In this 9th installment in the rollicking, meticulously researched series, set in 1845, the sardonic Flashman is off to the Punjab for more lechery, cowardice and aggrandizement in the service of Her Majesty. The books, for all their hijinks, are full of marvelously rendered period detail. Harry reluctantly beds half the royal court, accidentally outfoxes a Maharani, and makes off with the Koh-i-nor (on display in the Tower of London). It's quite a tale.  (IDA291, $15.00)