Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Widows of Malabar Hill
The Widows of Malabar Hill
The Widows of Malabar Hill
Audiobook14 hours

The Widows of Malabar Hill

Written by Sujata Massey

Narrated by Soneela Nankani

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Introducing an extraordinary female lawyer-sleuth in a new historical series set in 1920s Bombay! Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women's legal rights. Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen is going through the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on if they forfeit what their husband left them? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X-meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah-in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts about the will were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger. Inspired in part by a real woman who made history by becoming India's first female lawyer, The Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp and promising new sleuth, Perveen Mistry.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 9, 2018
ISBN9781501979477
The Widows of Malabar Hill

More audiobooks from Sujata Massey

Related to The Widows of Malabar Hill

Titles in the series (4)

View More

Related audiobooks

Mystery For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Widows of Malabar Hill

Rating: 3.923076992307692 out of 5 stars
4/5

416 ratings37 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love the book great story and I really love the reader.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved the story, was transported to 1900s India. Felt the struggle for equality on many levels. Excellent story and thoroughly enjoyed the journey to solve the mystery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This engaging pre-feminist "Nancy Drew-style" tale of pre-revolution Bombay in the early 1900s presents not only the brave heroine who saves the day on many levels, but also India and its complex, rich culture and history, in a delectable feast. I went from complete usa-centric ignorance to having at least a glimpse of the interwoven religions, languages, customs, and traditions of this beautiful people and country. One thing that continues to linger a few days after listening, are the beautiful names of all of the characters which are so far from my own English language - not to mention varied descriptions of food and meals, which made me start using my Indian cookbook so much more this week. For those of us lifelong fans of impetuous female detectives, with family money and parental support, the story itself unfolded in a fairly predictable manner, albeit with slightly more adult themes than the 1960s Nancy Drew books. Our heroine Parveen is a maverick Bold, and risks bravely, and fails and makes mistakes and gets rescued and Saves the Day. Layered upon this simple story is a beautifully woven tapestry of cultural heritage. So it's a lovely light historical fiction read.
    (I must comment that I did not enjoy the overly dynamic style of the reader - it takes some getting used to. I kept listening because I really wanted to hear the story, and I will listen to the other books in the series. But at times I felt like a six-year-old being read to by an overly dramatic teenager. I also gave this the benefit of the doubt because maybe there is something I don't understand about Indian culture which caused this professional reader to speak with so many highs and lows and ups and downs and exclamation points... I couldn't tell if it is a bad caricature, or verbally stylistically accurate. If there is any way to modulate that in future recordings that would be much appreciated.)
    - But overall if you loved Nancy Drew, and you love India or are curious about its history, I highly recommend this book and the others in the series. [Update, the next book has a different, much calmer, reader! Thumbs up!]
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Enjoyed everything about this! Interesting storyline and I learned a few things about different Indian cultures. I look forward to more!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this first book in a mystery series featuring a young woman named Perveen Mistry who is a lawyer in 1920s India. Well, she's not a licensed lawyer because that's not allowed for women. But her father has a law business and wants her to be part of the firm, so he sends her to Oxford to complete a law degree. The mystery here involves a family where the husband passes away leaving three wives behind living in purdah - that's the custom where women seclude themselves from all men except their husband. There is a complicated will and then their executor gets murdered in the home. The investigation is complicated with the women in purdah, but Perveen's value as a female lawyer is evident. The mystery, as is often the case in series starters, takes a bit of a back seat to Perveen's own backstory. She has a sad story about a disastrous marriage that is told in flashback throughout the book. I thought this was a solid book because of the interesting setting. The mystery is secondary to the cultural set up and character building, but I was fine with that. I'll read the second one and see if it keeps my interest to continue the series. Original publication date: 2018Author’s nationality: not sure - born in England, raised in the U.S., parents were from India and GermanyOriginal language: EnglishLength: 375 pagesRating: 3.5 starsFormat/where I acquired the book: library book chosen for me through the library concierge programWhy I read this: received from my library and it looked fun
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Legal mystery set in India in the 1920's.

    I enjoyed the characters, and the mystery had some really good cultural twists and turns.

