A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul

June 6, 2011
An unexpected murder victim turns up amid the carnage after a terrorist bombing at Bali's Sari Club in Flint's engaging second Inspector Singh mystery (after 2010's A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder). That Richard Crouch has been shot dead is clear, but it's not clear whether he was killed at the club itself. Nor is it clear why Crouch and his wife had been residing in Bali for six months or who his local friends were. As Inspector Singh and Bronwen Taylor of the Australian Federal Police investigate, the narrative weaves deftly in and out of the lives of Crouch's wife, their expat friends, and some Indonesians from the island of Sulawesi. Was Crouch killed because of sexual jealousyâor for his money? Why did his account show so much money flowing in and out? Singh and Taylor find some unexpected answers in a whodunit that describes Bali in loving detail.

July 15, 2011

A terrorist bombing masks a cold-blooded murder...until Inspector Singh arrives.

Skittish suicide bomber Jimi prepares to drive his white Mitsubishi into Bali's popular and rather hedonistic Sari Club. Cut to dour Inspector Singh examining the wreckage of the club with brusque Bronwyn Taylor of the Australian Federal Police, whose vigor exacerbates Singh's already bad mood. Singh is overfond of his creature comforts, and knows that his bosses in Singapore love having him out of their hair. But he has no experience dealing with terrorist crimes, let alone scattered body parts. Meanwhile, bored, beautiful Sarah Crouch commiserates with her fellow idle Western visitors, the Yardleys and the Greenwoods, about the absence of her husband Richard. Little do they know that the couple is on the verge of divorce. Singh is inappropriately excited to find a bullet hole in the head of one victim, identified as Richard Crouch, and more than happy to investigate a certified murder. Non-grieving widow Sarah definitely goes to the top of the list of likely suspects, though Karri and Tim Yardley certainly arouse suspicion, as do a mismatched missionary couple named Nuri and Ghani who've come to godless Bali to build a religious school.

Singh's second case (Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder, 2010, etc.) is a solid, traditional whodunit with great chemistry between Singh and Bronwyn, a more in-your-face Archie Goodwin to Singh's Asian Nero Wolfe.

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June 1, 2011
Inspector Singh, wearing his trademark white sneakers, is dispatched from Singapore to Bali, ostensibly to assist in the investigation of a string of nightclub bombings. But that was just an excuse to get him out of Singapore, since he knows nothing about catching terrorists. Which is why he is more than happy to investigate a possible murder connection after the coroner's office finds a skull with a bullet hole among the victims. Paired with a female Australian officer who is in the doghouse after some unfortunate remarks to the media, Singh tackles the unusually difficult case. Perfectly paced and plotted, this is a highly enjoyable mystery that should be recommended to fans of H. R. F. Keating's Inspector Ghote series and Tarquin Hall's The Case of the Missing Servant (2009), starring overweight, food-loving P.I. Vish Puri. Flint not only creates fascinating, unforgettable characters; she also brings to life the unique island setting and lifestyle of Bali.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)