Short and sweet. Interesting view of the past. However I came away wondering if anyone was telling the truth. I wonder why I didn't trust the explanation in the end? David Rintoul is a wonderful narrator. ( )

Elegantly written but lightweight tale of personal relationships on a tea estate in pre-war Ceylon. Exhibiting a degree of fashionable post-colonial angst, this adds another facet to the prodigious output from Alexander McCall Smith. A perfectly enjoyable, quick read. ( )

A book that hooked me with its cover. I could almost feel the breeze coming up the valley. The characters, while not compelling were nonetheless believable. Ceylon just prior to WW2 they lived as part of the moneyed gentry. Owners of a successful tea plantation with servants to do all the work, a governess employed for their 8 year old daughter - life was undemanding and agreeable. This story shows how an indulged yet likeable child managed to ruin a reputation and disrupt their charmed lifestyle. Suspicion and rumour never end in happiness. ( )

This appears to be a one-off book from McCall Smith’s series. There is no mystery and no quirky characters. Instead AMS appears to be making a statement on the British Empire and the empty lives of the women who accompany their husbands to distant lands (in this case Ceylon) and have noting to do but to be decorative and fritter their lives away at “the club.’

The story is set in 1938 It is 1938 in a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under: The Ferguson family consists of Bella, a precocious eight-year-old, her father Henry – owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation – and her mother Virginia. Also living in the household is Bella’s governess, Lavender White..

Their life appears to be idyllic, but it is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess Miss White’s intentions. Her intuition sparks off her mother’s imagination, and, after an unfortunate series of events, a confrontation results in Miss White losing her position and an emotional confrontation with gunfire.
McCall Smith uses this novel to make his feelings of both the British Empire (an imperialistic horror) and the British colonialists who kept the Empire running. This is a big change from the author’s usual fare, but makes for a thought provoking read. ( )