A Murder at Malabar Hill

By Sujata Massey,

Book cover of A Murder at Malabar Hill

Book description

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…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked A Murder at Malabar Hill as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A Murder at Malabar Hill is a murder mystery that offers a fascinating insight into Indian culture in the 1920s.

The story takes place in Bombay, where the character of Perveen Mistry is the city's first female lawyer. The cultural and social challenges she faces as a woman in a male-dominated profession are woven into the story, as well as the complexities of India's caste system.

Through Perveen's interactions with her clients, we learn about the intricacies of Islamic and Hindu marriage laws, the importance of family honour, and the difficulties faced by women in traditional Indian society. I found…

Meet Perveen Mistry, the first female solicitor in 1921 Mumbai. In this book, she meets three widows who have inexplicably signed away their inheritance from their husband. As a lawyer, she’s curious. As a woman, she is the only person with legal training who is allowed to see them, since they practice purdah (where women stay secluded, only venturing out heavily veiled).

What follows is a murder mystery but through it, and through Perveen’s backstory, it is also an exploration of society’s expectations of women and the influence of the British in India. As an Indian, a woman, and a…

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