Under a Monsoon Cloud

Inspector Ghote of Bombay Police is sent to a small outpost when the chief inspector is out sick. Ghote is working hard fixing the mistakes left by his predecessor. Then he gets word that Inspector Kelkar, known as Tiger for his fierce anger that gets results so quickly, is coming to inspect the station. Ghote works furiously to get everything into order. But when Kelkar arrives, he and Ghote get involved in a sudden and violent event which will have tragic consequences. I don't want to give away too much. The event takes place in the first 1/3 of the book and rest of the book is dealing with the aftermath. But if you do want to read it, I don't want to spoil anything. I really loved this one. Keating wrote so many mysteries, and some were much better than others, IMHO. The Inspector Ghote ones are some of the best, with the ability to transport the reader completely into another world and time. This one deals with the Indian monsoon, and I almost wanted to turn on my windshield wipers and look for an umbrella as I listened. This one is more of a character study than some of the other ones in this series, but it was still one that I couldn't wait to see what happened. Highly recommended, but probably hard to find.

First: If you can get it, perhaps at the library, seek the audiotape version read by Sam Dastor to bring full life to this wonderful book. A story whose heart is Inspector Ghote's admiration of a man, that man's use of anger in the performance of his duties, and Ghote's realization that anger is perhaps not the best policy. Not for the speed-reader, Keating's descriptions of those monsoon days in India will bring out the sweat in you!

Under a Monsoon Cloud is the first novel by HRF Keating I read (actually heard on audio tape) and it won't be the last. Detective Ghote is an unforgetable character whose misadventures and efforts to save himself and his family from doom are presented in a spellbinding narrative rich with wit and local color. The ending comes as a surprise and a relief.