Under a Monsoon Cloud

Inspector Ghote #15

by H.R.F. Keating

What is Inspector Ghote to do? It is months now since he was sent to take command at the small hill-station of Vigatpore. But the events of one fateful night have put him in a terrible quandary. It was with almost no warning that his long time hero Tiger' Kelkar, now a top-ranking officer, arrived to make an inspection - and killed a subordinate in a moment of pre-monsoon anger. To his horror, Ghote found himself concealing the death to protect the man he reveres. Now he finds himself being accused at an Inquiry set up to elicit the truth-and is torn by a traumatic clash of loyalties. "First-class Keating" OBSERVER. "Unusual in subject, usual in excellence"THE TIMES "Beautifully sustained and artfully stacked with law and order ironies". THE GUARDIAN. "The denouement of the dilemma is a wry, sly twist that is as startling as any Christie surprise" LOS ANGELES TIMES.

Genres: Mystery, India, Crime, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 1986

About the author

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating was an English writer of crime fiction most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.

H. R. F. KEATING was well versed in the worlds of crime, fiction and nonfiction. He was the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years, as well as serving as the chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Society of Authors. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award twice, and in 1996 was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding service to crime fiction.

Series:
. Inspector Ghote
. Harriet Martens

Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Tim TERMAN]

I just picked this up off the library shelf, and so far it's very intriguing, with a plot that I didn't expect.

[Renita D'Silva]

Richly detailed. Absolutely wonderful

[Ugh]

The first quarter of this is a rollicking, gripping read, and I was all set to love it. As it turns out, the rest of the plot is quite a lot more pedestrian, and so four stars seems just a little-little bit generous, but nevertheless the hook still kept me gripped to the end, the writing throughout is fresh and engaging, the characters from main to minor are both interesting and entirely convincing, and there are moral questions beneath the surface akin to those of Crime and Punishment that engage a part of the brain most books don't even dare to flirt with.

I bought this for my missus for Christmas, and after reading it she went out and bought the first Ghote mystery to follow it up. I think I'll ask if I can borrow it when she's done.

[Linda Amos]

Insp Ghote is sent to another station to fill in for an absent officer. While there one of his old colleagues arrives to undertake an inspection of the procedures, buildings and personnel. An unfortunate accident occurs which comes back to haunt him.
Not read anything by this author before. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Will have to go back to the beginning of the series as this is No. 15.

[Susan]

Ganesh Ghote, a police officer, is sent to a far off village to put things in order when the usual officiant is off sick for an undetermined period.
He recognizes that things have been ignored, and procedures not followed for quite some time. He admirably tries to set things to rights. When an inspector comes to review his work, things take an unexpected turn. An accidental murder, a cover-up, and a long inquiry into events takes place.
Will Ghote be dismissed, or will he be able to cover up the crime to save the reputation of the admired inspector?
As this novel takes place in India, it is an interesting glimpse into the monsoon weather and all that it entails. Customs, dress, food, etc. all add to this cultural tale.

[Teddy]

This one was a little more serious than the others I have read in this series, but still very enjoyable.

[Renita D'Silva]

Richly detailed. Absolutely wonderful

[Regine]

Humane.

[Vaibhav Anand]

I picked this book up because I had seen the seriously hilarious movie "The Perfect Murder" based on a book of the same name by Keating. If you haven't seen the movie, do go ahead and watch it... It is one of those lesser known gems of Indian Cinema.

However, this was the second time that a Merchant Ivory film led me to buy another book written by the author who had originally birthed the (Merchant Ivory) movie script and left me somewhat disappointed. (The other pair being a delightfully delicious movie called ‘The Householder’ and an incredibly underwhelming book called ‘Heat & Dust’ by Ruth Praber Jhabwala, who had also written the book – “The Householder”.) “Under a monsoon cloud” is much better than “Heat & Dust” but it is still relatively underwhelming when you compare its material to the delightfully timeless movie (“The Perfect Murder”). Keating does describe the India of a generation ago and the scruples of the average Indian family man in Inspector Ghote beautifully but the plot never really takes off.

The only reason I liked the book even though the plot never really got interesting enough was for Keating’s writing style and his creation of the honest middle class police inspector, which made me nostalgic of the simpler times India had, decades ago.

[Kristin]

read this long ago and was plesantly surprised

[Melinda]

Solid 3.5 - interesting storyline and entertained. Bits were long winded however I am still smelling and hearing the sounds Keating eloquently wrote.

[Clare Coffey]

I just could not get into this book and did not really enjoy it. Maybe will try it again another time!

[Richard Anderson]

Enjoyable, offbeat.

[Joanna]

I really like Inspector Ghote books. I wish there were more in e-book format.