Singapore Sapphire: A Harriet Gordon Mystery

In 1910, Harriet Gordon, the heroine of Stuart’s underwhelming debut and series launch, comes to the British colony of Singapore after suffering severe emotional and physical traumas: the death of her husband, and being force-fed in prison after her arrest at a London suffragette rally. Gordon, who works as an unpaid assistant at a Singapore boys’ school, tries to earn some income as a typist. One day, when she attempts to retrieve her typewriter from the home of a client, Sir Oswald Newbold, she finds him dead with a dagger sticking out of his neck. Later, Hans Visscher, a hotel clerk who was at the Newbold house the night before her grim discovery, tells her that he warned Sir Oswald about something and that he’s now at risk from a group he identifies as the VOC. The initials match those used for the defunct Dutch East India Company. Inevitably, Gordon takes an active role in helping the hunky lead policeman on the case and puts herself in danger. A pat ending doesn’t help. Hopefully, the sequel will contain deeper characterizations and a less formulaic plot. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Aug.)