Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart

Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart ISBN-13: 9781984802644 Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Berkley Released: August 6, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Singapore 1910--Desperate for a fresh start and to distance herself from her tragic past, Harriet Gordon joins her brother in Singapore at the height of colonial rule. Hoping to gain some financial independence, she advertises her services as a personal secretary. It is unfortunate that she should discover her first client, Sir Oswald Newbold--explorer, mine magnate and president of the exclusive Explorers and Geographers' Club--dead with a knife in his throat.

When Inspector Robert Curran is put on the case, he realizes that he has an unusual witness in Harriet. Harriet's keen eye for detail and strong sense of duty interests him, as does her distrust of the police and her traumatic past, which she is at pains to keep secret from the gossips of Singapore society.

When the body of a potential witness is dragged from the canal, Harriet feels compelled to help with the case. She and Curran are soon drawn into a complex web of stolen gemstones and a mysterious gang of thieves who have no qualms about killing again to protect their secrets.


My Review:
Singapore Sapphire is a mystery set in 1910 in Singapore. The detective asked good questions, looked carefully for evidence, and was able to connect the clues well. Harriet found the body. She's observant, and people were more inclined to talk with her than the police. She found out some important information that she passed on to the detective.

By about halfway through, there was enough information to guess who was involved but not who did the actual killing. Soon the suspense started: a race to find and save someone who was kidnapped. At this point, people started being more truthful about who did and saw what, so everything except the original whodunit was explained bit by bit. Based on what had been confessed and the timeline, whodunit seemed so obvious to me that a confession didn't really seem necessary, but the detective believed the case would remain open without one. (As I don't what to spoil things, you won't really understand why this bothered my logical mind unless you read the story.)

Anyway, 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 occasional use of bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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