"Revenge in Rubies" is a mystery set in August 1910 in Singapore. This book is the second book in a series, but you don't need to read the first one to follow this story and this story didn't spoil the previous mystery.

The detective asked good questions, looked carefully for evidence, and was able to connect the clues well. Harriet was friends with many of the suspects, so she was able to gather some information for him that the detective couldn't get. She's also observant and intelligent. There were enough people who had both motive and opportunity that I wasn't completely sure of whodunit until the very end, though there were certainly clues pointing toward whodunit.

The main characters were complex, interesting people. I cared about what happened to them, and they reacted realistically to events. The historical and setting details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. These details brought the story alive in my imagination. There were no sex scenes. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting historical mystery.

A Brutal Murder in 1910 Singapore

Harriet Gordon and her brother, the Reverend Julian, are urgently summoned to the battalion commander’s house by his sister, Priscilla. They arrive to discover the unthinkable. The much younger wife of the commander has been brutally murdered.

Inspector Robert Curran of the Straits Settlements Police Force is called to investigate. He is also Harriet’s boss since she is a typist for the force. From the beginning it’s clear that the military want to close ranks and keep a civilian from investigating the murder. However, since his wife was a civilian, the commander has to allow Curran to continue the investigation.

The investigation brings up troubling incidents from the past for both Harriet and Curran. She is forced to face her unpleasant experiences as a suffragette in London. Curran, because of his conflict with one of the officers, finds his father’s past coming to haunt him.

This is a delightful historical mystery. Harriet is a strong woman. She doesn’t thrust herself into the case, but her quiet determination helps to bring on the resolution. Curran is equally determined. He doesn’t want to let the military close ranks fearing that the crime will not be vigorously pursued.

The setting is what drew me to this novel. Singapore is exotic and beautifully described from the heat to the colonial lifestyle. This is the second book in the series. It was easy to read as a standalone, but if you want more about the character’s backgrounds, I recommend reading the first book.

I received this book from Berkley Publishing Group for this review.

1910 Singapore. Inspector Robert Curran is called in to investigate the death of Sylvie Nolan, the new and much younger wife of Lt. Colonel John Nolan. Mrs Harriet Gordon becomes involved as she is friend to his sister Priscilla Nolan. But what could possibly be the motive of someone who was so well liked. But then another murder occurs. What is the possible connection between the deaths, will this be the last one.
An entertaining well-written historical mystery, with its cast of well-developed characters. A story which can easily be read as a standalone book
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Revenge in Rubies is a historical mystery set in Singapore in 1910. It is the second in the Harriet Gordon series. Sylvie Nolan is found bludgeoned with a candlestick in her bedroom. Sylvie was newly married to Colonel Nolan of the South Sussex Regiment.

While Inspector Curran has to deal with the closed, often antagonistic members of the South Sussex Regiment who would rather handle the matter in-house, Harriot faces her own demons when asked to speak about her experiences as a suffragist in England.

This series has a great sense of time and place. The book is well-paced and well-plotted. The mystery is interesting and complicated. There are many suspects, clues, lies, and red herrings, I look forward to more from this author in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending me a copy for review.

An historical murder mystery set in colonial Singapore. In 1910, Singapore was still a British colony principally ruled by the British Army community. When the regiment commander's young wife is murdered, the military community closes ranks and refuses to cooperate with the police.

As Inspector Robert Curran works against time and the regiment to solve the murder, Harriet Gordon, our tenacious typist, is tasked with soothing emotional family members. But Harriet's talents include more than excellent typing and she picks up clues that Inspector Curran uses to bring justice for the commander's wife.

This is the second in the Harriet Gordon series yet reads fine as a stand alone. BUT, this is an excellent historical series and the first book gave us some early background on the recurring characters. If, like me, you are adding this series to your TBR list, pick up the first one and treat yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free digital advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this light, engaging mystery set in Singapore in 1910. Harriet Gordon the protagonist is entertaining and intelligent. She and her employer, Inspector Robert Curran together solve the mystery of a brutal murder that's tied to events that took place years earlier. I definitely recommend this book to someone looking for a light, entertaining mystery. One critique: I don't think that the final chapter (chapter 31 in the ARC) added anything at all - it was an anti-climax.

Fabulous historical Singapore mystery!

