"Evil in Emerald" is a mystery set in 1910 in Singapore. This book is the third book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous books to follow this story and this story didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

The detective asked good questions, looked carefully for evidence, and was able to connect the clues well. Harriet knew many of the suspects because they were working together on the play, so she was able to learn some additional information that helped solve the case. She's also observant and intelligent. Several people had a strong motive, so I wasn't completely sure of whodunit until the very end, but I strongly suspected whodunit over the others based on the clues.

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 a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting historical mystery.

This is the third Harriet Gordon mystery. It is set in Singapore in 1910. This time the first murder is that of the leading man of the musical society Harriet has joined. Anthony Dowling was a handsome young insurance agent with a penchant for affairs with older, married women.

Inspector Robert Curran is on the case which seems to be intersecting with a case that didn't go well for
him. Planter Lionel Ellis had beaten one of his native employees almost to death and was just given a slap on the wrist by a sympathetic judge. Ellis has sworn revenge on Curran for causing him trouble.

Curran is also dealing with the dissolution of his relationship with Li An. After getting together after a near death experience for both of them, she is ready to go back home and deal with her family and her past. Since she is native Chinese, their relationship has been difficult with neither culture accepting them. But Curran is deeply in love with her and doesn't want her to leave.

Then Curran meets an unknown brother who comes to him with a problem with their missing sister. Curran's own childhood was negatively impacted by the loss of his father. He has very mixed feelings when he learns that his father had a second life and second family in India. He is also determined to help his new-found brother find and rescue their sister.

With his personal life imploding and a man who wants revenge lurking, Curran needs to solve the murder which has a plethora of suspects. Dowling's death could relate to some insurance fraud he was a partner in, or it could have been the result of a jealous woman or jealous husband. And Dowling's is only the first death...

I liked the picture of life in Singapore during that time period. The characters were well-drawn and intriguing. Harriet's past as a suffragette in England plays a part. I liked the fact that Harriet is falling for Curran who is totally oblivious to her interest. The mystery was nicely twisty and the villain and motive was something of a surprise. The clues to that solution were dropped into the story throughout though for the observant reader.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes. Curran seems to be off looking for his lost sister on some sort of undercover mission.

A period piece that will take the reader back to the early twentieth century and into exotic Singapore. This is a time when the fabled British Empire was alive and thriving. There were the British, other wester people, and natives. So for the reader to fully understand they must be of that mindset and not judge actions by current social standards. A murder has been committed in the British social set and so an investigation begins. This will be followed by two other murders, insurance fraud, a vicious assault and information about the kidnapping of a previously unknown sister of the investigating Police Inspector. While the murders and insurance fraud are solved the kidnapping is not but the framework, and characters are excellently built for a follow up novel.

If you are a fan of period mysteries, which appear to accurately portray existing social conditions, you will enjoy this book. I have rated it 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

betrayal, British-imperialism, British-forces, family-dynamics, friendship, misogyny, murder, murder-investigation, law-enforcement, intimidation, intolerance, historical-novel, historical-research, history-and-culture, historical-setting, triggers, summer-theatre, relationship-issues, relatives, class-consciousness, Singapore*****

The characters are so real! Even the stupid, cruel, and evil ones. I love the way that the story plays out and the work done to solve the murders, but the realities of attitudes of part of the population toward others will prove to be some serious triggers. On the upside are the personal relationships of characters old and new and the way that the author draws us in and holds our attention to the end of the book and beyond. Very good!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

"Craving a change of pace, Harriet Gordon, joins a local musical theatre production but when a fellow cast member is brutally killed, Harriet and Inspector Curran must turn the spotlight on murder in this all-new mystery from the author of Revenge in Rubies.

Between working at her brother’s school and typing up Inspector Robert Curran’s police reports, Harriet Gordon has little time for personal pursuits and she has been enjoying the rehearsals for her role in the Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society’s latest production - Pirates of Penzance. But Harriet quickly discovers tensions run deep within the theatre company and when the leading man is found murdered, suspicions abound, exposing scandalous behavior as well as some insidious crimes.

Inspector Curran once again turns to Harriet for help with this difficult case, but his own life begins to unravel as a mysterious man turns up on his doorstep claiming to know more about Curran’s painful past than he himself does. And after the one person he has always counted on delivers him some devastating news, the line between his personal and professional life begins to blur. Now, more than ever, Curran needs Harriet’s steadfast assistance, and when another cast member meets a violent end, Curran and Harriet will have to close in on a killer determined to make this case their final curtain call."

Oh, as any mystery lover knows amateur dramatics lead to murder!

This is the third book in the the Harriot Gorden series and what a joy to read, I found it hard to put down. I have been loving this series and this book lives up to expectations. There is everything you want in a mystery, twists, turns and adventure, enough to keep you guessing but not easy enough to know ”who done it”. The characters are beautifully written where you can relate to them. The settings are written so that it is easy to imagine what is happening in a country full of culture and at a time when the country was changing. There is a couple of backstories that keep the story going. I am hoping there will be another book in the series and will be sad to see the end. Whether you like historical or contemporary books, I think this is one for everyone. There was no real romance in this book but it is full of relationships which is lovely. I received this as an ARC and freely give my review.

To say I was excited for the arc would be an understatement. I have been waiting and looking for it to be released for weeks and I was to finally get my hands on a copy! I love this series! I love the characters, the setting, the time period, the mysteries. All. Of. It. The author sucked me in during the first book, ramped up the drama in the second one and now in the third she goes practically all in and I am here for it. Harriet Gordon is such a wonderful character. Thoughtful, smart, kind, complicated, curious and best of all - calm in a crisis. I enjoy that she is not always in the loop but still always one step ahead of everyone else. I think it was great that she finally realized her feelings for Curran as it advances her story considerably. As for Curran, I love how you get into his back story some more and how his story advances with the ending of his relationship with Li An. The characters have depth and pathos with problems that you really care about. I find the setting of colonial Singapore endlessly fascinating. I love stories about the dying British Empire. Stuart nails the ennui, the drinking, the heat, the greed, the debauchery, the diversity --- readers really feel like they are there- a fly on the wall watching the story unfold. Stuart really upped her game with the mystery. So many red herrings! I loved the darkness of the story and how it oh-so-slowly unfolded. And that was quite the ending, with Curran doing the deep fake. I do think he'll be back! How can he not? My question is how she get Harriet to KL to help him in his investigation? Gah! I want that installment now! This has to be my favorite series right now. I cannot wait for Evil in Emerald to come out so that I can tell everyone about it!