    I thought the book ran on a little too long. There was also the back story of the main character Perveen, which didn't actually seem to relate directly to the mystery, and it felt like a distraction. Since this is a series, it may have made more sense to unfold Perveen's backstory across several books instead of shoe-horning it all into this first book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The main character, Perveen, was interesting and the story opens strongly with good character development. Unfortunately (because Massey could have executed the story more skilfully), there's a backstory introduced which was depressingly misery-laden and did not move the plot forward at all. On the plus side, the setting is sketched well for 1920's Bombay and the plight of women in this repressive social setting explained as part of Perveen's investigation into the disposition of assets of estate she has to administer. While the narrative indulged in rather too many scenarios of abductions, disrespect for a qualified female solicitor, and venal men attempting to interfere in the estate business, the story was worth the reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have completed [The Widows of Malabar Hill] by [Sujata Massey]. I have read reader reviews of her books previously, generally highly rated, and been curious about them.The book begins in 1921 but flashes back to 1915. I found this irritating considering the short time span. The protagonist is Perveen Mistry, one of the first women attorneys in India. Working for her father, she is appointed to execute the will of Omar Farid, a wealthy client of her father's. Farid has three wives and children who will benefit from the will. During Preveen's involvement a guardian she finds questionable will be murdered and she will involve herself in the investigation of his death.As a mystery I find the book average however central to the plot are women's legal and religious status which adds much more interest. Even one of the first female attorneys in India must observe laws of both she finds limiting. Because I have long been interested in the history of dower rights this falls right into my wheelhouse.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a fabulous book. I didn’t know the author and I half expected a mediocre mystery novel (having read too many such in my day), thus leaving myself entirely unprepared for this fascinating and well paced book.Massey takes us takes us into the rich cultural mix of Bombay in a time before Indian independence. But she doesn’t simply set her story in an interesting time and culture. She gives so much detail in such a painless and interesting way — no long winded info dumps, but we nevertheless learn much about Parsi law, Muslim inheritance laws, female seclusion in both Muslim and Parsi culture (though in one case it is a life of purdah, and in the other it is seclusion during menstruation). And as someone who has sworn off sugar for a month, reading a book with so many references to sweets almost pushed me over the edge. I’m doing a very poor job of explaining the many different layers of interest to this book. For instance, there is a strong element of feminism, beginning with the protagonist's struggle to become the first female lawyer in Bombay, and then to function fully as one at a time when women lawyers were not allowed in court. So instead of struggling on to try to express why this book is so wonderful I am just going to encourage you to read it if you have any interest in good mysteries, in law, in women, in India, in history… Need I go on?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is billed as a mystery, but it's somewhat lacking in that department. It's a well researched (if anything, the author works a little too hard at it) historical novel with a mystery element. It's fairly well written and the intertwining plots link up at the end in a reasonably satisfying way, but it goes a little slowly.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am not usually into mysteries, but I found myself devouring this book (clocking in at 14 hours on audio, I thought this would last me the coming week). I loved all the cultural tidbits on India's diversity, Perveen's plucky character, and the way Massey balanced the backstory with the present. Definitely reading the next!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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 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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Perveen Mistry is the only female lawyer in 1920s Bombay. Not permitted to argue in court, she works for her father's law firm preparing cases and serving clients. At the opening of the novel, one of her father's Muslim clients recently died, and the family's household manager has informed the Mistrys that the client's three wives--against their own interests--wish to move all of their finances into the family's charitable organization. Perveen is suspicious of this change, so she begins to investigate. The book alternates between the story of the Malabar Hill mystery and Perveen's own backstory a few years earlier, tracing some formative events that predate her decision to study law in Oxford.I enjoyed this! It definitely is both a historical fiction novel and a mystery--the mystery doesn't really get going for a while, and there's a lot of introduction to Bombay and its residents. And I definitely preferred the 1921 events to the earlier ones, especially at the beginning, though as that plot picked up I gained interest in that one as well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An interesting mystery set in early 1920s Mumbai. Perveen is a compelling protagonist, though I could have done without the tragic abuse backstory. That trope feels overdone, especially for women's character development.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a great start to a series. There characters and setting are super interesting. There was a lot of (necessary) character introduction in this volume, but I have no doubt it is kicking off what is sure to be a spectacular series. I'm looking forward to the next one!