Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
For my money, Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry historical series is one of the best ones out there. This talented writer never fails to take me deep into 1920s Bombay, India, and keep me there throughout her story. The Mistress of Bhatia House is no exception. This fourth book in the series delves deep into women's issues and, as a result, may bore some readers to tears. I must be mellowing in my twilight years because once this topic would have bored me, too, but definitely not this time.
Perveen's personal and professional lives continue to grow. Now she's wanting to be the world's best aunty to her brother's new baby, and her thoughts are bittersweet as she faces the fact that she will never have children of her own. She's also in a clandestine relationship with a former colonial civil service officer, but her personal life often takes a backseat to being Bombay's only female solicitor. Trying to navigate the minefield of the Good Old Boys Club filled with both white British colonials and wealthy Indian males is no easy task.
There's a lot going on in The Mistress of Bhatia House, and trying to deduce the identity of the killer is no simple task, but no matter how strong the mystery was, I found myself more deeply invested in the women's issues in the India of the 1920s-- A country where infant mortality is high, and thirteen-year-old girls die from giving birth to too many babies. A country where most women have never even seen a doctor and a country where most physical assaults against women are never reported. Massey also does a marvelous job of portraying how the various religious groups coexist and the interactions between the castes.
If you like mysteries with strong female characters steeped in a specific time and place, I highly recommend The Mistress of Bhatia House. My mind is still with Perveen in Bombay, and I'm looking forward to the next book.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
Perveen's personal and professional lives continue to grow. Now she's wanting to be the world's best aunty to her brother's new baby, and her thoughts are bittersweet as she faces the fact that she will never have children of her own. She's also in a clandestine relationship with a former colonial civil service officer, but her personal life often takes a backseat to being Bombay's only female solicitor. Trying to navigate the minefield of the Good Old Boys Club filled with both white British colonials and wealthy Indian males is no easy task.
There's a lot going on in The Mistress of Bhatia House, and trying to deduce the identity of the killer is no simple task, but no matter how strong the mystery was, I found myself more deeply invested in the women's issues in the India of the 1920s-- A country where infant mortality is high, and thirteen-year-old girls die from giving birth to too many babies. A country where most women have never even seen a doctor and a country where most physical assaults against women are never reported. Massey also does a marvelous job of portraying how the various religious groups coexist and the interactions between the castes.
If you like mysteries with strong female characters steeped in a specific time and place, I highly recommend The Mistress of Bhatia House. My mind is still with Perveen in Bombay, and I'm looking forward to the next book.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
