Sujata Massey

A nice fast-paced whodunnit. I liked the protagonist, Parveen Mistry, and her backstory that was well balanced with the main murder plot. She was really strong, smart and had her goals in mind - a great female character I've read in a while. Also liked how supportive her family was, especially in the 1920's. It felt like I got to learn about the Parsi community in India, their customs and and laws (especially the harsher divorce laws back in the day). There's also a glimpse into the lives of show more Muslim women who followed 'purdah', or social seclusion, and the inheritance laws in the case of multiple wives. Cool story, and I'll probably pick the next books in this series too. show less

I didn't care nearly as much about the mystery at the center of the book as I did about the main character (a Zoroastrian woman who also happens to be a lawyer) and the milieu (India in the early twentieth century). The world-building is stellar and the protagonist is a joy to read about. And the mystery is fine, just not quite as captivating as the world and people surrounding it.

In the latest of this strong historical series, Perveen Mistry witnesses a an accident as a child is accidentally burned at a gathering raising funds for a women's hospital. Though his ayah is also injured badly, trying to protect the boy, she is treated poorly by the boy's wealthy family. Worse yet, she is arrested and charged with abortion after taking an herbal potion provided by the housekeeper. Though Perveen, as a rare woman lawyer in 1920s India, doesn't take criminal cases, she can't show more help but try to aid the woman, who swears she wasn't pregnant and is falsely charged. Meanwhile, things are difficulty at home for Perveen. Her lawyer father isn't happy about the firm taking on a case that isn't in their usual line of work, and her sister-in-law has moved in with her colicky infant and is suffering from post-partum depression. Perveen is perplexed by her sister-in-law's change in personality and doesn't like having her sleep interrupted by a wailing child, but the real problem is that she's unable to have a happy marriage and a child of her own thanks to a disastrous failed union of her own (described in the first book in the series).

I love this series. The historical setting is fascinating, and the protagonist is an intriguing person. You can't help but learn a lot - about the Parsi community, colonial tensions, gender relationships, the law, and - in this case - the status of low-caste women and the struggle to provide women's health. There's a lot going on, but the plot never trips over itself. Here Perveen is allowed to be less than perfect, which is an interesting development. Altogether, a strong entry in a strong series. show less

It is always nice to start at the beginning of a new series, with a new sleuth, set in a different culture, especially when the author is as talented as Sujata Massey.

The story has a ring of authenticity about it, taking readers into a world we will know very little about. Perveen is a recently qualified solicitor, in fact the only female solicitor in Bombay, Parsi background, in British India. The story gives considerable background to her own failed marriage, which gives her some show more understanding of the position of the three widows in the household of Mr Omar Fareed, deceased. Perveen is determined that these women who are living in purdah, and their children, will not be duped out of their inheritances by an unscrupulous house manager. Things get complicated when he is murdered.

Highly recommended. show less