Once again Harriet Gordon becomes involved in murder. The British Crown Colony of Singapore, 1910 —the young wife of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan of the First Battalion South Sussex Infantry is found battered to death in her bedroom. Inspector Robert Curran is called to investigate. Curran it seems has personal conflict with the regiment and some of its members. He runs up against the disdain of the forces, the closing of the battalion's ranks, family secrets and the Battalion's prejudices, even as suicides follow Sylvie Nolan's death. It seems “Honorem ante omnia” "Honor before all", the regimental motto, stymies much of his investigation. Harriet is swept up into Curran's search, particularly due to her social connections, and her position as a typist at the Straits Settlements Police Force. She comes to know Curran's companion Li An. An interesting development that I hope moves into something special. Harriet comes face to face with colonial social prejudices. Her forgetfulness of how these play out does cause embarrassment for Li An and no little anger on Harriet's part.
The involvement of the military opens us to more of Curran's background, including a mystery about his father that begins to take on its own life. Intriguing!
Harriet confronts the situation that led to her coming to join her brother in Singapore in an unexpected way. Her painful suffragette experience comes to the fore.
I'm really enjoying the building of the characters and background to this series. I'm so looking forward to the next offering. Another stimulating read!

A Random House - Ballantine ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

In 1910 Singapore, Sylvie was the wife of Colonel John Nolan. When she is discovered bludgeoned to death, her sister-in-law Priscilla summons Harriet Gordon and her brother Reverend Julian Edwards for emotional support. Although Sylvie was considerably younger than her husband, the family paints a picture of the perfect hostess and companion for Nolan but further enquiries reveal a very different woman. Sylvie was a flirt who had eyes for one of Nolan’s young officers. On the night of her death, her husband and the officers of his regiment all attended a dinner that went late into the night. During that time only one officer was called away when a fight broke out between two enlisted men. This was the same officer who was devoted to Sylvie. When an autopsy reveals that Sylvie was pregnant he becomes the chief suspect.

Inspector Curran has not ruled out Nolan, who was aware of her infidelity. Pris had supposedly taken something to make her sleep but she also harbored resentment against Sylvie. Not only had she taken Pris’ place as Nolan’s hostess, but the officer in question had been courting Pris before her arrival. Among the items retrieved from the crime scene was a button from a military uniform. When a second body is discovered with a matching button it leads to a closer look at Sylvie’s past. Curran discovers that back in England Sylvie was connected to another death of a young officer.

Beside assisting her brother in his position as the head of a school, Harriet is also a typist for the police, working for Inspector Curran.. While she is not a part of his investigation, he values her observations and insights and she can not help but get involved. While they have a good working relationship, they are also friends and she does not hesitate to help, even when it is not requested.

A.M. Stuart’s novel paints a true picture of the time. It reflects the hierarchy in the military as well as the prejudices against the common residents of Singapore. Curran was given the case because Sylvie was a civilian, causing resentment among some of the officers. His job was made even more difficult when his Asian officers were refused interviews or co-operation. Harriet’s story also looks at women’s suffrage. She is asked to speak to a group of ladies about her experiences in London, where she was arrested during a demonstration, engaged in a hunger strike and was force-fed to a point where it left her damaged and near death. Even now she fears that revealing her story could lead to the loss of her job with the police and her brother’s position.

This is a mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end while reminding you how far we have come in some areas and how far we still have to go in others. This is a highly recommended historical mystery and I thank NetGalley and Berkeley Publishers for providing this for my review.

With Harriet Gordon accompanying her employer, Inspector Robert Curran, to the home of Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan to provide comfort to the family of the victim, she had no idea of the horror and grim circumstances which would confront them. Nor what it would lead to. The brutal murder of Nolan’s young wife was a shock which rippled through the community and Curran’s job would be a tedious and drawn out one.

With the military closing ranks on all concerned and Curran finding his way stymied at every turn, his intuition kept him directed at what he was sure of. But with malaria once again taking hold of Curran, Harriet followed her (often irrational) instincts, finding snippets of information to help along the way. When another body was found, Curran knew he needed to hurry the investigation along before it was too late…

Revenge in Rubies is the 2nd in the Harriet Gordon Mystery series by Aussie author A.M. Stuart and I loved it. Harriet is an empathetic character, gentle and caring while showing a supreme strength and determination. She and her brother Julian care for their ward, Will and generally live a quiet, satisfying life – until murder gets in the way. Singapore Sapphire was the 1st in the series and Revenge in Rubies is an extremely satisfying follow on. I’m looking forward to #3 in this excellent historical mystery series. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this mystery. The setting in Singapore and the historic background of the British occupation was interesting. It is not a fast moving book, but still kept my attention. I hated to put it down till I reached the end. Stuart's characters felt real and the twists in the book were sometimes a real surprise. I will be looking for more books from this author.

I received this book for free and wished to leave a review.

