The Secrets of the Tea Garden (The India Tea Book 4)
In 1899, on a tea garden estate in Assam, India, a junior officer, James, is summoned by the burra-sahib, Logan, and ordered to handle a delicate situation. James agrees, not because he’s promised a promotion but more in consideration of the dire consequences for those involved.
Later, in Newcastle, England, in 1946, James’s wife Tilly and 22-year-old daughter, Libby, are back home to run a café. James remains in Assam and Libby, missing him and India, longs to return there. Tilly reluctantly agrees to let Libby visit her father, despite the turmoil brewing in India. Libby, while residing with relatives in Calcutta, meets the handsome Ghulam Khan, and they fall in love. He’s a journalist by day and a freedom fighter at night. Then in 1947, the partition of India leads to widespread communal violence and bloodshed. Although Libby is safe in Assam, she is distraught on hearing of Ghulam’s disappearance. James is distressed as well, having harbored Logan’s secret about the tea garden all these years.
This fourth novel in Trotter’s India Tea series ties together the loose ends of the storylines from the previous books. The attempt to make it a standalone is somewhat successful, although at the expense of the page count. Trotter’s proficient use of her grandparents’ archives from India, her own travels to India, and her in-depth research shows in the writing. The vivid descriptions of the local flora and fauna, the pre-partition Calcutta homes and streets, the sometimes-pompous behavior of the British, and subservient attitude of the Indians are aptly presented. The psychological aspects of the partition on the British—both those staying on and those who returned—and the Indians are dexterously portrayed. The Newcastle scenes and the accented dialogue make readers feel as if they are with the locals in the pubs or their homes. Highly recommended.
