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Revenge in Rubies
(Harriet Gordon Mystery #2)
by
When Harriet Gordon receives word from a friend about a tragic death, she and Inspector Curran are thrust into a web of family secrets that threatens to destroy them both in this all-new mystery from the author of Singapore Sapphire. Singapore.
1910 Singapore. Harriet Gordon has found fulfillment at last. Her young ward, Will, has settled into his new home with Harriet and ...more
1910 Singapore. Harriet Gordon has found fulfillment at last. Her young ward, Will, has settled into his new home with Harriet and ...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 15th 2020
by Berkley
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Start your review of Revenge in Rubies (A Harriet Gordon Mystery)

Revenge in Rubies starts off immediately in the thick of things: Sylvie Nolan, the new and much-younger wife of a commanding officer, has been brutally bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. At first, it seems like a simple case, but it quickly becomes clear that something altogether more complex and malicious is afoot. Soon, more tragedy follows, and Inspector Curran and Harriet Gordon must act quickly if they are to prevent additional deaths.
This story has so many of the characteristics of my bel ...more
This story has so many of the characteristics of my bel ...more

Don't understand the high ratings. What a rip-off. The writing is good, but it looks like marble was used to build a grain silo.
The book seems very well grounded in its time frame. As a historical fiction, it hits the target. But as a police procedural and as an adventure it falls flat.
My interest in this series killed right here. Instead of solely concentrating on who wore what fabric, efforts should have been made in giving life to the characters. The best books do that. ...more
The book seems very well grounded in its time frame. As a historical fiction, it hits the target. But as a police procedural and as an adventure it falls flat.
My interest in this series killed right here. Instead of solely concentrating on who wore what fabric, efforts should have been made in giving life to the characters. The best books do that. ...more

Sep 13, 2020
Brenda
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
aussie-authors,
2020-release,
historical-mystery,
arc,
own-read,
read-on-kindle,
net-galley
With Harriet Gordon accompanying her employer, Inspector Robert Curran, to the home of Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan to provide comfort to the family of the victim, she had no idea of the horror and grim circumstances which would confront them. Nor what it would lead to. The brutal murder of Nolan’s young wife was a shock which rippled through the community and Curran’s job would be a tedious and drawn out one.
With the military closing ranks on all concerned and Curran finding his way stymied a ...more
With the military closing ranks on all concerned and Curran finding his way stymied a ...more

Fabulous historical Singapore mystery!
Once again Harriet Gordon becomes involved in murder. The British Crown Colony of Singapore, 1910 —the young wife of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan of the First Battalion South Sussex Infantry is found battered to death in her bedroom. Inspector Robert Curran is called to investigate. Curran it seems has personal conflict with the regiment and some of its members. He runs up against the disdain of the forces, the closing of the battali ...more
Once again Harriet Gordon becomes involved in murder. The British Crown Colony of Singapore, 1910 —the young wife of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan of the First Battalion South Sussex Infantry is found battered to death in her bedroom. Inspector Robert Curran is called to investigate. Curran it seems has personal conflict with the regiment and some of its members. He runs up against the disdain of the forces, the closing of the battali ...more

This is another brilliant and awesome story in this series, I loved it and found it very hard to put down, another murder in Singapore in 1910 that finds Harriet and her boss Inspector Robert Curran working hard to uncover the murderer with lots of twists and turns along the way and I was guessing to the very end. A must read.
When Harriet finds out about the death of a member of one of her friends family, she makes her way to Pris Nolan’s family home in support of Pris and finds out that Pris’s ...more
When Harriet finds out about the death of a member of one of her friends family, she makes her way to Pris Nolan’s family home in support of Pris and finds out that Pris’s ...more

A.M. Stuart brings Harriet Gordon back in Revenge in Rubies, a history mystery set in Singapore in 1910. This mystery follows closely after the events of Singapore Sapphire and fleshes out Harriet's character as well as that of her friend (and new employer), Inspector Curran.
After the gruesome death of military wife, Slyvie Nolan, Harriet finds herself embroiled in Curran's investigation since she is acquainted with the sister-in-law of Mrs. Nolan. The military would rather close ranks and solv ...more
After the gruesome death of military wife, Slyvie Nolan, Harriet finds herself embroiled in Curran's investigation since she is acquainted with the sister-in-law of Mrs. Nolan. The military would rather close ranks and solv ...more

