Initially, I was disappointed to read that the thing that made these books unique - their setting in 1920s India - was a thing of the past. Books set in London in that era are not exactly rare, and although I always enjoyed the plots of the earlier books, it was their setting that I liked the most about them. But this notwithstanding, The Bee's Kiss is a good book, one that starts predictably enough, but which gets better as you read more. Fans of David Roberts will enjoy the political and social history as the General Strike looms, but politics take a back seat with the plot firmly to the fore. Joe is a convincing central character, though a little dull compared to just about everybody else, but it is the story that is the star here as it twists and turns to a conclusion I didn't guess. Now we know Barbara Cleverly can take her hero out of his jewelled setting and spin a humdinger of a tale in more conventional circumstances, can he go back to India, please?