Historical Mystery Lovers discussion

Born in Africa, author A. M. Stuart has traveled extensively and has lived in Kenya, Singapore and Australia. She is the author of the Guardians of the Crown historical romance series, published by Harlequin Australia, and her books have been nominated for multiple international awards.

Harriet Gordon Mystery

The Umbrella Novella, prequel
Singapore Sapphire
Revenge in Rubies
Evil in Emerald
Terror in Topaz
Agony in Amethyst

Let's take a trip to Singapore, 1910. I have read Singapore Sapphire and enjoyed it. The Prequel Umbrella is only available as an e-book.
Hope you enjoy the series.

This sounds definitely like a series I might try out. Especially as it seems to be short and already completed. I am wary of series that are drawn out endlessly and beyond the author's capacity.

sabagrey wrote: "This sounds definitely like a series I might try out. Especially as it seems to be short and already completed. I am wary of series that are drawn out endlessly and beyond the author's capacity."

I agree. Sometimes series hang on too long and become dull and repetitive. I like unusual settings for books.

I skipped the February author and ended up in March - sorry, I'm early. I'm two thirds into Singapore Sapphire and I.love.it. The setting, the characters, the mystery, ... everything is so satisfying that I'm in no hurry to see the end of the book.

Thank you for the recommendation.

A question for who has read this series before: should I start with the prequel or is it better to just start with the first book, Singapore Sapphire?

I have only read Singapore Sapphire so I can't say if prequel should be read first.

Joyce wrote: "A question for who has read this series before: should I start with the prequel or is it better to just start with the first book, Singapore Sapphire?"

As I understand it, the prequel is about Harriet's time in London and her experiences as a suffragette. As this is repeatedly an issue throughout the series, I do not feel compelled to read it. In my mind, it is not indispensable for understanding and enjoying the series.

I finished Revenge in Rubies . Very good historical mystery set in 1910 Singapore. Very good mystery not easy to figure out, interesting characters. Lots of good information about Singapore under British rule. Very good series. I hope to read book 3 in the series this month

I read The Umbrella. It is too short to get a real feel for the series, but the story was good enough to make me want to read more.

I've finished the series, without the prequel novella, and I liked it very much.

I am no judge of the historical accuracy of the setting, but the world that is created is believable and immersive, down to the omnipresence of a tropical climate which is skillfully shown, not told. On this foundation, five mysteries unfold (with vol. 4 more of a thriller than a mystery), and characters and relationships develop. I liked the elements and characters that held the series together, and I was interested enough in the characters to ask myself about their possible futures (especially the futures of the women who are to be married - they are about to lose their jobs, so what will they do?)

sabagrey wrote: "This sounds definitely like a series I might try out. Especially as it seems to be short and already completed. I am wary of series that are drawn out endlessly and beyond the author's capacity."

I have not seen anything from the author indicating she is done with the Harriet Gordon series, have you seen something I missed? The most recent one was published just last year and the blurb for it doesn't necessarily read "finale" to me.

Nice to see this author being featured, I have read the first two in the series so far and enjoyed the mysteries and the characters. Harriet's suffragette backstory gives depth to her character that I'm sure will be explored further in the books I've not yet read. I enjoy that she is a strong female character but I still feel like the depiction is realistic for the time and setting in which it occurs. I picked up the series initially especially because it's nice to read about a different setting than England once in a while, and I've also been to Singapore twice. I'm no expert on its 1910 era history, but it was fun to recognize some of the places, roads etc. that are still around today that I recognize from my trips. I have the 3rd book at home so I will get to that one later this year most likely.

I have not read the prequel, and it doesn't seem necessary to enjoy the rest of the series.

Lindsey wrote: "sabagrey wrote: "This sounds definitely like a series I might try out. Especially as it seems to be short and already completed. I am wary of series that are drawn out endlessly and beyond the auth..."

According to the author's website Agony in Amethyst is the final book of the series. Although, she does say "I am not saying it will be farewell to ever to our favourite characters but an adieu for now. ", whatever that means.

Katy wrote: "According to the author's website Agony in Amethyst is the final book of the series. Although, she does say "I am not saying it will be farewell to ever to our favourite characters but an adieu for now. ", whatever that means...."

Ok thanks for the info, I couldn't find anything. I hope it's just a pause then, and not a conclusion. :)

For those interested, I listened to the 30 minute video on the author's website (minus the part where she reads from Agony in Amethyst because I'm not there yet in the series and didn't want any spoilers). She mentioned that she is about 1/4 done with a short story about Harriet, hinted it might be a Christmas story. Overall she said the arc of the story for the series is done, and if she continued it wouldn't be "the Harriet Gordon" series, and that she doesn't want to stay in the same place (Singapore). She also mentioned a possible Will Lawson series ((view spoiler)[Harriet's ward (hide spoiler)]). So it sounds like the main series won't continue per se, with the possible exception of a novella, but that we could see the characters again in the future at a different time and place. I'll look forward to seeing what else the author does, and in the meantime anyway I have 3 more Harriet books to finish. :)

I finished Singapore Sapphire today after reading the prequel first. sabagrey and Lindsey were right that the prequel isn't necessary to start the series but it was a nice start and it didn't contain spoilers for the actual first book in the series.

The only thing I could nitpick about if I really wanted to, was the use of Dutch phrases and names in Singapore Sapphire. They weren't used/written as a Dutch person would do. Having said that, I liked both books enough that I'm going to pick up the next ones as well... glad to have found yet another new-to-me author :)

Joyce wrote: "The only thing I could nitpick about if I really wanted to, was the use of Dutch phrases and names."

I've decided long ago not to nitpick about the uncouth use of foreign languages by English-speaking authors - be it Dutch, German, French, Italian, or Spanish (and, I induce from these, pretty much every foreign language). A recent highlight that I found was the "coup de gras" which had at least the merit of being funny.

I finished Evil in Emerald book 3 in the series. This book was my favorite in the series so far. Excellent character development. You get to know the character so much better. Mystery was good and you start to understand how it is to live in Singapore in 1910.