Not having read book one in this series (SINGAPORE SAPPHIRE), I had no problem jumping right into REVENGE IN RUBIES without feeling lost. The Singapore setting is novel and a nice change of pace form my usual historical mysteries set in England. Granted, the story takes place in British colonized Singapore in the early twentieth century, but it is still exotic while being firmly grounded in the familiar.
This tale finds police typist and stenographer Harriet Gordon settling nicely into her new li ...more
This tale finds police typist and stenographer Harriet Gordon settling nicely into her new li ...more

I so enjoyed this second book in the series which revealed more of the history of Harriet's life before coming to Singapore, and of Inspector Curran's father. A death leads to many different ruth reads being woven through the story of this book.
As soon as I started reading I felt at home, sighing and relaxing as I read on. I like the way A.M.Stuart includes the varied cultural and racial groups to the story and not just the colonial rulers. The twist towards the end, and the revelation of the cu ...more
As soon as I started reading I felt at home, sighing and relaxing as I read on. I like the way A.M.Stuart includes the varied cultural and racial groups to the story and not just the colonial rulers. The twist towards the end, and the revelation of the cu ...more

4.5/5⭐️
Always nice to discover a new mystery series I enjoy! This was the second in series so I plan to go back to read the debut.
Harriet Gordon is a widow transplanted from India now living in Singapore with her minister brother. She is a stenographer/typist for the local police (the only woman on the payroll) and finds herself interested in the cases of her friend Inspector Curran. This one involves several murders centered around the local military base and had me guessing until the end.
Col ...more
Always nice to discover a new mystery series I enjoy! This was the second in series so I plan to go back to read the debut.
Harriet Gordon is a widow transplanted from India now living in Singapore with her minister brother. She is a stenographer/typist for the local police (the only woman on the payroll) and finds herself interested in the cases of her friend Inspector Curran. This one involves several murders centered around the local military base and had me guessing until the end.
Col ...more

I have recently become a HUGE fan of historical mysteries, and books like this are now the reason I thirst for them. Revenge in Rubies is the second book of A. M. Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mystery series. It was positively delightful and I breezed right through it. Did I miss a little bit from not having read the first book? Yes, I admit I did. This mystery stood alone, but I wish I knew more of the characters' backstories that were no doubt introduced in the first installment. However, in no way
...more

Very easy to fall headlong in to the second of the Harriet Gordon mystery series.
Harriet is working and living a satisfying life until Sylvie, a high ranking member of the army's wife, is murdered. All sorts of secrets are revealed and slowly Harriet is able to put the clues together to find out what really happened on the night Sylvie dies.
This would make a very good tele movie series.
...more
Harriet is working and living a satisfying life until Sylvie, a high ranking member of the army's wife, is murdered. All sorts of secrets are revealed and slowly Harriet is able to put the clues together to find out what really happened on the night Sylvie dies.
This would make a very good tele movie series.
...more

I adore this series! Stuart has done a fabulous job in creating an atmospheric, historically authentic mystery with a sympathetic and intriguing heroine in Harriet Gordon. Harriet's background, covered in the first book and amplified in this second one, brings a layered, fully realized character to the story. She has suffered the loss of her husband and son to typhus in India. She returned to England and was caught up in the suffrage movement, imprisoned and horribly tortured. Harriet has now mo
...more

It was a delight to delve back into historic Singapore with Harriet Gordon again to enjoy another murder mystery, this time set in the barracks of the South Sussex Infantry. The colonel’s lady has been brutally murdered and there’s a cast of likely suspects to draw upon, each with dark secrets and hidden pasts. Further deaths and unusual clues leave Harriet and Curran pondering and their investigation is hampered by malaria and the closed ranks of the military community. A killer is lurking inte
...more

