Whip Smart…
The third in the Drabble & Harris series and a curious crime in a small English town has stirred journalist Sir Percival. Summoning the professor to help, an investigation begins. And so, the action starts. A rollicking romp, packed with eccentric and eclectic characters, whip smart dialogue and an engaging plot written with a keen eye and a deft hand.

DNF this at 50 percent.

I found this book to have problematic elements, specifically, racist portrayal of Native Americans. They are constantly referred to as "red" and "Indians". The story begins with some Native American artefacts being taken from a British Museum and the white detectives suspect an "Indian" Chief of stealing the artefacts. This is very rich, since most artefacts in British museums are stolen from various countries. Also, the white characters constantly confuse Indians (as in Asia) and Native Americans or Indigenous Americans as one and the same. Native Americans are referred to as "savages" and "uncivilized" by white people in the book. Maybe the racism vanishes in the end of the book and I'm being too harsh, but I read first half of the book and it was unbearable.

An irrepressible crime romp full of humour, red herrings and ingenious twists and turns, Alec Marsh’s Ghosts of the West is an immensely enjoyable mystery that will delight fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Richard Osman.

Daring journalist Sir Percival Harris can never resist a good story or a juicy crime, so when he hears rumours of a grave robbery taking place in a sleepy English village, he ropes in his old friend Professor Ernest Drabble and the two friends vow to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this case. However, this investigation is going to be far from straightforward and presents the incorrigible duo more challenges than they previously imagined. As they begin their investigation in earnest, they are shocked to discover that grave robbing is the least of their concerns!

With a theft at the British museum soon leading to murder, Drabble and Harris find themselves crossing continents and leaving the genteel streets of London behind for the sweeping plains of the United States. Drabble and Harris might not be exactly clear about what is at stake, but they must work fast and leave no stone unturned because failure is not an option and one wrong move could end up having serious repercussions that will stretch across cities, countries and even continents!

The stakes have never been higher for Drabble and Harris and indeed their friendship has been tested rather regularly in the last few years, but will it manage to withstand the latest obstacle in their way: the beautiful and mysterious Dr Charlotte Moore?

Ghosts of the West is the most marvellous fun! A delightfully entertaining caper that will have readers laughing out loud and chewing their nails to the elbow, Alec Marsh’s Ghosts of the West is a delectable mix of tension, suspense, intrigue, wit and adventure that readers will find hard to resist.

Alec Marsh’s Ghosts of the West is a thrilling, captivating and absorbing page-turner readers are going to thoroughly enjoy.

The good recommendations received by Ghosts of the West by Alec Marsh encouraged me to give a serious try to this book. Set in the end of 1930s Britain, it starts with the investigation of a grave-robbery (the most despicable kind of robberies and I would rather not share too many details about it, for pure decency reasons). In charge with finding the culprits, there are two curious investigators, Drabble and Harris. As for me it was the first encounter with the series and Alec Marsh in general, I was not privy to the two, as I was not familiar with the usual topics the author approaches in his previous thrillers - Rule Britannia and Enemy of the Raj. In fact, not having read the two was not a big issue in understanding and following the story. However, if I would have read more by Marsh before I would not have been so surprised by the global take took by the search for the cuprits.

In fact, the West from the title stands for Western, ´wild West´, that world of imagination populated by the exoticised ´Indians´. This is where the story will lead in the end, from one Empire about to die to a different kind of Empire who is about to get born. Different challenges, almost the same abitrary and unempathic attitude towards the ´natives´ of the lands took into possesion for different reasons. Although there are many differences who are standing against a complete comparisons between the two empires, Ghosts of the West succeeds to display a world in collision, a struggle for the global political and economic survival.

All this started with a despicable grave robbery.

The story is relatively short, written with precision for both the characters development and the narrative creation.

I loved the book more than I expected and, at least for once, allowed me to appreciate a thriller with a very smart historical and even geopolitical twist. It made me think a lot about empires and how humans can survive them, and how influential they are in shaping long term mentalities and thinking habits.

A special note to the cover which can be read in key, giving some gentle hints about the symbols and threads to expect in the book.

Ghosts of the West is the third book in the Drabble and Harris series. I haven’t read either of the previous two books – Rule Britannia and Enemy of the Raj – so it took me a little bit of time to get to know Sir Percival Harris and Professor Ernest Drabble, especially as the author plunges the reader straight into the mystery. I think I would have benefited from having read the earlier books in the series to learn more about the backgrounds of Harris and Drabble. For example, how they met, how Harris earned his knighthood, and their ages. (They turned out to be much younger than I had imagined.) Harris is a journalist for whom it is ‘always the story’ whilst Cambridge University professor of history Drabble acts as his sidekick much in the manner of Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Their initial enquiries into the theft of artefacts lead them to attend a Wild West Show staged in lavish style, albeit conforming to the stereotypical views of the time – the Indians definitely being the ‘baddies’. The only truly authentic element of the show is an elderly Native American, Black Cloud. As Harris and Drabble interview him as part of their investigation the reader gets a lesson in American history from the perspective of the Native American people. It becomes clear what a raw deal they’ve had from US governments over the centuries: driven out of their ancestral lands, the buffalo they relied on for food wiped out, not to mention bloody encounters with the US cavalry. Whereas Drabble is engaged by the history of an indigenous people, Harris is excited at the prospect of a possible scoop if he can persuade Black Cloud to reveal who killed Colonel Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Harris and Drabble follow the cast of the Wild West Show as they travel across the Atlantic, with Harris drinking what seems at times enough to float the ocean liner they are aboard. At the Captain’s table Harris and Drabble encounter some of their fellow passengers, including Fanny Howell and Colonel Grant from the Wild West Show, as well as Major Sakamoto, a Japanese diplomat. As Harris and Drabble pursue their enquiries both find themselves in danger, giving rise to some hair-raising scenes and necessitating some daring escapes. Although the story is told from both Harris’ and Drabble’s point of view I felt I got to know the latter slightly better. Having said that, Drabble’s romantic encounter took me by surprise; I’d imagined him to be a dusty old professor but he proves to be nothing of the kind.

