What do You think about The Damascened Blade (2005)?
A mystery set in northwest India, near Afghanistan, when Cleverly's detective hero Joe Sandilands is escorting a lively American heiress who wants to see something more exciting than the staid British enclaves she has been to up until now. She gets her wish as murder and kidnapping liven her visit considerably, pitching Joe into the middle of an international incident that could result in war with the uneasy Afghan tribes. Not my favorite of the four Indian Sandilands books, but still an interesting view of the time (1921) and the situation, and there's a great deal of relevance to the contemporary period!
—Tamora Pierce
In the shadow of Khyber Pass an unusual gathering descends on a military outpost manned by a brigade of Royal Scots Fusiliers; a young American heiress, a British industrialist, a woman doctor and the son of the most powerful warlord in the region. An uneasy truce between Britain Empire of India and the Afghan tribes is threatened by an unexplained and violent death. Russia, Afghanistan, Great Britain and America are all vying for control of this northern frontier in 1922 as they have been for the 20th Century. This book is not as well written as her first Sandilands; there is perhaps too hard an attempt to imbue the American heiress with a gritty mid-western self-reliance and the wealthy industrialist doesn't fare much better than "Yup. That's about what I'd expect." That said, this book is a haunting look at a region of our world where powerful tribal law and loyalty demand exacting adherence to long-lived codes of honor and duty.
—Val Sanford
More like 3 1/2. The plot got really bogged down in the middle part, if not for that it would have earn 4 stars. The women characters were really well done. From Betty, the officer's wife, competent and bright (pregnant too) to Grace, the elderly doctor on a mission to Lily, the young American free spirit. Even secondary women characters with only cameo, I'm thinking about the Australian gypsy and the young chief's wife were bright lights in this novel. It's rare that you get so many strong, competent, smart female characters all at once. Now the story, this is the British Indian and what is now Pakistan frontier in the 1920's. Tribal wars, feuds, grudges and revenge. We join Joe Sandilands, Cleverly's hero, in his next adventure. A fort at the edge of the wilderness, a dead visitor that has the potential to bring out full out tribal war. A list of suspect to death that may or may not be murder. The overall idea is good, the resolution is good, it's the execution that brings down the pace. There are secondary characters that we don't need to know so much about. I'm thinking of the British Air Force officer or the Delhi bureaucrat. They have their role to play into the plot but too much time was spend on their background. Unless Cleverly plans on bringing them back.So good characters, good plot overall but slow pace.
—Writerlibrarian
