A review by rellimarual
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is the last of the Grant novels I've read, and here was where the smug Britishness began to grate. I mostly like Grant and his gentlemanly ways, but at several points in the later books, dismissive remarks are made about nations colonized by the British and how ridiculous their citizens are to wish for independence when British rule is so sensible and constructive. Grant literally speculates that if Britain hadn't colonized India, Indian culture would have been "diluted" because an alternate colonizer, like the Dutch wouldn't have forbidden mixed-race marriages! The Irish, in case you didn't know, are too undisciplined and fanciful to be in charge of their own lives. Also, an American is informed that the British aristocracy is not the least bit snobby and is in fact the most down-to-earth population in the country, which was frankly hilarious given that 400 years of British literature attests to just the opposite. 

I consider myself an Anglophile, but this was all way too much for me. Plus, it's not that great of a mystery, so I would recommend the earlier Grant books instead. I remember being very impressed with Daughter of Time the first time I read it, but this time (a re-read), I did find myself bridling at all the smugness about British colonialism in that novel as well. But The Franchise Affair is very good, as are the others before that.