Having now read three novels in the Harriet Gordon Mystery series, I must say "Evil in Emerald" was the best so far. I do enjoy visiting Singapore in the early 1900s and catching up with Harriet and Robert Curran. They make a great duo and their connection is growing stronger.

As usual, the mystery was good with lots of twists and red herrings, and the characters were well-written making them very easy to like/. There is obviously another novel in the making; I just hope Ms Stuart doesn't protract the series as so many other authors do until their novels become predictable, prosaic and repetitive. Thankfully, this hasn't happened yet with this series. ( )

Another good historical who done it set in the early 1900's of Colonial Singapore. Harriet Gordon is still typing reports at forward-thinking police station but has added some volunteer work with the Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society. They are working their way through a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan, currently working on The Pirates of Penzance, starting the talented Tony Dowling. The usual gossip about stars canoodling in real life follows him right up to the discovery of his body in a fire at an abandoned mansion. Harriet's co-worker, Curran is called on to investigate. The story delves into many facets of life--trade, insurance fraud and secrets from both Curran's and Li-An's past lives. The author relies on very good historical detail, many based in fact. I enjoyed her note at the end about the first professional fire brigade in Singapore and the arrival of the Boy Scouts. ( )

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2022-05.html#stuart ( )

In a lot of ways, this series feels like a direct reaction to Little, Brown's Su Lin series, written by Ovidia Yu: it's set in British Colonial Singapore (albeit pre WWI as opposed to Yu's interwar setting); Harriet Gordon, the female lead, though white and British, has a scandalous background and earns a meagre salary by typing reports for the police; Robert Curren is the detective - also with a scandalous past, a shady history, and a very private man with unconventional habits. The two series are so similar, in fact, that I was prepared to swear that a character in this series - Curran's love interest - was actually the love interest of the detective in the Su Lin series. Both series have a Singh on the police force.

There's a lot of similarities between the two series, but there are also a lot of fundamental differences. Yu's Su Lin series feels authentic from the viewpoint of the different Asian citizens of Singapore and Yu's Singapore feels like the hot, humid, barely tamed jungle it surely was; reading her books is to put yourself in a very exotic setting. Stuart's pre-WWI Singapore is undoubtedly authentic too, but it's definitely from the viewpoint of the colonisers. Every bit of the story bleeds British, right down to the setting of Evil in Emerald, an amateur production of Pirates of Penzance. All the primary characters are white (British, Aussie, Kiwi), and Singapore is sanitised.

I was just a touch more than indifferent after reading the first two books, but bought this one last week because I was in the mood for an historical mystery, and I have to say, the author convinced me with this one. This time around, the characters gelled with me and I was far more interested in them than I was previously. There's a more pronounced element of romance in this series and I admit I like the dynamic developing between Gordon and Curran.

The mystery plotting was still average, though Stuart masked what would have felt to me to be a transparent crime by mixing in at least two other crimes involving the mix of the same suspects. It worked, for the most part. I wasn't at all surprised by the murderer, but I wasn't ever bored with the waiting to find out if I was right or not.

Unfortunately, the author uses this book as a springboard to complications for Curran, and uses the last chapters to setup the direction of the next book. I wouldn't find this so irritating if I hadn't bought the book on publication. As it is, I'm finally interested and now have to wait who-knows-how-long before the next one comes out.

All in all, a developing series with promise if you're looking for an historical mystery series, and enjoy the British variety - but for an historical mystery series that's dripping with exotic, authentic Singaporean atmosphere, stick with Ovidia Yu's Su Lin series. Me? I like both - double the reading pleasure! I just have to remember who belongs in where. ( )

Evil in Emerald is the 3rd installment of Alison Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mysteries. The series takes place in Singapore in the early 1900s. Some of you may remember the first two books in the series Singapore Sapphire and Revenge in Rubies. Most historical mystery fans read Singapore Sapphire when it was published in 2019 and loved it. I read many glowing reviews of this novel as well as the sequel.

In Evil in Emerald Harriet turns to volunteering in local plays as an outlet from her work. She has been enjoying the rehearsals for her role in the Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society’s latest production – Pirates of Penzance. However, Harriet quickly discovers tensions among the staff of the theatre company. When the leading man is found murdered, suspicions abound, exposing scandalous behavior as well as some insidious crimes. Inspector Robert Curran once again turns to his friend Harriet for help with the case. Curren's own life soon begins to unravel when a mysterious man turns up on his doorstep claiming to know more about Curran’s past than he himself knows. After Curran hears some devastating news, the line between his personal and professional life begins to blur. Now, more than ever, Curran needs Harriet’s steadfast assistance. When another cast member is found dead Curran and Harriet hurry their investigation to find the killer before a third person dies.

Harriet's character has an interesting background. She is a widow who survived a typhus epidemic in India and an incarceration in Britain for her suffragette activities. This past is not part of the mysteries that she solves but it shows how she grew into an independent woman with insight into the human psyche. When she was released from prison Harriet sailed to Singapore to help her minister brother with his school for children.

Evil in Emerald is the perfect whodunit. I love that the murdered body of Tony Dowling was found in the first pages of the story so that the remainder of the story can be about finding the killer. When Inspector Robert Curran of the Straits Settlements Police Force Detective Division begins to investigate, he relies on amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon who works part time for him as a typist. Curran has come to rely on her for advice and assistance with his investigations as she has proven herself adept at finding clues in the past. Her friendships on the island always prove fruitful when gathering information.

One interesting thing that I like about this series is that all of the characters are strong. They have interesting backgrounds too, which can come into play in future books in the series. The author has a footnote at the end of the story advising that the fourth book in the series will not take place in Singapore but rather on the Malay Peninsula. It's always tricky to move the locale of a series so I hope the writing goes well.

As with her prior novels, author A. M. Stuart has created a Pinterest board for Evil in Emerald that is worth checking out. Here she has pinned photos of 1910 beach wear, several railway stations, street style, portraits of women, and grand mansions in Singapore. Stuart also has a Pinterest page for the Harriet Gordon Mysteries which includes cars, trains, maps, and costumes as well as separate boards for Harriet and Curran. ( )