The Girl from Cobb Street by Merryn Allingham

Allingham gives the reader and interesting insight into the strict and oppressive rules amongst the British military in India. The unwritten rules of society and class structure.

The wives must always bow down to the will of the wife, who is married to the higher ranking soldier. Any slight, insult or offence committed by any wife can have a knock-on effect on the husband and his career.

Then there are the rules about associating with the natives or the Indian officers, even the so-called Anglo-Indians are off-limits for the British officers and wives.

A very racist and biased environment, which probably also played a role in the revolt of the native population.

The women are expected to be waited on hand and foot by servants, regardless of whether they can do or are used to doing certain work themselves. Everything is about image and perception.

Daisy finds it hard to deal with doing nothing at all and refuses to tow the line like the other women. She starts finding herself in precarious situations and odd accidents start to happen. Until she suspects that the accidents aren't just coincidences. Daisy finds herself mixed up in an unexpected and dangerous situation with no salvation in sight.

At the end of this first book in the Daisy's War series I think it is fair to say that as a reader I would like to delve more deeply into the story of Daisy's parentage. Her story seems to infer a connection to India, one that would explain her less than English rose complexion perhaps.
I received a copy of this book courtesy of Harlequin UK and Harlequin MIRA.