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed the historical and cultural aspects of this book. I also found the characters very engaging and Perveen's personal story enlightening as to women in that culture. In my mind the mystery was not a central part of the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. It was a glimpse into another country and another era. I look forward to reading Massey's other books.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    No matter that this was a good story, I found it to be long, tedious, & boring and I really didn't warm up to the main character, for me she fell flat.1921 India: Perveen works as a solicitor with her father. When a rich man dies & his "manager" requests that all 3 wives' property be transferred to a project he is working on, Perveen reviews the document. The signatures are suspicious and Perveen goes to visit the wives & explains to them the ramifications of their giving all of their property to the school that the "manager" wants to build.Perveen is seen as a threat and not only is she abducted but the manager is murdered...... and things go on from there.The book should have been 150-200 pages shorter.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A Murder on Malabar Hill is an engaging historical mystery novel, the first in a new series from Sujata Massey, which has won several awards, most notably the Mary Higgins Clarke Award (2019), and the Agatha Award for the Best Historical Novel (2018) (under the title of The Widows of Malabar Hill).The series features Perveen Massey, a young woman in her mid twenties who is India’s first female solicitor, working alongside her father, a respected lawyer. Massey draws inspiration for her lead character from two ‘real life’ women, Cornelia Sorabji of Poona who was the first woman to read law at Oxford and sit the British law exam in 1892, and Mithan Tata Lam of Bombay, who was the first woman admitted to the Bombay Bar in 1923. The story shifts between two timelines, one of which fleshes out Perveen’s personal history, from her family background, to her experiences at Oxford University, to her short-lived marriage.The second timeline focuses on the murder at Malabar Hill, an upscale neighbourhood in Bombay, in the household of three Purdahnashin widows. When their wealthy husband, Omar Farid, dies, his wives, Razia, Sakina, and Mumtaz, and their children who choose to live a secluded life (known as Purdah), are at the mercy of their household agent, Mr. Mukri. While finalising Farid’s estate Perveen notices some discrepancies and as a female solicitor she is uniquely placed to speak to the widows directly to discover what they understand of their rights. Immediately following her first visit, which infuriates Mukri, the agent is murdered, and Perveen fears the women could be next. I enjoyed the mystery, which has a cozy feel and a ‘locked room’ aspect, though it wasn’t terribly difficult to solve.The physical setting of A Murder in Malabar Hill - primarily the wealthy neighbourhoods of Bombay in the 1920’s - is interesting, but it was what I learned about the city’s social, political and cultural milieu I found fascinating. Massey touches on a number of issues such as the varied religious beliefs within Indian society, including Parsi (Zoroastrianism), Muslim, and Hindi; the rights, or lack thereof, of women; and the conflict surrounding English rule, as well as specific cultural practices such as arranged marriages, dowry contracts, and Purdah. The details seem authentic and are woven neatly into the plot.Well crafted and appealing, highlighting an interesting historical period and an exotic (to me) culture, A Murder at Malabar Hill is an enjoyable mystery novel, and I look forward to reading the next.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Picture Bombay in the 1920’s when women had many restrictions and especially attempting to work as a lawyer. Perveen Mistry begins the classwork of learning law, but the male students and the instructors thwart her ambitions and change the course of her life. Marriage and disappointment again force Perveen to alter her dreams. The Widows of Malabar Hill bounces back and forth between 1917 and 1920 with the reader given the history of Perveen and her family in Bombay, India. Sujata Massey presents a well written story of the social mores of India. Perveen must help and assist three widows of a recently deceased businessman and discover the culprit of a murder. The biggest problem of the story is the usage of Indian terms that are explained in a glossary that hides in the back of the book and causes too much flipping back and forth. I feel this detracts from the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a terrific novel! The setting, Bombay in the 1920's, is unfamiliar and enthralling. The perspective, that of a Parsee lady lawyer with a complicated story of her own, is unique as far as I am aware. And the story line moves right along, pulling the reader through a fascinating world. More, please!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Perveen Mistry lives in Bombay in 1921, working as lawyer with her father. A probate case she's assisting with involves three widows who have practiced purdah and apparently agreed to give up their inheritance to charity. Perveen becomes suspicious and convinces her father to let her talk with these women. Then the case turns deadly.I enjoyed the setting and details about tensions between religions - Perveen and her family are Parsi and Zoroastrian, while others in their community are Hindu or Muslim - as well as the law in India in that time. The story takes on dual timelines and explains Perveen's history, which was interesting but didn't really add to the story or the mystery and instead felt a bit more contrived than a straightforward narrative might have been. The lengths in the shifts of timeline were varied and seemed to have no rhyme or reason, leaving me feeling a little out of rhythm and impatient with the story. I will most likely continue the series, as the setting intrigues me and I'm interested in seeing how Perveen's story unfolds.