Nettled by several errors in Heavner’s analysis, and even more by her willingness to share the gory details at a press conference, Tempe launches her own investigation, which is not so much off the books as against the books. Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection, 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. Especially impressive is Stuart’s ability to keep the plot moving and the characters believable without overdoing it or relying on clichés.īy the end of this sharp, satisfying novel, you’ll be anxious to find out what happens in the next adventure.Īnother sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.Ī week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been.

Stuart paints a vivid picture of Singapore, from its cultural clashes to its steamy climate. The author skillfully and seamlessly weaves actual people and events of the time with rich, multidimensional fictional characters. Admiring her astute observational skills and calm demeanor, the enigmatic, British-born Inspector Robert Curran (rumor has it he actually lives with a native woman) asks for her help. She is also a typist for hire to earn extra money, and when she finds one of her clients and his servant brutally murdered, she has no idea of the evil and widespread criminal network she has stumbled upon. Julian Edwards, in Singapore, where he is the head of a British boys’ school. Desperate for a fresh start, she's joined her brother, the Rev.

Returning to London, she became a passionate supporter of the suffragette movement, even getting arrested and being force-fed in prison. Harriet lost her husband and young son to typhus in India, where her husband served as a doctor. But as she will find in this impressive, intelligent debut, her new life will pull her into mystery and murder. When young British widow Harriet Gordon arrives in Singapore in 1910, she’s hoping for a respite from her tumultuous and tragic past.

Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart