelers is swept into a spellbinding drama of kidnapping, vengeance, and murder.Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands has been given the unenviable mission of guarding a spirited young American woman with far more wealth than sense. Lily Coblenz, accompanied by a cunning businessman, a woman doctor, and two quarreling military strategists, expects the adventure of a lifetime when she arrives at a remote British outpost. But when the son of a Pathan tribal leader is discovered dead, Sandilands, a decorated war veteran, knows that his mission to protect Lily has suddenly taken a startling new turn that may bring them all to the brink of war. Now, from the far reaches of an empire, Joe Sandilands must separate lies from truths, innocents from killers—and find the one person with a desperate motive for murder and the key to India’s destiny.From Publishers WeeklyDevotees of classic Golden Age whodunits will delight in British author Cleverly's third Joe Sandilands mystery set in India in 1922; it evokes, and in some ways surpasses, the work of Agatha Christie. The resourceful and insightful Sandilands assumes a glorified babysitting assignment when a rich and attractive American heiress expresses a desire to tour India's dangerous northwest frontier with Afghanistan during a period of heightened political tension. The heiress and Sandilands end up at a frontier outpost with a motley collection of companions—a Pathan prince and his kinsman, a female doctor en route to serve the amir ruling Afghanistan, a sleazy entrepreneur, an RAF pilot hoping to gain support for an increased military aerial presence and a veteran civil servant advocating a British retreat. When the prince is found dead, evidence suggesting foul play is suppressed. Sandilands is forced to act on his suspicions when the victim's kinsman takes a hostage and imposes a one-week deadline for a solution to the crime. Cleverly does a masterful job of combining traditional puzzle elements, including false endings and subtle fair-play clues, with convincing period atmosphere and characters with more complexity and sophistication than Christie typically provided. This marvelous historical delivers on the promise of the author's first two mysteries—The Last Kashmiri Rose (2002) and Ragtime in Simla (2003)—and should add to her growing U.S. fan base. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistScotland Yard commander Joe Sandilands never seems to get a real vacation. His third attempt finds him again in India during the Raj, this time near the Afghan border in the northwest. While visiting an old army friend, James Lindsay, Sandilands receives orders to chaperone American heiress Lily Coblenz, who is in search of adventure and the "real" India. The situation at Gor Khatri, a frontier fort, is tense. The fragile peace with the local Pathan tribesmen is broken, a Pathan prince dies, and British hostages are taken. Sandilands and his crew have one week to identify, arrest, and execute the prince's killer and avoid a war. As she did in The Last Kashmiri Rose (2002) and Ragtime in Simla (2003), Cleverly uses her portrayal of life at the fort to capture the essence of the declining British Empire. She also introduces several strong feminist characters who prove that they are more than capable of surviving in the harsh frontier environment. This excellent historical mystery gains immediacy in light of recent events in the region. Barbara BibelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In a land of saffron sunsets and blazing summer heat, an Englishwoman has been found dead, her wrists slit, her body floating in a bathtub of blood and water. But is it suicide or murder? The case falls to Scotland Yard inspector Joe Sandilands, who survived the horror of the Western Front and has endured six sultry months in English-ruled Calcutta. Sandilands is ordered to investigate, and soon discovers that there have been other mysterious deaths, hearkening sinister ties to the present case.Now, as the sovereignty of Britain is in decline and an insurgent India is on the rise, Sandilands must navigate the treacherous corridors of political decorum to bring a cunning killer to justice, knowing the next victim is already marked to die.

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.

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 link 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.

1926, and Joe Sandilands is back from India, enjoying the frantic pleasures of Jazz Age London. Yet, there is a darkness behind all that postwar gaiety. A woman has been discovered bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz. A broken window and missing emerald necklace suggest that it is a burglary gone wrong. But the corpse is that of a much-respected member of the British establishment, Dame Beatrice Joliffe, one of the founders of the Wrens, and so Scotland Yard send Joe to conduct a swift enquiry. Her companion, an ex-chorus girl, falls from Waterloo Bridge at twilight.Two of the Dame's clique of eager young Wrens commit suicide. All these deaths make Joe suspect that Beatrice has been killed by someone close to her but suddenly he finds that the case is closed and he is asked by his superiors to surrender his files. Against the background of the looming General Strike, and pressure from unseen governmental presences he struggles on, picking his way through the...