What a terrific read this is! Sylvie Nolan, the, ahem, 18 year old new wife of Colonel John Nolan is found bludgeoned to death in her bed, opening up a rats nest of secrets. It's 1910 in Singapore and Harriet Gordon, who works part time as a typist for the police, finds herself poking around the regiment, sometimes to the dismay of Inspector Robert Curran. This is not the first death associated with Sylvie and there are more to come here in Singapore. Cole's sister Pris, a not particularly likeable woman, knows more about what happened that night than she says but she's got her own secrets. What about Sylvie's brother Nick? Curran's dealing with a recurrence of his malaria as well as shaky treatment from the military, which has labeled the father he barely knew a coward. Then there's Li An, Curran's love. This is filled with terrific characters and wonderful atmospherics (made me want a trip back to Singapore, heat and all). It's also quite twisty with a solution I did not see coming. I didn't read the first book, which was a loss for me because this is wonderful, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of this one bit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A satisfying and well done mystery.

"Revenge in Rubies" was an enjoyable murder mystery. One of the things that sets this book apart is that it is set in Singapore, not a typical setting for the murder mystery novels I tend to run across. If I have read other books set in Singapore, it cannot be more than one or two. The story takes place in 1910, when Singapore was still a British colony, and focuses on the First Battalion of the South Sussex Regiment. Sylvie Nolan, the new young wife of Lieutenant Colonel Nolan, the regimental commander, has been found brutally murdered. As she is a civilian, the murder falls under the jurisdiction of the Straits Settlement Police Force and the investigation is led by Inspector Robert Curran. However, because most of the plausible suspects are members of the First Battalion South Sussex Regiment, and Sylvie's father, Colonel Gentry, is the commanding officer of the South Sussex Regiment in England, the military police, under Major Goff, want to take over the investigation, which they are not allowed to do, much to Major Goff's consternation. It does not help that Major Goff and Inspector Curran have an unpleasant history from when they served together as military police in South Africa. The members of the regiment are also less than cooperative, not wanting to "air their dirty laundry" to civilians. Assisting Inspector Curran is Harriet Gordon, who officially is just the typist for the police force, but finds herself involved because of her connections to some of the interested parties and because she seems to have a knack of getting herself involved in matters.

The story has lots of twists and turns, with additional murders happening and lots of secrets being revealed. Even when the mystery of Sylvie's murder seems to be solved and Lieutenant Colonel Nolan wants the case closed so he and the regiment can focus on their duties, there are some inconsistencies that bother Curran and result in further investigation and more secrets being revealed.

Singapore had a fairly sizeable Chinese population and a decent Indian population (many of them as servants/aides to the military or civilian government) at the time. The police force contains some Indian officers, who are quite good at their jobs, but face prejudice from the English population in Singapore, especially members of the Regiment. Some of the Indian and Chinese servants/aides are also treated as "less than" by some members of the English population. I appreciated that the author, in the afterword, stated that the intolerance shown to non-Europeans would be considered abhorrent today but that was how it was in Singapore in 1910 and it would be "unbalanced" for her to imply otherwise; I am glad she chose not to "whitewash" history to appease modern political correctness. I also appreciated that the author incorporated Singapore traditions into the storyline, as they lend an air of authenticity to the story and because they introduce readers (such as myself) to aspects of foreign culture with which many readers are likely unfamiliar. I would definitely recommend "Revenge in Rubies" and I am interested in exploring other books by Mrs. Stuart.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and honestly I think I enjoyed this one even more! Often the second book just doesn't quite live up to the first book but instead of feeling awkward or slow this book feels like the series is really gaining traction. I really loved seeing Harriet again and I loved that while she is a main character we also see a lot through Curran's eyes. Curran is an interesting man and I enjoyed learning more about his military service and the hints regarding his father were fascinating and I'm hoping come front and center in a future book. I absolutely loved that Li An stepped out of the shadows a bit and we learned more of her back story.

The mystery was a good one with a victim who was described as an angel but had hidden depths, a whole host of characters with possible motive but no opportunity, and secrets stretching across oceans. Early 20th century Singapore is a fascinating world with a multi-layer society, unspoken rules, and a labyrinth of prejudices. I find the world fascinating and felt like with the addition of the military angle of this particular mystery and the hints of Chinatown I really got a good picture of the world the characters inhabit. This is an interesting series with likable yet flawed characters and a unique setting and I will be anxiously awaiting the third book!

Wow, another great book by A.M. Stuart. When Harriet Gordon receives word from a friend about a tragic death, she and Inspector Curran are thrust into a web of family secrets that threatens to destroy them both.
A great cast of characters, exotic location of Singapore and well written dialogue keep you wanting more and more of this historical mystery.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book.
First, I would like to say, I really loved the cover of this book. This is the second book in this series. Even though I had not read the first one, it was very easy to jump right into this series. This story takes place in 1910 in Singapore-I liked the setting. It was interesting to learn about this time and place. Harriet Gordon is the one of the main characters-she has left her past behind and is now employed as a typist for the police force. She is much more then a typist though. When Sylvie Nolan is bludgeoned to death, Harriet becomes part of the case. She and Inspector Curran will not give up until they discover who murdered this young woman. A very well-written mystery with lots of action and lots of suspects. Highly recommend!.

