Nilesh Jasani's Reviews > Terror in Topaz

By the fourth episode of the Harriett Gordon series, Terror in Topaz offers fewer charms due to its colonial Malaya backdrop. Readers may find themselves less captivated by the romanticized depiction of the aristocratic class, and the efforts to address racial stereotypes feel contrived and superficial. The author goes to great lengths to transport the entire cast to Kuala Lumpur, but the coincidences that bring them back together and have them working collaboratively strain credulity.

The contortions required to maintain the old storylines and conveniently adjust the settings to accommodate the lead character's involvement make the narrative feel increasingly artificial and forced. Furthermore, the central murder mystery itself lacks originality, having been explored in greater depth and with more vivid descriptions in other works. The loss of freshness and the transparent devices employed to keep the leads intact are inadequately compensated by any novel elements introduced by the new societal backdrop.