Praise for the Joe Sandilands series: "In her spellbinding debut mystery, The Last Kashmiri Rose, Barbara Cleverly evokes both the enchantments and the dangers of India during the convulsive later days of the Raj."--The New York Times "Cleverly maintains the high standards set by earlier Sandilands tales, blending a sophisticated whodunit with full-blooded characters and a revealing look at her chosen time and place."--Publishers Weekly, starred review Provence, 1926. Scotland Yard detective Joe Sandilands is on leave, driving his way south to the Riviera while dropping off his niece at an ancient chateau. A troubling crime committed just before their arrival leaves a clear message that more violence is to come. To allay panic, Joe agrees to stay on and root out the guilty person. But, despite Joe's vigilance, a child goes missing and an artist's beautiful young model is murdered in circumstances eerily recreating a six...

Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands is caught off guard one night in 1933 by a phone call from a distressed boy named Jackie Drummond, who just might be the illegitimate son Joe never knew he had. Jackie is in trouble at his Sussex boarding school, where a teacher has been murdered. When Joe gets himself assigned to the investigation, he learns the boarding school case is more complicated than it appears: A frightening number of boys, all from wealthy families, have gone missing over the school's history, and by some coincidence none of the families have followed up on their sons' whereabouts.From the Hardcover edition.

One morning before dawn in the stables of her country estate, Lady Truelove meets a violent death in an encounter with a dangerous horse. Classified as "death by misadventure," this appears a gruesome accident. But Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands suspects foul play--a misgiving he is struggling to separate from his personal grievances toward Sir James Truelove, who is Lady Truelove's widower and the influential academic patron of Dorcas Joliffe, whom Joe one day hopes to marry.Joe enlists old friend and former constable Lily Wentworth to trail James, and finds an ally in a fellow police officer familiar with the Truelove estate. But as the investigation yields surprising secrets about one of England's most powerful families, Joe discovers how little he knows about not only the gilded lives of the moneyed, but also his relationship with Dorcas. Is Joe prepared to risk a future with the girl he loves to uncover the truth behind Lady Truelove's death?From...

Cambridge, 1933. On All Hallows' Eve, in a candlelit pew in ancient All Hallows Church, Doctor Adelaide Hartest witnesses a stranger's dying moments. Adelaide is just in time to hear his final confession: that he has plunged the dagger into his own chest, and that his death will be a suicide, despite its suspicious appearance.But his confession isn't enough to halt an investigation. The victim, it is revealed, is known to Scotland Yard, and his death is a matter of national concern. Assistant Commissioner Joe Sandilands is sent up from London to discover the truth. Thrown into a deadly ring of cloak-and-dagger intrigue and highsociety hedonism, Sandilands chases a phantom killer through Cambridge's aristocracy, intelligentsia, cutting-edge researchers, and a clandestine ring of female spies. What secret was the dead man hiding, and what is at stake?From the Hardcover edition.

Barbara Cleverly, bestselling author of the Joe Sandilands series, introduces an ingenious new sleuth who navigates 1920s Cambridge, a European intellectual capital on the cusp of dramatic change.England 1923: Detective Inspector John Redfyre is a godsend to the Cambridge CID. The ancient university city is at war with itself: town versus gown, male versus female, press versus the police force and everyone versus the undergraduates. Redfyre, young, handsome and capable, is a survivor of the Great War. Born and raised among the city's colleges, he has access to the educated élite who run these institutions, a society previously deemed impenetrable by local law enforcement. When Redfyre's Aunt Hetty hands him a front-row ticket to the year's St. Barnabas College Christmas concert, he is looking forward to a right merrie yuletide noyse from a trumpet soloist, accompanied by the organ. He is intrigued to find that the trumpet player...

