MURDER ON THE SACRED RIVER

Events from the distant past provide the clue to catch a killer in 1908 India.

Lady Emily and her husband, Crown agent Colin Hargreaves, are staying at an ancient fort built in Maheshwar in the 1700s by Ahily, a revered maharani. Awakened by the news that their fellow guest, Alistair Ralston, has discovered a dead man, they accompany him to the river, where they find a body that Ralston identifies as Titus Stringfellow. Among the other guests are tall, pleasant Imogen Galsworthy; her slightly less tall and much less pleasant companion, Edith Whitcombe; and Desmond Montgomery, a historian in residence. Montgomery is researching Ahilya, an unusual woman for her time, who was raised to help rule. She had to take over from her alcoholic husband, who preferred wine and women to other responsibilities, but she managed to keep him sober enough to get her pregnant and fight in the battles he enjoyed. The local authorities are happy to hand the investigation of the dead guest over to Colin and Lady Emily, who have solved many murders. The couple gets help from the local doctor, and there are witnesses who saw a tall woman near the body along with strange lights at night. Stringfellow and Ralston were old friends, making it all the more shocking when Stringfellow reappears alive and well. Only then does Ralston admit that the dead man is actually Viscount Rupert Tyldesley, who ran off with the woman Ralston loved, “bringing her to her death in Africa.” Of course, Ralston is the prime suspect, but Emily, thinking him innocent, looks at the other English denizens, especially when they discover coins and jewels that may be part of the treasure Ahilya is rumored to have buried.

A mystery that showcases the prejudices of the Raj is overshadowed by the long-ago backstory.