In Book 6 of the Raff Rafferty Mystery Series, Father Gabriel Rafferty, formerly homicide detective ‘Raff’, enters a new phase of his life as a priest in charge of a school for orphan girls in India. He left the USA behind, but not his talents as a policeman as he becomes enmeshed in a mystery before he even gets off the train in Brahmpur. Curse of the Cobra by Robert Joseph details Raff’s assistance with the efforts of local police inspector Ravi Dass to solve the case of two missing students and their headmistress. Additionally, Prince Vikram is in heavy debt from gambling and his Canadian girlfriend, Jenny Duvalier, is willing to do just about anything to save his life from assassins hired by an Asian mob. That means getting friendly with Raff and also with Shabir Khan, a local Muslim campaigning against Vik’s father, the Maharajah, for the position of leader of the state. In between tiger hunts, visits to the country club, and scuba diving in the sacred lake, Raff leads his school by teaching religion classes and forming a soccer team, providing more opportunities for the girls who are accustomed to having nothing.

Vivid descriptions and unique characters are a trademark of Robert Joseph and he doesn’t disappoint in Curse of the Cobra, Book 6 of the Raff Rafferty Mystery Series. Set in exotic India, the story is full of action, intrigue and cultural subtleties that Raff handles with skill and determination. Fortunately, you can take Raff out of the police force, but you can’t take the police instincts out of Raff as he handles another engaging mystery.

Curse of the Cobra is Book 6 from The Raff Rafferty Mystery series by Robert Joseph. Father “Raff” Rafferty, a former police officer turned priest, takes up his new post at a girls’ orphanage in India. He learns of the puzzling disappearances of some girls prior to his arrival, and the Sister in charge disapproves of him. While attending a sacred Hindu ceremony where a holy man ritually bathes the god of Shiva statue, tragedy strikes. The holy man is murdered and Shiva’s third eye, the world’s largest ruby, is stolen. Legend states that bad luck will follow if anyone steals the religious artefacts. Raff promises the distraught Maharajah to locate the ruby, but the mystery thickens. Other girls disappear and the animosity between Muslims and Hindus increases.

I enjoyed reading this light mystery from Robert Joseph. The story takes place in India and the author nicely described its diverse culture and history with interesting characters who gave good representations of their viewpoints to ancient customs and modern changes in India. Although he is now a man of the cloth, Raff’s former training as a cop often takes over according to the events and information on his former occupation, making the story more engaging. There is sufficient suspense, action and amusement to keep readers' attention. The cover illustration for Curse of the Cobra is lovely and complements the moderately paced story. This series will be worth reading from what I read.