Murder, mystery, intrigue, suspense underlying stories and all set in a country full of culture and at a time when the world was changing. What more you could you want in an excellent read. This is the second in the series and was just as good as the first. You don’t need to read the first but it is nice to meet old characters from the last book. This book kept me turning the page and unlike a lot of murder mysteries, it didn’t take more than a few pages to get straight into the story. I liked t
...more

Revenge in Rubies is the second in the Harriet Gordon series but can be read as a stand-alone. Readers who have already enjoyed Singapore Sapphire will delight in new details of both Harriet Gordon and Police Inspector Curran’s backstories. Harriet, who has lost her beloved husband and young son to typhus in India, has settled into her brother Julian’s household in 1910 Singapore. She is currently employed as a steno/typist at the Straits Settlement police station and assists in murder investiga
...more

"Revenge in Rubies" was an enjoyable murder mystery. One of the things that sets this book apart is that it is set in Singapore, not a typical setting for the murder mystery novels I tend to run across. If I have read other books set in Singapore, it cannot be more than one or two. The story takes place in 1910, when Singapore was still a British colony, and focuses on the First Battalion of the South Sussex Regiment. Sylvie Nolan, the new young wife of Lieutenant Colonel Nolan, the regimental c
...more

Revenge in Rubies is the second in the Harriet Gordon mystery series. A delightful historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Singapore, this is a great novel to curl up and spend the day in. Harriet works as a typist for the Straits Settlements Police Force and loves her job. She has a ward, Will, who has finally become used to his home with Harriet and Julian, her brother and she is content in her life. The peace is shattered when her boss and good friend Robert Curran is called to investiga
...more

3.5 stars
I liked this one better than the first one. I think the writer is getting better. This story was more developed.
The mystery was very good. There were a lot of clues & suspects. I had so many theories. (and i was really good & didn't peek ahead...)
I think as w/the first book, it is a little long but the story slowly develops engrossing the reader as the investigation deepens.
I liked the characters. I like Harriet & that she was making more friends w/the other women. (ie. Li An-Curran's ...more
I liked this one better than the first one. I think the writer is getting better. This story was more developed.
The mystery was very good. There were a lot of clues & suspects. I had so many theories. (and i was really good & didn't peek ahead...)
I think as w/the first book, it is a little long but the story slowly develops engrossing the reader as the investigation deepens.
I liked the characters. I like Harriet & that she was making more friends w/the other women. (ie. Li An-Curran's ...more

I was looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series and it did not disappoint! It had all the elements I enjoyed with the first story (exotic, unusual historical setting, characters I was invested in) combined with a new mystery that literally kept me guessing until the end made this a wonderful read. Without giving spoilers, what a twist.
Highly recommended! Waiting now for #3.
Highly recommended! Waiting now for #3.

I actually finished this a while back but forgot to rate or review it. This is the second book in the Harriet Gordon mysteries, set in Singapore in 1910.
Sylvie Nolan, the new and much younger wife of Lt. Col. John Nolan, has been bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. While Harriet tries to find some answers, she is also forced to face some issues from her past.
This is a good series, and I will most likely continue reading it as new books are published.
Sylvie Nolan, the new and much younger wife of Lt. Col. John Nolan, has been bludgeoned to death in her bedroom. While Harriet tries to find some answers, she is also forced to face some issues from her past.
This is a good series, and I will most likely continue reading it as new books are published.

Harriet's friend Priscilla has a new young sister in law that is found dead. Curran is called in to investigate but he is walking a fine line between civilian and military as young Sylvie is the Commander's wife. It becomes more entangled as more deaths occur and the MP and Curran have an unpleasant history. To make matters worse, Curran is learning that things might not have been as he thought with his father's death in battle. Revenge in Rubies is filled with intrigue from the main plot line a
...more

This is the second in the series and I enjoyed it as much as the first one. Situated in Singapore, during the British colonization, Harriet is once again the secretary with strong detective leanings when it comes to murders.
I love all the formalities such as afternoon tea, formal dress, opera etc. The story meanders along slowly as is becoming to the tropics. In this environment I do like slow and steady.
I’m looking forward to reading her third book which I think is coming out later this year!
I love all the formalities such as afternoon tea, formal dress, opera etc. The story meanders along slowly as is becoming to the tropics. In this environment I do like slow and steady.
I’m looking forward to reading her third book which I think is coming out later this year!

