Change In Nuala by Harriet Steel Series: Inspector de Silva Mysteries #15
on March 28, 2025
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 197
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon
With the big day when Ceylon becomes independent of the British fast approaching, Inspector Shanti de Silva is busy with plans for policing excited crowds and elephant processions.
Everything is going smoothly until a new mystery raises the stakes. A wealthy and popular plantation owner is suddenly taken dangerously ill, and his glamorous young wife vanishes in suspicious circumstances. If they are to uncover the truth behind the family’s accusations and satisfy his boss Archie’s demand to wrap up the case before the big day, Shanti and his wife Jane will need to work fast.
Ceylon has weathered Colonial rule and a recent World War and now it is poised to inaugurate its independence. Right in the midst of preparations, Inspector de Silva has a potential attempted murder paired with a missing persons’ case to solve in time for the big celebration. Harriet Steel continues to bring to life the 1930-1940’s world of Sinhalese police detective, Shanti de Silva with clever mysteries and entertaining local color and events.
Changing Times in Nuala is the fifteenth installment in the Inspector de Silva series, an engaging historical cozy mystery series. I appreciate the attention to historic and cultural detail brought out in each standalone mystery installment.
Changing Times in Nuala opens with Shanti and Jane attending the annual Nuala flower show and British village fete-style festival following. They meet a few more British society locals and Shanti takes a few prizes for his flower entries to his satisfaction.
Lately, everyone has been in an uproar making sure things are going to be perfect for the British handoff to the people of Ceylon. Shanti has the police end of things ready in Nuala even as he can’t help wondering who will replace Archie Clutterbuck as his boss and how the new independence will affect his job as local chief inspector and future retirement.
But, before he can really start stressing over the future, Dr. Hebden, his friend, brings him a dilemma. David can’t prove it, but he thinks someone has attempted to poison a local wealthy tea plantation owner- and the man’s young, beautiful wife has disappeared in the aftermath. The man’s sister is convinced the wife tried to poison and disappeared by choice.
Changing Times in Nuala was a delightful comfy cozy with Shanti, Jane, Archie, Shanti’s police team, and the fictional town of Nuala for a clever mystery. I worked it out early on, but still appreciated tagging along as Shanti and the others got to the bottom of things. Another engaging installment in a solid series that I happily press on other historical cozy mystery fans who want a different locale and a native Sinhalese detective.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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This does sound like a fun series 😀
Absolutely, Carole!
Elephants are my favorite animal, and I like this cover! I am gonna look into this series. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I really love the covers, too. The elephants are mentioned time to time, but not a big part of the stories. Hope you like the series, Melissa. 🙂
Thia sounds like a good cozy Sophia. Glad you are enjoying the series.
I’ll say it is. I was so glad to stumble across the first one in an Amazon recommendations email. 🙂
Love this cover! The elephants are fun! Glad this continues to be a series you are enjoying. Great review!
Yes, the covers are stellar and I do think the stories are just as great. Thanks, Lisa!
It’s fun to be able to figure out what’s going on before they reveal it.
I agree, Mary! Even in books that aren’t straight mysteries; I’m always trying to work out the plot ahead of time. 🙂
I think it’s fun to solve the mystery along with the characters, too. It’s the ones that have no clues that support a suspect’s guilt that bother me.
I agree. I like to see the steps point A to point Z rather than have it all come out of left field.