The Widows of Malabar Hill

Historical fiction based in 1920’s India, with a murder to solve.

Perveen Mistry is a lawyer in 1920’s Bombay India, working in her father's law firm. Being female, she is not allowed to appear in court, but she does prepare documents and conducts interviews for the firm. The firm is handling the will for a prominent man in town and she was asked to look through the documents. Perveen noticed something unusual, the widows had signed over their inheritance to a charity. Because the widows are living in purdah (never leaving the women’s part of the house or speaking to men from outside the household), Perveen volunteered to visit the widows and make sure they understood what they had signed.

After visiting with the widows, the male guardian is found dead in his part of the house! Perveen has a lot to sort out to be able to help these women, and herself, because they are all suspects.