Oct 25, 2020
Mary G.
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-mysteries
There is only one word to describe this book and that word is Wow. The characters, the setting and mystery was great. I felt that I was in Singapore with Harriet and Curren. The secondary characters were wonderfully well developed.

I love smart cozies that feature intelligent, ethical people meeting life's challenges with courage and integrity. This series checks all the boxes for me.
The exotic, early 20th Century setting enhances the sense of time and place for the reader, but the main characters exhibit decidedly modern sensibilities regarding the roles of women and minorities in that colonial, male dominated society.
Main characters Harriet Gordon, widowed and living with her minister brother at a boys' school in Singap ...more
The exotic, early 20th Century setting enhances the sense of time and place for the reader, but the main characters exhibit decidedly modern sensibilities regarding the roles of women and minorities in that colonial, male dominated society.
Main characters Harriet Gordon, widowed and living with her minister brother at a boys' school in Singap ...more

This is the 2nd installment in the Harriet Gordon Mystery series. I really enjoyed book #1 so I was looking forward to reading this next book. It didn't disappoint! I am going to recommend that you read this series in order. At least read book #1 before you read any other (once there are more than 2 offerings in the series). Book #1 sets up the characters and gives you some of the background you need in order to fall in love with the characters. Book 2 builds on this and does give you a little b
...more

I really enjoyed this book! When I first began Revenge in Rubies, I was having trouble settling in. You meet a lot of people early on. But once I got to know the characters, Inspector Curran and Mrs. Harriett Gordon, I really began to enjoy the story. I know almost nothing about Singapore and even less about Singapore a century ago. Reading about life in a British colony was fascinating and troubling in our 21st century lens. The treatment of people of color and the class system was sad to read.
...more

I really enjoyed this book! When I first began Revenge in Rubies, I was having trouble settling in. You meet a lot of people early on. But once I got to know the characters, Inspector Curran and Mrs. Harriett Gordon, I really began to enjoy the story. I know almost nothing about Singapore and even less about Singapore a century ago. Reading about life in a British colony was fascinating and troubling in our 21st century lens. The treatment of people of color and the class system was sad to read.
...more

In 1910 Singapore, Sylvie was the wife of Colonel John Nolan. When she is discovered bludgeoned to death, her sister-in-law Priscilla summons Harriet Gordon and her brother Reverend Julian Edwards for emotional support. Although Sylvie was considerably younger than her husband, the family paints a picture of the perfect hostess and companion for Nolan but further enquiries reveal a very different woman. Sylvie was a flirt who had eyes for one of Nolan’s young officers. On the night of her death,
...more

Another winner from this new author! The Harriet Gordon mysteries are promising to be an excellent entry - plenty of suspense and so many twists and turns that spotting the murderer is almost impossible. Stuart also gives a real flavor of 1910 Singapore and it's mix of both the eastern and western cultures, when it was a British Crown Colony. And Harriet Gordon has the makings of an excellent sleuth as well as a very likable central character. Highly recommended and extremely enjoyable read!
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Goodreads Librari...: Problem with combining editions | 3 | 17 | Feb 12, 2020 03:15AM |
Australian author, A.M. Stuart, began her writing career half way up a tree in the school playground where she wrote her first (unpublished) historical romance. She now writes historical romance as Alison Stuart (a Goodreads author).
Born in Kenya, her family came to Australia when she was ten years old. She has also lived in Singapore.
In her life outside writing, she enjoyed a varied career as a l ...more
Born in Kenya, her family came to Australia when she was ten years old. She has also lived in Singapore.
In her life outside writing, she enjoyed a varied career as a l ...more
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Harriet Gordon Mystery
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