Calcutta Cabob

I would be wise to take the Moorwife's advice. You remember in The

Will-o'-the Wisps are in Town, when the man had listened to the

Moorwife's tale he said, "I might write a book about that, a novel in

twelve volumes, or better, a popular play."

"Or better still," said the Moorwife, "you might let it alone,"

"Ah," said the man, "that would be pleasanter and easier."

Olivia in India

On Amazon

"Cabob, that is Beef or Mutton cut in small pieces, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and dipt with Oil and Garlick, which have been mixt together in a dish, and then roasted on a Spit, with sweet Herbs put between and stuff in them, and basted with Oil and Garlick all the while." [Hobson Jobson]
Jonathan Prosper has a business to run, and two lucrative investigations on the go. He doesn't want to become involved in the mystery of the body of a young man found on a train at Howrah station but he can't avoid it. The investigation of the young man's death intermingles with his other investigations and yet another death to make a satisfying sizzle.

Many years ago I read (forget who or where) that in the classic English detective story the body was always found on the first page. I had a few ideas of cases for Jonathan Prosper to investigate, but there were no bodies, and the stories weren't really enough to expand into a book. I put them on a skewer with a more orthodox mystery story and made a kebab - or cabob, as it was known in British India.

The real detective, however great his analytic ability, often finds that

he cannot apply it to his case. The fiction detective never has this

experience; he finds his case ready made and perfectly fitted to his

powers.

The Technique of the Mystery Story

Carolyn Wells   1913

Buy the book on Amazon

A chutney for the cabobs:

A Calcutta Cabob, forty years ago: