The Mistress of Bhatia House (A Perveen Mistry Novel)

Set in 1922 Bombay, the fourth Perveen Mistry novel follows the city’s only female solicitor as she takes on the defense of a mistreated young woman. The story combines legal intrigue with class conflict, women’s rights, and family strain.

historical mysterycolonial Indiawomen’s rightslawfamily

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Work Information

Perveen Mistry takes on a case that demands both courage and empathy.

When an accident at a fundraising event leads to the arrest of a young servant, Perveen Mistry steps in to defend her. The case quickly widens into a story about family pressure, social power, and the cost of seeking justice.

Review Summaries

Readers often praise the depth of the family drama and the vivid sense of place. Many are drawn as much to Perveen’s position in society as to the mystery itself.

Book Information

Publisher: Soho Crime
Published: 2023-07-11
Pages: 432 pages
Language: 英語
Size: 14.86 x 3.61 x 21.67 cm
ISBN-13: 9781641293297
ISBN-10: 1641293292
Price: 5933 JPY
Category: 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery/British Detectives

Bombay’s only female solicitor, Perveen Mistry, grapples with class divisions, sexism, and complex family dynamics as she seeks justice for a mistreated young woman in this thrilling fourth installment in Sujata Massey’s award-winning series. India, 1922: Perveen Mistry is the only female lawyer in Bombay, a city where child mortality is high, birth control is unavailable and very few women have ever seen a doctor. Perveen is attending a lavish fundraiser for a new women’s hospital specializing in maternal health issues when she witnesses an accident. The grandson of an influential Gujarati businessman catches fire—but a servant, his young ayah, Sunanda, rushes to save him, selflessly putting herself in harm’s way. Later, Perveen learns that Sunanda, who’s still ailing from her burns, has been arrested on trumped-up charges made by a man who doesn’t seem to exist. Perveen cannot stand by while Sunanda languishes in jail with no hope of justice. She takes Sunanda as a client, even inviting her to live at the Mistry home in Bombay’s Dadar Parsi colony. But the joint family household is already full of tension. Perveen’s father worries about their law firm taking so much personal responsibility for a client, and her brother and sister-in-law are struggling to cope with their new baby. Perveen herself is going through personal turmoil as she navigates a taboo relationship with a handsome former civil service officer. When the hospital’s chief donor dies suddenly, Miriam Penkar, a Jewish-Indian obstetrician, and Sunanda become suspects. Perveen’s original case spirals into a complex investigation taking her into the Gujarati strongholds of Kalbadevi and Ghatkopar, and up the coast to Juhu Beach, where a decadent nawab lives with his Australian trophy wife. Then a second fire erupts, and Perveen realizes how much is at stake. Has someone powerful framed Sunanda to cover up another crime? Will Perveen be able to prove Sunanda’s innocence without endangering her own family?

Sujata Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany, grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a features reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun before becoming a full-time novelist. The first Perveen Mistry novel, The Widows of Malabar Hill, was an international bestseller and won the Agatha, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark Awards. Visit her website at sujatamassey.com.

Reviews

I love these books and would love to read many more. Linda Passaro, not Tom, who is my husband and gets my books on kindle. I hate it when I finish a good book, which I just have so I’m going to read no.3 in the series again. Thank you
It is a very entertaining read that helps get to know and understand India a little bit better. Enjoyable series with a touch of excitement.
Wonderful packaging, came early, in mint condition!
Ho letto tutti i romanzi sui casi dell'avvocatessa Perveen mistry, questo è forse il migliore della serie. Il plot è intrigante e l'ambientazione nella Bombay degli anni venti è curatissima e convincente. Nicoletta
Having just finished The Mistress of Bhatia House, I want to share my enthusiasm immediately. I have read the first three Perveen Mistry books (which I recommend all readers do) and awaited this one anxiously. It's wonderful! Massey has conveyed in an interesting and persuasive manner the injustices women in India in that period faced -- women from the solicitor Mistry to the servant Sunanda. Massy cleverly imparts those views via a cleverly plotted story that keeps the reader glued to the page. I'm not sure why the book is called The Mistress of Bhatia House, a strange title since Uma, a fairly minor character, is that mistress. This was a very enjoyable book to read and to listen to on Audible. It's fun, clever, interesting, delightful.