Set in 1937, there are references to the increasingly unstable situation in Europe and the territorial ambitions of Japan. But how might these be connected with rumours of a new determination by Native American tribes to restore their rights? Finding the answers takes Harris and Drabble to South Dakota for some exciting final scenes… and more narrow escapes.

Ghosts of the West is an entertaining historical mystery that moves along at pace. I thought the Native American angle of the plot was inventive and I enjoyed the banter between Harris and Drabble.

This is my first read by the author although the third in the Drabble and Harris series and reads well as a stand-alone; that said I would love to go back and see what other adventures they got up to. The writing and plot is excellent; an interesting and fast moving historical mystery that brought Holmes and a slightly bumbling Watson to mind.

Briefly, journalist Sir Percival Harris and his friend Professor Ernest Drabble are investigating a strange event. The possible grave of Pocahontas has been disturbed, but why? Then there is a theft of Indian artefacts from the British museum and shortly afterwards the curator is found dead. After visiting a travelling Wild West show the pair are convinced that it is somehow involved in all these events. Harris arranges passage for them on the cruise liner taking the shows members back to the USA. During the trip a number of strange events convince them they were right. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are much bigger plots afoot. Plans that could change the course of American history. Can Harris and Drabble foil the plans.

This unlikely crime fighting duo are very different, one intelligent and a bit of an action hero, and one rather hapless sidekick who constantly has a drink or a cigarette in his hand. A great read with twists and turns aplenty, potential villains around every corner and factual history mixed in with the fiction. Enjoyable and fun read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ghosts of the West is the third instalment in the Drabble and Harris Thrillers series in which, after an apparent grave robbery in Kent, the partnership becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that takes them to the broad plains of the United States – and threatens to upend the world order. It's September 1937, and when Professor Ernest Drabble hears a grave robbery has been committed in the small town of Gravesend in Kent, he travels from Cambridge by train to meet up with faithful colleague, long-time friend and ballsy journalist Sir Percival Harris who persuades him to join him in his investigation. The church where it occurred isn't far from the train station, which is just as well given the deluge of rain descending from the overwhelmingly bleak sky, and upon arrival, Harris gestures towards its large oak door. It's a dark brick Georgian church, with its square steeple topped with a spire. The interior of the church is gloomy, with the dim afternoon light seeping in grudgingly through small, high windows. Rows of pews culminate in steps leading to a marble-topped altar housed in a Romanesque apse supported by natty neoclassical pillars.

On the left, a stately organ clung to a wall that is otherwise covered in memorial tablets and brass inscriptions. The two head down some stairs into a private part of the building where Drabble was staring down under the dim light at what appeared to be a diminutive skeleton. This was a historically important find in Gravesend, and although she had always been said to have been buried here, no one had ever found the grave until now. If this really was Pocahontas it would be a culturally significant discovery. However, someone had also broken into the church the previous evening, lifted the slab of stone and did God knows what to the remains. Had they known that she may have been buried here, or did the graverobber stumble onto the bones oblivious to whom they belonged? The possible discovery is disclosed in the newspaper later that day and the Americans issue a statement declaring relief that the body may have been found after all these years. Harris and Drabble head for a drink, but while calling the office to check in, Harris is informed of a break-in that has just occurred at the British Museum.

The priceless artefact that has been stolen? A smoking pipe or calumet belonging to Sitting Bull circa 1876. And the situation doesn't get any better from there on out as the curator of the American section of the British Museum is later murdered by an Apache-style arrow on the Victoria Embankment. Now Harris and Drabble must unravel the connection between the linked crimes before anything else is pilfered or another body is found. Soon, Drabble and Harris find themselves in the midst of a sprawling conspiracy that takes them across the Atlantic Ocean, but what else is in store for the intrepid pair? This is a compelling, interesting and deftly plotted historical mystery with plenty going on to keep you immersed and invested in the direction it is heading. It's action-packed, time-travelling fiction that is so, so underappreciated as a series despite it having all the elements necessary to make it a cracking read. There is excitement and a plethora of twists, turns and reveals, not to mention superb use of misdirection which all help elevate the story even further.

Palpable tension and fascinating history-related crimes are the name of the game within these pages, and the sense of time and place is spot on. The zeitgeist of the era emanates from the pages in an authentic fashion and attention has been paid to the cultural and societal norms of the time. However, it is of course Harris and Drabble who steal the show and make the book what it is, and although they are certainly getting on in age, this doesn't stop them jet setting around the globe to find answers and solve crimes. Like fine wine or cheese, they get better with age, and I must admit they have become like old friends; friends you relish being able to see every now and again when both of your schedules allow. I don't see why Drabble and Harris couldn't still be at it in their eighties in the 1980s, and Marsh seems to have the intent to carry on the series. However, the duo would have to survive the rigours of fictional foes as well as the reaper to get there: Drabble's bravery and physical dexterity would need to be tempered and Harris will have to cut back on the booze and fags if he's going to have a chance of making it. Highly recommended.