Inspector Singh Investigates: Bali Conspiracy Most Foul
Shamini Flint
Minotaur, Jul 19 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780312596989
A bomb explodes in Bali. Singapore police supervisors see this as an opportunity to get Inspector Singh a Sikh out of their hair as they did with A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder case; though he has a strong record of solving cases. This time they ship him to Bali to assist the locals with their antiterrorism efforts.
Though he wonders if it is because he is a Sikh, Singh is confused by his being assigned to antiterrorism as his expertise is homicide. Richard Crouch’s corpse with a bullet is found amongst the ruins. Singh and Australian Detective Bronwyn Taylor, also being stonewalled by her superiors, team up on the case in which he brings his homicide investigation skills and she her Indonesian language and cultural awareness expertise.
Although conceptually similar to Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder, as the detective is “exiled” to another country, the freshness comes with the new set of cultural clashes. The protagonist, the Australian sidekick cop, the locals and the expatriates bring diverse backgrounds that Shamini Flint explores without fingering any as inferior. The whodunit is entertaining with a stunning climax and coda as Singh takes Bali just like he did Malaysia.
Harriet Klausner
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