The Bombay Prince

January 1, 2021

In the third mystery starring Perveen Mistry, the only female lawyer in 1920s Bombay, Edward VIII, Prince of Wales, leaves violence in his wake as he tours a subcontinent angered by British rule. Among the incidents is the death of a Parsi student who suffers a suspicious fall from a balcony as the prince sweeps by--just days after she consulted Perveen. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

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Starred review from April 19, 2021
Agatha winner Massey’s exceptional third mystery featuring Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s first female solicitor (after 2019’s The Satapur Moonstone), finds the city’s residents preparing for the visit of Britain’s Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, in 1921. Before the royal’s arrival, Freny Cuttingmaster, a student at Woodburn College, seeks Mistry’s guidance. Freny represents a group of students who wish to skip a parade scheduled for the prince, which their head of school says is mandatory. Mistry can only advise Freny that she and the others should feign illness to avoid punishment for not attending. After the parade, which was disrupted by protesters inspired by lawyer Mohandas Gandhi’s advocacy for Indian independence, a woman’s corpse is found at the college. The victim died, apparently of a head wound, on the 30-year anniversary of the unexplained deaths of two female students at the University of Bombay, who fell from a clock tower, suffering similar injuries. Massey has never been better at pairing her redoubtable and impressive lead with a challenging murder to unravel. Abir Mukherjee fans will be pleased. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary.

May 1, 2021
In 1921, the arrival of the Prince of Wales triggers riots in the streets of Bombay, providing cover for a discreet killing. Freny Cuttingmaster consults fledgling solicitor Perveen Mistry, the only female lawyer in Bombay, on behalf of the Woodburn College Student Union about the legality of skipping classes on the day Edward, the Prince of Wales, will be visiting Bombay. Indians are in the midst of a fight for independence, and Woodburn students are expected to attend a parade and support the prince, which many of them don't want to do. Perveen advises the girl to feign illness, a weak solution she regrets almost immediately. Indeed, violence ensues at the prince's procession. Once the situation is calmed, Freny's corpse is discovered in the school's garden. Perveen's friendship with Woodburn math teacher Alice Hobson-Jones keeps her apprised of new developments, which first emphasize the political situation and Perveen's relationship with her lawyer father, Jamshedji, brother Rustom, and Indian society generally, and only later coalesce into a whodunit. Freny's father, Firdosh, hires the Mistry law firm to ensure that Freny's autopsy and burial are handled in a respectful manner. When Perveen mentions that Freny believed strongly in Indian independence and may have known prominent activist Dinesh Apte, Firdosh responds with outrage. With many questions surrounding Freny's death unanswered, inveterate sleuth Perveen undertakes an informal investigation, beginning with the coroner and continuing through Freny's friends, teachers, and fellow insurgents. Massey's graceful prose and mastery of period detail successfully suggest the fiction of the period. Perveen's third mystery propels a rich story of female empowerment during a pivotal era.

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