1920s India: Perveen Mistry Bombay's only female lawyer is investigating a suspicious will on
behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the
murderous. The author of the Agatha and Macavity Award-winning Rei Shimura novels brings us an
atmospheric new historical mystery with a captivating heroine. This Deluxe Paperback Edition
features: an interview with the author discussion questions essays on the real-life
inspirations behind the novel delicious recipes taken from the story and previews of The
Satapur Moonstone (May 2019). 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 legal education from Oxford Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes
women's legal rights especially important to her. 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 examines 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? 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 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 the woman who made history as India's first female attorney The
Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the
debut of a sharp new sleuth.
