cover image Under a Monsoon Cloud

Under a Monsoon Cloud

H. R. F. Keating. Viking Books, $15.95 (221pp) ISBN 978-0-670-80367-5

A.D.I.G. (Additional Deputy Inspector-General) ""Tiger'' Kelkar has gone to Vigatpore, outside Bombay, to check on Inspector G. V. Ghote's temporary work there. In a fit of righteous temper, Kelkar throws an inkpot at a foolish sergeant, killing him. Ghote, horrified that the much-admired Kelkar's career could end with such an accident, helps dispose of the body. A year later, however, at the start of the next moonsoon, the victim's family gets the case reopened. Kelkar kills himself, and Ghote is the subject of an official inquiry. Keating traces Ghote's anguished vacillation as he weighs the value of the truth against that of his own career. Laden with heavy, monsoon-season atmosphere and graced with a fully satisfying resolution, the latest Ghote adventure shows Keating still the consummate observer of human nature. (September 23)