Terror in Topaz

A Harriet Gordon Mystery, Book 4

By: A.M. Stuart

Narrated by: Catherine Bilson

The next instalment in the riveting HARRIET GORDON MYSTERIES.

The chance to pursue a new opportunity takes Harriet and her brother Julian, to Kuala Lumpur, but death is waiting…

Singapore 1910: Harriet Gordon has been dismissed from the job she loved and finds herself cast adrift. When her brother receives an invitation to visit a prestigious school in Kuala Lumpur, she and Julian decide to leave Singapore behind for a few days, but their pleasant visit takes a dark turn when a visitor to the school is shot dead on the front steps of the headmaster’s bungalow.

After being suspended from the Straits Settlements Police, Inspector Robert Curran has disappeared on a personal quest to find a missing girl, but his suspension is not all it appears and he receives secretive orders to investigate the mysterious Topaz Club, which seems to be at the center of high-level corruption within the colonial government of Malaya.

The uninvestigated death of a woman with links to the Topaz Club brings Harriet and Curran together in a determination to shut down the notorious establishment for good.

But a devious criminal stands in the way and it is going to take Harriet and Curran all their resources to bring justice for the victims of the Topaz Club and in doing so, find what it is they have been looking for in each other.

©2023 Alison Brideson (P)2024 Alison Brideson

Decent story, terrible narration

The story is about as good as the previous. It's maybe a bit less for quality in story and character development, but still a thoroughly well told story. The narrator is a dreadful mismatch for this book. I thought the last book's narrator was not great. This one took the cake and dropped it in the Klang. I finally had to give up and switch to reading the book without audio. I don't know why the publisher keeps switching narrators for each book. It's a bit jarring.

Wow! Oh wow!

I could hardly tear myself away! Harriet and her brother travel to Kuala Lumpur and in the midst of a stultifying expat society find that surface appearances don’t mean a thing. Our favorite police officer Curran is there clinging to a disguise and false name. There’s a hidden gentlemen’s club that caters to every vice. I think you could enjoy this as a stand alone novel but it’s even better as read in a series. I loved every bit and will probably listen to the whole thing again - it was that good. Reader did a splendid job as usual for this series.

Too rushed

While things proceeded along predictable paths, this book crammed in too many elements, and the ending seemed forced. And again, the narrator did not add much to the experience. Perhaps reading a printed form would be more satisfactory.

No pleasure from this one.

I have listened to the author’s earlier books and enjoyed them immensely. The former narrator brought the story and characters to life. While this story was good, the new narrator brought no joy to the telling. I have no desire to continue with the series without the former narrator.

Terrible Naration

I love AM Stuart's writing and stories and up to this book the narration was perfect. But this one is awful. The reader sounds way to old to be Harriet Gordon. Her character inflection is not even close. When she tries to sound like a man, it sounds more like she needs another cigarette.
It is hard to listen with this narrator.