This series has reached one of my favourite periods in history, the Jazz Age. It is 1926 and Joe Sandilands is in London. However, hopes of a relaxing time are soon put to rest when he is asked by Scotland Yard to conduct an enquiry into the mysterious and brutal death of Dame Beatrice Joliffe.
Dame Beatrice was no ordinary woman, she wore expensive clothes and perfume, drank and unlike many of her generation had a young lover. Nevertheless, as Sandilands investigates her death he finds himself also looking into the deaths of three young women that were close to her. Unexpectedly he is then asked to stop his investigations. Despite this request, Sandilands is determined to find out what happened but discovers himself in the midst of political turmoil and contending with unseen governmental forces
determined to put a stop to his investigations.
This is an excellent series and it is not surprising that Barbara Cleverly won the CWA Historical Dagger. Even though Sandilands has been taken out of his normal milieu of India this is still a fascinating story. The Jazz Age has been brought to life and the reader is drawn into it with ease. My only gripe is that as a listener, Terry Wale would not be my first choice of reader. Sadly, one does not always get the sense of place from his reading. It is however, a series well worth listening to.
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Ayo Onatade