A legally-minded sleuth takes to the streets of 1920s Bombay in a fascinating new mystery.
Winner and Top Pick of the 2019 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery
Winner of the 2019 Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel
Winner of the the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel
Finalist for the 2019 Shamus Award
Finalist for the 2019 Harper Lee Legal Fiction Prize
Introducing Perveen Mistry, a courageous young lawyer-turned-sleuth in a stunning murder mystery.
Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen Mistry has joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India.
Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr Omar Farid, a wealthy mill owner who has left three widows behind. But when Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something that seems very strange.
As Perveen inches closer to the truth, tensions escalate to murder, the widows fall under suspicion and Perveen must figure out what's really happening on Malabar Hill.
About the Author
Sujata Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany and now lives in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a features reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun before becoming a full-time novelist. Her novels have won the Agatha, Shamus and Macavity awards and been finalists for the Edgar, Anthony, Harper Lee Legal Fiction and Mary Higgins Clark prizes. A Murder at Malabar Hill was originally published in the United States under the title The Widows of Malabar Hill.
Industry Reviews
'Perveen Mistry is a rule-breaking badass in a sari. She has emotional intelligence and a thirst for women's rights. She can pick a lock with a hairclip and save the day with the sharpened nib of a fountain pen and a bottle of pungent rose oil.'
The Spinoff
'Perveen Mistry has all the pluck you want in a sleuthing lawyer, as well as a not-so-surprising - but decidedly welcome - proclivity for poking her nose into the business of others. The pages do indeed fly.'
The Globe and Mail
'. . . an interesting immersion in Indian life and culture, and a well-plotted murder mystery . . . this is the start of what promises to be a memorable series.'
Newtown Review of Books
'It's a period of time and place that's not much written about in crime fiction, and the female perspective, particularly that of a young professional woman at a time when women did not do these sorts of jobs, will appeal to many readers.'
AustCrimeFiction
'Marvelously plotted, richly detailed . . . This is a first-rate performance inaugurating a most promising series.'
The Washington Post
'. . . a splendid first instalment in what promises to be a memorable series.'
The Wall Street Journal
Published in the US as The Widows of Malabar Hill