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The Widows of Malabar Hill

By: Sujata Massey
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
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Publisher's Summary

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.

©2018 Sujata Massey (P)2018 Recorded Books

What listeners say about The Widows of Malabar Hill

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Wonderful story

Thoroughly enjoyed discovering our heroine Perveen’s story, learning about her family, and the twists and turns of her work as a lawyer in 1920s Bombay. Already looking forward to book number 2 in the series.

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Fascinating insight.

This story gives a fascinating insight into the lives of women in India, especially the Parsi and Moslem communities, in the second and third decades of the twentieth century, with several mysteries included.
I can see loose ends setting the characters up for a good series of stories.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Good story, narrator awful

I enjoyed the story but not the narrator. Awful narration, it was like everything was so dramatic, even really basic things, with inflections at the end of sentences all the time and emphasis on the wrong words. I nearly stopped reading several times due to the narrator. If you can persist, the story is good.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyed the story- struggled with listening

Actor has a good voice but a totally incorrect understanding of inflection and interpretation of emphasis. I nearly gave up because her incorrect emphasis made me anxious.

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Beautifully written

This is a well written book, gives an insight into Bombay in 1920s. Interesting twists and turns keep you hooked in. Enjoyed every minute of the story.

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spans India 1916 - 1922, interesting

The intertwined stories grew on me, although it was a bit slow at times. it was interesting reading about women's lives, and learning about the diversity within the Parsi community,. The author wrote with great sensitivity about family relationships and interpersonal betrayal.

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Interesting Cultural Details

The information about various cultural practices of Zoroastrian and Muslim families is interesting, as are the difficulties faced by our main character, Perveen Mistry.

But it is a rather basic characterisation and I think poorly narrated. Very slow and yet uncertain in tone.

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