Praise for Barbara Cleverly: “Spectacular and dashing, spellbinding.”—The New York Times Book Review“Smashing . . . marvelously evoked.”—Chicago Tribune“A historical mystery that has just about everything.”—Denver Post“Cleverly maintains the high standards set by earlier Sandilands tales, blending a sophisticated whodunit with full-blooded characters and a revealing look at her chosen time and place.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)“Atmospheric . . . intricately plotted.”—Kirkus Reviews“Evocative narrative, sensitive characterizations, artful dialogue, and masterly plottings.”—Library Journal“Cleverly combines a colorful historical setting with a complex plot and well-developed characters.”—Booklist“Delightfully surprising.”—Mystery NewsThis seventh book in the Joe Sandilands murder mystery series is set at the Folies-Bergère, Paris, in December 1926. Joe hurries to the assistance of an old friend who has been arrested for murder there. In a cell at the Quai des Orfèvres, he meets with Sir George Jardine, still in the evening clothes stained with the blood of the dead man. The only other witness, a blonde who was sharing the victim’s box, has vanished. Joe receives assistance from an entirely unexpected quarter—Francine, a young usherette, clawing her way into the world of the Paris Music Hall. She becomes Joe’s guide through this treacherous place, where Joe is sure the killer is lurking.Barbara Cleverly was born in northern England, graduated from Durham University, and now lives in Cambridge. Her debut, The Last Kashmiri Rose, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2002.

With the same flawless storytelling that earned her the CWA Historical Dagger Award, Barbara Cleverly delivers a dazzling new novel. Sweeping us to the exotic island of Crete in 1928, Cleverly introduces a marvelous new heroine: whip-smart and spirited Laetitia Talbot, an aspiring archaeologist with a passion for adventure–and for the mysteries that only the keenest eyes can see.Born into a background of British privilege, Laetitia Talbot has been raised to believe there is no field in which she may not excel. She has chosen a career in the male-dominated world of archaeology, but she approaches her first assignment in Crete the only way she knows how–with dash and enthusiasm. Until she enters the Villa Europa, where something is clearly utterly amiss…Her host, a charismatic archaeologist, is racing to dig up the fabled island’s next great treasure–even, perhaps, the tomb of the King of the Gods, himself. But then a beautiful young woman is found hanged and a golden youth drives his Bugatti over a cliff. From out of the shadows come whispers of past loves, past jealousies, and ancient myths that sound an eerie discord with present events. Letty will need all her determination and knowledge to unravel the secrets beneath the Villa Europa’s roof–and they will lead her into the darkest, most terrifying place of all….From the Trade Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyDagger Award–winner Cleverly takes a break from her acclaimed Joe Sandilands series (The Bee's Kiss, etc.) to launch another 1920s series, this time with an amateur sleuth protagonist. Laetitia Letty Talbot, a neophyte archeologist, turns detective while visiting Theodore Russell, an authority on Crete's history who's determined to find the tomb of the Greek god Zeus on the island. Letty dislikes Theodore but befriends his frail wife, Phoebe. Soon after, Phoebe hangs herself, an act so out of character that Letty joins forces with the local inspector to probe deeper. When the autopsy reveals that Phoebe was pregnant and Theodore could not have been the father, Letty finds a range of potential suspects in the potential fathers-to-be. A witness to the crime eventually turns up to solve the case, making this less of a puzzler than the Sandilands books, but the crisp writing and depth of characterization should please traditional mystery fans. (Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review“Crisp writing and depth of characterization should please traditional mystery fans.”—Publishers Weekly“For readers who love Elizabeth Peters and Jacqueline Winspear and still hanker for Agatha Christie.... [Cleverly] demonstrates a knack for creating full-blown historical puzzlers with complicated plots and engaging characters in unusual settings.”—Library Journal, starred review“Tucked into the wealth of archaeological and historical detail is a full-blown English houseparty murder.... With a spirited, intelligent heroine, a glorious exotic setting, a clever plot, loads of archaeological detail and a touch of romance there's nothing not to like in this crisply told first book of a new series.”—Denver PostFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Ellie Hardwick is a young architect, specialising in ancient buildings. Working for a Suffolk practice, she spends her days amongst the architectural gems of East Anglia - great houses, cathedrals, medieval churches and castles. In her work, she trips over the occasional corpse, ghost or wrong-doing. Architecture has much in common with detective work and Ellie uses her investigative skills to unravel ancient mysteries. An ally in her endeavours is Detective Inspector Richard Jennings, who finds himself grudgingly involved with her problems.