The Widows of Malabar Hill

A Parade Magazine 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time 2019 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery: Winner and Top Pick 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 Winner of the 2019 Sue Feder Macavity Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery Finalist for the 2019 Shamus Award A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018 An ABA IndieNext Selection A Washington Post Best Audiobook of 2018 A WBUR On Point Best Book of 2018 A Boston Globe Best Book of 2018 A Times of India Best Book of 2018 An Apple iTunes Most Anticipated Book of 2018 #2 on Cosmopolitan’s 33 Books to Get Excited About in 2018 The Bookseller (UK) Editor’s Pick for Mystery Maryland Humanities Route 1 Reads Selection for 2020 Praise for The Widows of Malabar Hill “These India-set stories put [Massey's] concerns with fairness and equality into a sparkling setting that shows how universal the fight for justice must be.” —Parade Magazine “ The Widows of Malabar Hill, with its deft prose and well-wrought characters, is a splendid first installment in what promises to be a memorable series." —Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal "Marvelously plotted, richly detailed . . . This is a first-rate performance inaugurating a most promising series." —The Washington Post "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." —Marissa Stapley, The Globe and Mail " The Widows of Malabar Hill contains multitudes, tackling women’s history and rights, while treating readers to a riveting story." —The National Post "Perveen’s dogged pursuit of truth and justice for her clients is reminiscent of the debuts of Anne Perry’s Charlotte Ellison Pitt and Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs. But the multicultural, multi-faith milieu in which Perveen lives, works and attempts to find love both illuminates a bygone era and offers a thoughtful perspective relevant to today’s focus on women’s rights and equality." —Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times "Cool and cunning." —The Boston Globe "A fascinating setting, an extraordinary new sleuth, and a story that enthralls you— The Widows of Malabar Hill has all three and more. Sujata Massey's new historical series is absolutely terrific, and you are just going to love Perveen Mistry, India's first female lawyer." —Charles Todd, bestselling author of the Ian Rutledge series and the Bess Crawford series "Perveen Mistry is an extraordinary heroine—one of the first female lawyers in India, she’s whip smart, strong-willed, and, most importantly, compassionate. Defying convention while draped in a sari, Perveen is sure to join the leads of great mystery fiction." —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope mysteries "You get a mystery but you also get all the cultural details. I like that." —NBC New Day Northwest "I've been complaining for several years now that we don't have enough competent female leads in mystery series, and Sujata Massey has delivered with The Widows of Malabar Hill. I was taken in by this Law and Order-esque tale set in lush, swing-era Bombay, and I loved seeing Perveen proceed with a cool head and a fiery heart. Readers looking for a strong female heroine, a vivid setting and a strange mystery will find it here." —The News Tribune "There’s so much to admire in Massey’s writing: sumptuous details, attention to the senses and a tightly-plotted mystery that explores domains beyond normal trials and tribulations. It’s writing that’s easy to take for granted, but as we know, anything that easy is deceptively hard." —Baltimore Fishbowl "Massey deftly evokes the sights, the sounds, and the heat of Bombay as her clever and determined heroine, aided by a large supporting cast of sharply-drawn characters, sidesteps both custom and danger to deliver justice." —Vannessa Cronin, The Amazon Book Review "Massey's extensive research of Bombay during British imperial rule, its various ethnic communities and their respective legal customs, is seamlessly folded into the fabric of the story. The book is filled with fascinating bits of culture and history, a look at India's Parsi and Muslim communities, well-written courtroom scenes, and even a locked-room murder." —Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine "A spectacular mystery to kickstart your year." —Bustle "Perveen is the kind of plucky, determined, practical, wounded, ahead-of-her-time protagonist an avid clique of mystery readers adore. She is destined to find a home with fans of like-minded female investigators such as Mary Russell and Maisie Dobbs, whose creators, like Massey, deftly anchor their solid plots in the realities, and challenges, of their times." —Los Angeles Review of Books "I can’t wait to see what happens next." —Crime Time (UK) "A sneaky feminist masterpiece wrapped up in a c