Cold Case in Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 10) by Harriet Steel #HistoricalFiction #Mystery @harrietsteel1

Posted in Book Review, Cosy Mystery, Historical Fiction by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Kindle Edition

Category: Cosy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Book Review

It’s January 1940 and the day of Nuala’s famous motor rally. Excitement is at full throttle, but matters take a dark turn when that same evening, human remains are found buried in a lonely corner of a local tea plantation.
Inspector de Silva has a cold case to solve. Add a playboy racing driver, a missing Bugatti and a family scandal hushed up years ago into the mix and he has plenty to think about. You can be sure that whatever happened in the past, now de Silva’s in the driving seat, you’re in for a gripping ride.

The story opens as Inspector Shanti de Silva and his wife, Jane are attending Nuala’s famous car rally, the Hill Country Challenge held every four years, along with Archie and Florence Clutterbuck and Charlie Frobisher and his lady friend. This was de Silva’s third time at the rally but his appreciation of the array of wonderful cars, including a Bentley, Maserati and Bugatti, has not diminished. After the excitement of the race Charlie treated them all to a round of cocktails.

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22Dec2020

High Wire in Nuala (The Inspector de Silva mysteries Book 9) by @harrietsteel1 #HistFic #BookReview for #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Cosy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Murder/Mystery by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Kindle Edition

Category: Historical Fiction, Cosy Mystery, Book Review

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Much to the delight of the locals, a colourful Russian circus rolls into Nuala, but the fun ends abruptly when, on the opening night, a tragic accident takes place.

Shanti de Silva and his wife, Jane are among the crowd to witness the accident. Or was it an accident? Inspector de Silva senses murder, and soon, he’s juggling with the evidence. Will the trail lead to the circus’s dashing stunt rider and master of horse, Alexei Goncharov, or to Alexei’s brother Boris, its boisterous ringmaster?

The racecourse in Nuala was busy, but not for the racing. The Russian circus had come to town with its colourful wagons and big top. Excitement had built with the appearance of posters advertising trapeze artists, jugglers and high wire, even a snake charmer—de Silva’s dislike of the reptiles causing him to shudder at the thought—along with several other acts.

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28Apr2020

Taken in Nuala (Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 8) by @harrietsteel1 #HistoricalFiction #CosyMystery #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Cosy Mystery, Historical Fiction by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Published: April 2020

Category: Historical Fiction, Cosy Mystery, 1930s Ceylon, Book Review

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When an American millionaire and his glamorous daughter visit Nuala, the splendour they bring to the town’s high society is soon tragically tarnished by a vicious crime. With many avenues of inquiry to follow, including the involvement of a mysterious fortune teller, Inspector de Silva will need all his resources to unravel the evidence and avert further disaster.

A grand party is taking place at The Residence, hosted by the assistant government agent and Inspector Shanti de Silva’s superior, Archie Clutterbuck and his wife, Florence, raising funds for the orphanage and introducing their American guests, the Tankertons and their daughter, Phoebe. Inspector de Silva and his wife Jane join the list of invitees. Also staying at The Residence is Hank O’Halloran and his daughter Marie.

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20Dec2019

Rough Time in Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #7) by Harriet Steel #HistFic #BookReview #RBRT @harrietsteel1 #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Murder by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Kindle Edition

Category: Historical Fiction, Cozy Murder Mystery, Book Review

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Inspector de Silva’s peaceful evening is disrupted when he is called up to the Royal Nuala Golf Club where a wealthy member has been found brutally murdered.

Is this a bungled robbery, a private feud, or does the killer have another motive that will cause them to strike again?

Inspector Shanti de Silva and his wife Jane, were looking forward to an evening at the cinema but an unexpected telephone call from Doctor Hebden meant they had to cancel their plans.

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12Apr2019

Passage From Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #6) by @harrietsteel1 #Historical #CosyMystery #RBRT #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Cosy Mystery, Crime, Historical Fiction by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Kindle Edition

Category: Historical, Crime, Fiction, Cosy Mystery, Book Review

Inspector de Silva and Jane embark on a cruise to Egypt to visit the pyramids, excited at the prospect of two weeks of sun, sea and relaxation. With Nuala, and de Silva’s duties as a police officer, far behind them, what can possibly spoil their plans?

Passage From Nuala takes Inspector Shanti de Silva and his wife Jane on a long awaited holiday. Jane wants to see the pyramids very much and they were both looking forward to a relaxing cruise to Egypt, taking in the Suez canal on their journey.