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It took me more than little while to really get grabbed by this story, but once I did, I raced to the end. The story takes place in India and mostly vacillates from 1921 and 1916. Perveen is the only female solicitor in Bombay, and customs and laws often curtail her efforts. She works in her father’s law firm, and has been assigned to sort out the legal problems of three widows who shared one husband. But many other problems are encountered by Perveen as she deals with the widows, including murder. Adding to Perveen’s stress is a tragedy in her past. The novel is well written and the characters are well developed. The reader will be introduced to the customs and rules of the various ethnicities, especially for women at that time. Perhaps the author could have eliminated some of the details on law and contracts and inheritance percentages to forward the story a little faster, and keeping unfamiliar names straight may be a bit of a challenge, but all in all, it was quite an interesting and informative read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Love The Widows of Malabar Hill!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book adds a new perspective to the cozy mystery genre - a lady lawyer in 1920s Bombay helps women find a voice while alternately upholding and challenging the cultural norms of the time. I really enjoyed the cultural depth. It was sometimes hard to find character’s voices the writing; I wished the writing and characters voices would have been a little more sophisticated. But it was captivating enough that I’d like to read more in the series when they come out. Also, one of the most well-designed and physically beautiful books I’ve read in a long time!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Set in 1920s Bombay, Massy’s protagonist Perveen Mistry has a lot of her plate. A woman with a scandalous past, she followed her heart into a disastrous marriage that led to formal separation. The daughter of a prominent Parsi lawyer, she completed her legal studies at Oxford, but cannot present cases at court. She works with her father at Mistry Law.The story is a mystery, but embedded in the story are cultural insights into Indian society in the 1920s. The position of women in both Parsi and Muslim cultures, the food, and domestic arrangements all add depth and color to an engaging read.The story begins when Perveen Mistry opens a letter pertaining to an estate settlement. Omar Farid had died, leaving behind three widows and four children. All continued to live in seclusion in the family home, their only contact with the outside word via a window within the house. The family agent said the widows all wanted to give up their dower inheritance to a family charity.And so a tale of intrigue and murder begins.The Widows of Malabar is a very good read, well-researched and well written.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Based on the first female attorney in India, Parveen Mistry, gets involved in solving the mystery of the guardian of Muslim widows for whom she and her father are legal representatives. She’s Parsi and friends with the daughter of a high-powered British government employees. Add in the world of Muslim women, a multicultural view of India is the backdrop for the story. Set in the 1920s, even the British had a very limited view of what women could do, although it was far more progressive than the Muslim and Parsi. Weaving all this cultural information into the storyline, enhanced the story greatly. I look forward to more Parveen Mistry mysteries.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a busy and overlong novel. What is good about it is the insight it provides into India in the early 20th century: the culture and customs of the various religions and the poor relations between the British and the Indian people.There's really two stories in the book with little, if any, relationship between them. The main link is the book's protagonist, Perveen, whose claim to fame is being the first female solicitor in Bombay with much support from her family. She's not all that attractive as a protagonist -- a bit scatter-brained and implusive. She's in her early 20's so hopefully she will improve with age and seasoning.There's a basis for a series here, depending on how Perveen develops in any sequel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So fun to read something set in 1920 in India. Loved the people and descriptions. Amazing. Hope she writes more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata MasseyIf you like historical fiction, especially India in early 20th century, and learning about different cultures and ways of life, you will like this book. While it is a murder mystery, it is also an exploration of the various cultures active in India from 1915 to 1922. The heroine is a young woman Parisi (Zoroastrian) who has trained to be a solicitor (lawyer) at Oxford and is working in her father’s firm when three widows, Muslims who live in Purda or complete seclusion from men, need a lawyer. A murder occurs, and Perveen, the untried female lawyer, is the only one who can enter the widows’ seclusion. The situation of women of all faiths becomes integral to the plot, as do marriage customs, inheritance, family practices, the law, the role of the English in India, Indian independence, class strictures and even education and employment for women. While the plot moves slowly, the descriptions of a way of life unknown to most Americans, keeps the reader interested and reading. Besides a murder, there are also two kidnappings, financial shenanigans, jewelry theft, families in crisis, and other plot devices to keep interest high.The noises, smells and flavors of Bombay and Calcutta set the scene. Clearly drawn characters and lively writing add to a tale well worth spending time with tea, curry and Perveen as she navigates the path forward with three widows who are clearly not sisters of the heart.4 of 5 stars