The Widows of Malabar Hill (aka A Murder on Malabar Hill) (Perveen Mistry, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Sujata Massey starts a new mystery series set in 1920s Bombay, India. Perveen Mistry is working for her father's respected law firm as the first female lawyer in India. When a question arises about the will of a wealthy man, Perveen is the only one who can visit his 3 wives, as they keep purdah - seclusion from all men, never leaving their section of the home. But the agent left to look after them seems to have nefarious designs on their inheritance, and when he's found dead the police are not that interested in doing a real investigation. Perveen feels it her responsibility to ferret out the truth and ensure that the women and their children receive what's rightfully theirs.
There are two timelines running through the book, one in the novel's present-day setting of 1921 and the other 5 years earlier, when Perveen was an unhappy new bride. She had dropped out of law school to get married, but her horrific experience and shortcomings of the law as it related to women spark her determination to see what justice can be done for others. This provides a subplot related to her ill-fated marriage.
Massey's extensive research into the city of Bombay as it was in the 1920s informs every page of this book. In fact I felt it was at times just too educational, as though Massey wanted to put in everything she learned just because it was interesting. Social status of women, of different religions, the law as it relates to them, architecture, language, clothing, food - so many different things. I liked Perveen very much; she is an excellent protagonist and her profession should enable a lot of different scenarios. The family also has much potential: her father the lawyer, her mom is something of a socialite, and the brother is running the family's successful construction company. Easily enough material for a very long-running series if Massey can keep it going.
There are two timelines running through the book, one in the novel's present-day setting of 1921 and the other 5 years earlier, when Perveen was an unhappy new bride. She had dropped out of law school to get married, but her horrific experience and shortcomings of the law as it related to women spark her determination to see what justice can be done for others. This provides a subplot related to her ill-fated marriage.
Massey's extensive research into the city of Bombay as it was in the 1920s informs every page of this book. In fact I felt it was at times just too educational, as though Massey wanted to put in everything she learned just because it was interesting. Social status of women, of different religions, the law as it relates to them, architecture, language, clothing, food - so many different things. I liked Perveen very much; she is an excellent protagonist and her profession should enable a lot of different scenarios. The family also has much potential: her father the lawyer, her mom is something of a socialite, and the brother is running the family's successful construction company. Easily enough material for a very long-running series if Massey can keep it going.
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