Death In Kashmir: A Mystery (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
This was a fun, old-fashioned whodunnit, complete with exotic location, intrepid heroine and steely-eyed hero. And now I really want to visit Kashmir.Gulmarg ski resortThey fanned out on the crest of Slalom Hill and each took their own line, swooping down over the crisp shimmering surface like a flight of swallows, dipping, swaying, turning in a swish of flung crystals, and leaving behind them clear curving tracks on the sparkling snow.Dal LakeAs the heart-shaped paddles rose and fell in unison, the boat glided under old, old bridges and by temples whose glittering roofs were discovered on closer examination to be plated not with silver, but with pieces of kerosene tins. Brilliant blue kingfishers flashed and darted above the quiet reaches of the stream, and innumerable bulbuls twittered among the willows....as long as there are no murderers there. But handsome British spies - of course, absolutely!This is one of M.M. Kaye's better mysteries, set in the waning days of the British Raj in northern India in the late 1940s. Feisty main character, Sarah Parrish, goes on a ski vacation with fellow British expatriates and finds herself embroiled in dangerous schemes way over her head. The mystery is a good one: the mastermind criminal is well-drawn and well-hidden (I didn't guess who it was), and the clues and pieces are tied together at the end in a satisfying way.Death in Kashmir is a light mystery novel, not terribly deep, but good fun, and there's a great sense of place, with wonderful descriptions of the people and places in Kashmir. Kaye actually lived in Kashmir in the early 1940s - she met her future husband there - and it shows in the affectionate details of the story.This was my last of M.M. Kaye's six romantic suspense novels, and a very good one to end on. It reminded me quite strongly of Mary Stewart's novels, which is the highest praise I can pass out to a book in this genre. Highly recommended to those who like these types of classic mysteries!
My very favorite of M.M. Kaye's 6 " Death in..." murder mysteries, and quite possibly my favorite whodunit of all time. While her mysteries haven't the same scope and reach of her 3 masterpieces (The Far Pavillions, Shadow of the Moon and Trade Wind), they are nonetheless well researched, beautifully described, and endowed with snippets of Kaye's own experiences in the countries that she lived in during her childhood and/or her married life.This outing takes the reader to Kashmir, 1947. British raj rule is due to end within the coming months, and a group of holiday makers are making the most of their last days in the mountain region of Gulmarg, Kashmir. It's the final trip for members of the Ski Club of India, and Sarah Parrish has been enjoying herself until a tragic skiing accident takes the lives of one of their party (or is it an accident??). Chapter One of opens to what I consider one of the most suspenseful introductions I've ever read in a mystery, and takes the reader on a journey through the snow capped slopes of Gulmarg to the lush, lovely lake region of Srinagar; to a houseboat with many secrets.A riveting, engrossing and beautifully detailed mystery from beginning to end. Perfect the first time I read over 25 years ago, and just as excellent today.
What do You think about Death In Kashmir: A Mystery (2000)?
M. M. Kaye certainly knows how to write, and her upbringing in India lends legitimacy to how she paints her scenes in this one. There's a very short list of authors (women, mostly) who wrote excellent books grouped mostly in the thriller-suspense-murder mystery-mild romance genre. M. M. Kaye, Mary Stewart (Moonspinners, Touch not the Cat, etc), Helen MacInnes...I've run out of names. I think there's two more, but they escape me at the moment. Anyway, M. M. Kaye is in good company. I need to read her other books. I think I read Death in Berlin a long time ago, but I'll have to re-read that one, along with Andamans, Kenya, and Cyprus. Not sure if there are more. She writes in what I think is a deceptively difficult genre to write. Lord knows there are a lot of dreadful books written in that one. At any rate, I heartily recommend this book.
—Christopher Bunn
Now, I'm a huge M.M. Kaye fan, and absolutely loved her Death in Cyprus, so I went into this book with pretty high expectations. Unfortunately, they weren't quite met. We start off at a ski resort in the mountains of Kashmir, in the bedroom of one Sarah Parrish, a young British woman on a bit of a holiday. She hears a noise outside and sees a masked man trying to break into her neighbor's window. And when she goes to warn the other young woman, she's swept into a world of intrigue and murder. *dramatic music*While the plot itself held up fairly well, I found myself questioning the various character's motivations and relationships. Is one conversation enough for strangers to become confidants? Is a general sense of duty enough to compell someone to go chasing down answers on their own, in spite of deadly peril? And don't get me started on the entirely improbable love story. All things considered, it was an enjoyable mystery. Unfortunately for me, all the characters didn't quite add up.
—Jenny
Delightful. As M. M. Kaye's writing invariably is delightful, this does not surprise. The dialogue is smart and witty, the hero and heroine glamorous, the murder mystery spine-chilling, and the setting a feast for the senses. Sarah Parrish and Charles Mallory are are not my favorites among Kaye's characters as they are less fully realized than others; still, there are some rather smashing moments of dialogue, particularly between Sarah and the villain, and there is wonderful sexual tension between Sarah and Charles largely as the result of that elegant, understated, 40s-era banter of which Kaye is a mastermind!
—Sarah Ryburn