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20Aug2018

Fatal Finds in Nuala (An Inspector de Silva Mystery) by @harrietsteel1 #CosyMystery set in 1930s Ceylon #RBRT

Posted in #RBRT, Book Review, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Historical Fiction, Thriller by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Published: July 2018 by Stane Street Press

Category: Historical Fiction, Cosy Mystery, Murder, Crime, Book Review

In this fourth instalment of the Inspector de Silva mysteries, it is monsoon season in the Hill Country. One stormy night, a ghostly encounter on a lonely road leads de Silva into a case of murder, and a mystery that stretches back to Ceylon’s distant past. To uncover the truth, he will have to face death and his inner demons.

Inspector Shanti de Silva is already regretting the whim that made him arrange a visit to see his colleague Inspector Singh in Hatton during the monsoon season.

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4Jan2018

Cooking Up Crime by Harriet Steel @harrietsteel1 ~ available on @instafreebie ~ cozy crime meets sci-fi

Posted in Books, Cozy Mystery, Promo, Reading, Sci-fi, Spotlight by Cathy

Harriet Steel, author of the series of books featuring Shanti de Silva, set in 1930’s Ceylon, has a new book available through Instafreebie. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, all you need to do is sign up for Harriet’s newsletter and the book is yours.

Cooking Up Crime ~ cozy crime meets sci-fi in this light-hearted tale of revenge, reading and cakes.

Far ahead in the twenty-second century, libraries as we know them are a thing of the past. In this brave new world, they’ve been replaced by audio-visual pods that deliver a full sensory experience, so much safer that all those germ-ridden bundles of paper people used to read. But to the despair of Jane, who’s worked in a library for thirty years, some borrowers aren’t as grateful as they should be. Her dissatisfaction increases when glamorous Sarah is appointed manager over her head. Surely, the job should have been Jane’s? Then she discovers that Sarah has a dark secret. It’s payback time…

15Dec2017

Offstage in Nuala (Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 3) by @harrietsteel1 #Historical Fiction set in Ceylon #RBRT #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel

Kindle Edition

Category: Historical Fiction, Cosy Mystery, Book Review

In this third instalment of The Inspector de Silva Mysteries, there’s great excitement when a professional theatre company comes to Nuala. However matters take a dark turn when the company’s actor manager is murdered. Inspector de Silva has a new case to solve and he has to consider some very unpalatable motives for the crime. He will need all his persistence, coupled with his wife, Jane’s, invaluable help to unmask the villain of the piece.

I’m enjoying this very entertaining and colourful series very much and it was lovely to get reacquainted with the engaging and genteel Inspector Shanti de Silva and his charming wife, Jane. Not to mention Sergeant Prasanna and Constable Nadar. De Silva met Jane in Colombo, where he began his career as a police officer, and Jane was a governess. When they married, De Silva was offered and accepted the position of Inspector in the much more pleasant and quieter small hill town of Nuala.

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30Jun2017

Dark Clouds Over Nuala by Harriet Steel #HistFic @harrietsteel1 #RBRT #FridayReads 1930s Ceylon

Posted in Book Review, Books, Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Murder/Mystery, Reading by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel
Published: May 2017 by Stane Street Press
Category: Cozy Murder/Mystery, Historical Fiction, Book Review, Books, Reading

Set in Ceylon in the 1930s, this second book in the Inspector de Silva Mysteries offers another colourful, relaxing read as the arrival in the hill town of Nuala of the heir to an English earldom signals more trouble for the hapless Inspector de Silva and a new mystery to solve. Throw in a mega-rich Romanian count, his glamorous countess and an enigmatic British army officer and the scene is set for an entertaining mystery.

Inspector Shanti de Silva and his English wife, Jane, were attending Nuala’s very fashionable horse racing event, the Empire Cup, along with the assistant government agent, Archie Clutterbuck and his wife, Florence. William and Lady Caroline Petrie, were also in attendance with visiting family. The Wynne-Talbots, Ralph and Helen, were on their way from Australia, via Ceylon, to England to visit Ralph’s grandfather. Ralph is in line for the title of the 14th Earl of Axford and as his grandfather is not in the best of health, it seems he may inherit the title sooner rather than later. Continue reading →

16Oct2016

Trouble In Nuala (The Inspector de Silva Mysteries Book 1) by Harriet Steel #RBRT Set in 1930s Ceylon

Posted in Cozy Mystery, History by Cathy

Author: Harriet Steel
Published: August 2016 by Stane Street Press
Category: Mystery, Historical

When Inspector Shanti de Silva moves with his English wife Jane to his new post in the sleepy hill town of Nuala he anticipates a more restful life than police work in the big city entails.

The story is set in 1930’s Ceylon when it was still a British colony. Inspector Shanti de Silva has left the big, bustling city of Colombo behind with no regrets. He and his English wife, Jane, an ex governess, have settled in the much more peaceful town of Nuala where de Silva runs the local police station with the aid of Sergeant Prasanna and Constable Nadar. Continue reading →