Brian Stoddart

The book starts fast, with a dead body, but it also starts slow, in that description (especially of people's clothes) weighs the action down. Other description, of buildings, roads, and circumstances at the time this was set (in 1920s India) lend atmosphere, but, again, slow the action down.

Something else that distracts: the heading at the top of odd pages, which should read "A Madras Miasma", is correct only on page 7--all other pages have a square icon that shows up instead of the three "m's", and on pages 16 and 22, that square box shows up randomly.

Furthermore, there is so much swearing, especially of the "F" word, that seems out of character for the time and place. Not that people back then did not use that word, but I'm sure it was not as frequent and prevalent as it might be today. It makes the book less than historically accurate.

The atmosphere, however, as mentioned, is done well, and the story unfolds intriguingly, albeit slowly.… (meer)

Book 4 and we're now probably at the point that A GREATER GOD will require some effort to catch up if you're new to the Chris Le Fanu series. Set in early 20th century India, around the tensions leading to Indian Independence from Britain, Chris Le Fanu is a member of the English police force, and an outsider in both the local and ex-pat community. You'll also find yourself catching up with a complicated personal life that involves an old-love who is now very unwell and hospitalised a long way away in Hyderabad. There's also an off-screen new love interest, Straits Chinese woman Jenlin Koh, who is travelling to join him in Madras, even as he travels within India to ensure that Roisin McPhedren is cared for and safe.

Whilst all this heavy lifting is going on in his personal life, Le Fanu is dealing with some very particular problems in his professional life, as the general political unrest in India continues, and racial tensions start to appear between local Hindus and Muslims. To say nothing of Inspector-General Arthur "The Jockey" Jepson, long-time arch enemy of Le Fanu, protected by just enough members of the British ruling groups to remain in power when he's clearly barking mad and dangerous to boot. It's probably in this area that coming cold to this series at this point may be a little confusing for new readers, as the background of the politics and the internecine warfare being undertaken by some members of the ruling elite are complex and ongoing.

Having said that, Stoddart knows his subject matter, and the historical details are cleverly balanced against an almost visual feel for the setting, the people and the society. To say nothing of the descriptions of food which could very well be blamed as the straw that breaks many diet backs. The way that the factual background to the lead up to Independence is woven into each of these books, and the manner in which the cities come to life is one of the great attractions overall, as is the idea that Le Fanu is a quintessential outsider in his own community, embraced with considerably more enthusiasm by locals. This goes right down to his preference for the local cuisine over the boring English stodge served with Raj establishments and his complicated love life, which is both touching and a bit of a train wreck. All in all it makes for a more rounded, complex character than your typical policeman from that era, and his regular sidekick Habi gives the author real opportunity for insight into the Muslim community as the racial tensions increase.

Highly recommend this series to fans of historical crime fiction in particular, as the only minor quibbles with A GREATER GOD are strictly ones of personal expectation after having read all the books. With Jepson, rather than just disappear from view as he did, I wanted a lot more public excoration, and in matters of love, even this hard-hearted cynic was sort of hoping that the train wreck would have been dragged back onto the tracks by now.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/greater-god-brian-stoddart… (meer)

I think it helped, this being #3 in this series, that I had already read the first two, so that I was familiar with many of the characters that occur in the earlier books.

What I particularly like about these stories is the authentic feel to the historical setting, which is, rather vaguely, Madras in the 1920s. The Indian Civil Service is losing its grip because of the independence movement and the protests about Imperialism. Le Fanu has risen to the level of Inspector-General of Police mainly because Major Jepson has taken his sick wife back to England. Le Fanu expects to job to be a lot more interesting than it is, but it does bring status with it.

Nevertheless he jumps at the chance to do some real investigation, rather than his usual pen pushing, and the trail eventually leads him to the Straits Settlements of Penang and Singapore, and with that the tantalising offer of a new job.

Stoddart has left himself plenty of room for #4… (meer)