2018 book 7

Sujata Massey's The Widows of Malabar Hill
I think this book is the start of a new series—or anyway, I hope it is, because I enjoyed it a lot. It’s set in 1920s Bombay, and centers on a young woman who is Bombay's first female lawyer (working for her awesome supportive lawyer father). Her gender comes in handy when some discrepancies pop up concerning a Muslim estate whose three widows live in purda (seclusion)—and then there’s a murder. This is all interspersed with flashbacks to a dark time in her past. She also has an English best friend from Oxford who is a not-so-secret lesbian. It’s one of those mysteries that is just as much about the characters and settings as it is the actual mystery plot, and I hope to see more of it soon. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book is available now.