Revenge in Rubies is an excellent follow up to Singapore Sapphire! Harriet Gordon is a wonderful protagonist. A.M. Stuart does a great job conveying the realities of English colonization in Asia during it's heyday. The depiction of the British Army is very interesting and the tie in to the murder of a civilian with so many links to the military was very well done. I enjoyed getting to know some of the secondary characters better, particularly Robert Curran's lover, Li Ann. I look forward to the next book!

Revenge in Rubies is the second in the Harriet Gordon series but can be read as a stand-alone. Readers who have already enjoyed Singapore Sapphire will delight in new details of both Harriet and Police Inspector Curran’s backstories. Harriet, who has lost her beloved husband and young son to typhus in India, has settled into her brother Julian’s household in 1910 Singapore. She is currently employed as a steno/typist at the Straits Settlement police station and assists in murder investigations, sometimes at her own peril.
The layered plot is suspenseful, full of twists and the occasional red herring. Each layer is slowly peeled back to get to the truth of not only the brutal murder of Col. John Nolan’s young wife Sylvie, but also of other deaths in their circle. Because she is an acquaintance of Lavinia, Nolan’s sister, Harriet is soon involved in the murder investigation despite the military’s desire to close ranks and handle the case without outside help. When Curran suffers from another relapse of malaria, Harriet assumes the lead investigatory role. Her grit and determination feel organic because we learn how brave she was years ago when participating in the Women’s Suffragette movement in London, being thrown in jail and force fed.
The plot thickens as the focus falls first on one murder suspect, followed by another death by either murder or suicide. I was quite surprised at the end to learn who was responsible. But there are enough clues that foreshadow the denouement. Silver regiment buttons and Sylvie’s ruby earrings play an important role. There are many recurring themes including jealousy, betrayal, questions of paternity, and honor above all else. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series,

I have recently become a HUGE fan of historical mysteries, and books like this are now the reason I thirst for them. Revenge in Rubies is the second book of A. M. Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mystery series. It was positively delightful and I breezed right through it. Did I miss a little bit from not having read the first book? Yes, I admit I did. This mystery stood alone, but I wish I knew more of the characters' backstories that were no doubt introduced in the first installment. However, in no way did it impede my enjoyment of this book. As a matter of fact, today I am ordering Singapore Sapphire in audiobook form.

It's 1910 in Singapore, and Harriet Gordon is overcoming her tragic past. She lives with her brother Julian and her young ward, Will, plus she's a typist for the Straits Settlements Police Force. Harriet's friend and employer, Inspector Robert Curran, is called to investigate the brutal murder of the young wife of Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan. Harriet visits the family to offer comfort, as she is friends with Nolan's sister. The military community is hindering Curran's investigation, and Harriet thinks her relationship with Pris Nolan might be helpful in gathering clues. In the course of the investigation, both Harriet and Curran are forced to once again face painful pasts.

Both Harriet and Curran are fascinating characters. The story was excellent, but these two are what made the story so compelling. Harriet is employed as a typist for the police force, which at that time was wholly unusual. Her past was extremely brutal, yet she was strong and able to forge a new life for herself. She and Curran had both a good friendship and working relationship. Curran was just as interesting. He had a past I definitely want to learn more about, especially his romantic relationship with An Li, a Chinese woman. The supporting characters were all finely drawn, and I especially liked Harriet's brother Julian and physician Euan MacGregor. 1910 Singapore is a character in itself, and I enjoyed reading about some of its history. The mystery was well done and I kept changing my mind as to who the culprit was! I hope I don't have to wait long for the further adventures of Harriet and Curran!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed were entirely my own.

This was a first for me by this author. I felt like she explained the characters backstory nicely making it not crucial jumping into the middle of a series. I loved the historical aspects of India and learning more about their culture. The writing is top notch and keeps the reader interested throughout the novel. The plot kept me entertained and keep guessing whodunit. I highly recommend this for any reader who enjoys a good mystery!

4.5/5⭐️

Always nice to discover a new mystery series I enjoy! This was the second in series so I plan to go back to read the debut.

Harriet Gordon is a widow transplanted from India now living in Singapore with her minister brother. She is a stenographer/typist for the local police (the only woman on the payroll) and finds herself interested in the cases of her friend Inspector Curran. This one involves several murders centered around the local military base and had me guessing until the end.

Colorful, complex characters, well-plotted, and richly detailed...what’s not to love?!

Recommended.

Much thanks to #NetGalley and #Berkley for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.