Reviews - Riverside Public Library

Booklist Reviews

Massey's first Perveen Mistry investigations novel, The Widows of Malabar Hill (2018), set in 1920s India, saw the intrepid Mistry struggling to become India's first female lawyer. Now she's working steadily, but toiling on contracts isn't the life she imagined for herself. Excitement and danger come her way again, however, when she is asked to visit the royal family of rural Satapur. There Mistry represents (to her chagrin) British government interests in a dispute between a royal mother-in-law who sees status as everything and must keep her daughter-in-law in line, and the younger woman, who fears for her son, heir to a throne she worries he will never reach. This engaging story offers plenty on Parsi culture, how India's royalty and British rule clashed and collaborated before Independence, and how purdah (the seclusion of women) was practiced in everyday life. While there are some less-exciting sections that occasionally slow the narrative, this second in the series will certainly please readers looking for an engaging new female lead. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

LJ Express Reviews

India's first female lawyer is back in her second mystery (after The Widows of Malabar Hill). This time Perveen Mistry travels to the remote princely state of Satapur to help mediate a dispute between the dowager maharani and her daughter-in-law over the future education of the young maharaja. Perveen's task is complicated by palace intrigue and the unexpected attraction she feels for the British political agent for the kingdom, Colin Sandringham. When intrigue turns to murder, Perveen realizes her mission has moved beyond education into the realm of life and death. It will take all her skill and intuition to keep the young prince, and herself, alive. Once again Massey does a superb job of combining a fascinating snapshot into 1920s British-ruled India with a top-notch mystery. She has created a strong, appealing heroine who is forging her own path in a rapidly changing world. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of other intrepid women sleuths such as Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody and Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily. [See Prepub Alert, 11/5/18.]—Julie Ciccarelli, Tacoma P.L. (c) Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Set in 1922, Edgar finalist Massey's second whodunit featuring Bombay attorney Perveen Mistry is even better than the series' impressive debut, 2018's The Widows of Malabar Hill. Sir David Hobson-Jones, a top adviser to the governor of India, approaches Perveen, who has bucked gender prejudices to become one of India's only female lawyers, on behalf of the Kolhapur Agency, a British civil service entity in need of a legal investigator to handle a delicate situation in the small state of Satapur. The state's two maharanis are involved in a bitter debate over where the current maharajah, 10-year-old Jiva Reo, should be educated. Because the maharanis avoid contact with men, the authorities view Perveen as the ideal person to talk with them and issue an educational recommendation. Despite her misgivings at working for her country's occupiers, Perveen accepts the assignment, only to learn that the two previous rulers of Satapur died within the last two years, leading her to fear that Reo is also at risk. The winning, self-sufficient Perveen should be able to sustain a long series. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (May)