I quite enjoyed the book. I did feel the murder mystery could have been better, as I figured out who it was early on which did make the quest to find out the culprit feel like it was dragging a bit. I think the book read like a feminist historical fiction novel with elements of mystery, rather than an out and out murder mystery per se, not that I minded in any way. It was a powerful and heartwarming ode to resilience, female solidarity, and family. Be it Perveen's friends ip with Alice or the kinship between the wives or between Perveen and the wives, I loved reading about the positive relationships of support and encouragement between the female characters. The world-building was really fascinating and well-researched and I loved diving deeper into 1920s Bombay from the perspective of the protagonist. However, at the risk of sounding pedantic, I must point out that Victoria Memorial was only opened to the public in 1921 so the passing mention of visiting the landmark doesn't hold up when you consider the facts. 

Perveen was a protagonist I could root for and I found myself strongly empathising with her throughout the novel, and was enraged and heartbroken by all that she had to endure. She does evolve as a character as she experiences the world and by the end, she's definitely grown so much as a person which I loved. However, the custom of menstrual seclusion that she had to undergo feels cruel and unthinkable but unfortunately, it has been the stark reality of so many others over the ages and it breaks my heart to think that traditions like these which have been so detrimental to the well-being of the people they're meant to serve have flourished. 

Besides Perveen, my other favourite characters were definitely her parents. Her mother who was her confidante and showed up for her in little ways throughout the book. But I especially liked her father whose steadfast and unflinching support for his daughter was heartening to witness even t ough it did occassionally border on overprotectiveness, but I saw that as mostly being a product of the times and society. My favourite part was when he went to court to represent Perveen when their lawyer didn't show up, and he just fiercely showed up for her and calmly presented the facts and defended her right to the end, even at the risk of causing some embarrassment and discomfort to Perveen by disclosing intimate details of her life with her husband and in-laws to the judge and the jury. To me, that and him making all the arrangements for her to go to Oxford was testament of how much he loved her and it's truly heartwarming to read about such supportive fathers in fiction. 

Lastly, my other favourite thing about this book was all the mention of Parsi cuisine, be it the lemongrass tea, or lagan nu custard, or salli botti. As a foodie who quite likes Parsi food, I was enjoying the mentions of all the delicious dishes with every passing page. 

Voi, miten viihdyttävä mysteeri! Vaikka tässä tapahtuu kyllä murha ja kaikkea muutakin kauheaa, on tämä ehdottomasti cozy crimea. Pidin todella paljon siitä, että kirjassa oli feministinen ote, mutta myös parsiperinteitä kunnioitettiin todella. En malta odottaa, että lainaan kirjastosta seuraavan osan!

Olihan tässä tosin mysteeriksi aika paljon kaikkea ja toinen aikataso oli lähestulkoon vastenmielinen.

I loved this! I found the central mystery to be interesting, with a satisfying conclusion and nice twists. The historical aspects of life in 1920s Bombay and Calcutta were fascinating, and I adored Perveen’s character, especially. Looking forward to the other two in the series. 

This was a book that was recommended to me as I was interested in reading something set in the 1920s. My quick review reads:
Indian girl study's law, marries badly, flash forward to after she is qualified, she is legal council for 3 widows and then murder! whodunit?

This is a historical fiction mystery and so it has a few inserts of some fairly antiquated practices. Falling foul of tradition, Perveen is captured by her husband's family and forcibly detained during her monthly "unclean time". This could be hard to read for some people, as it also deals with women who suffered and died in similar situations before such practices of traditional Zoroastrian culture were challenged and fazed out in the face of modern medical science. The rest of the story has a backdrop of the attitudes toward marriage, arranged marriages and the rules and attitudes toward marriage and its annulment in India in the early 20th century.

Perveen is a subversively anachronistic character. She meddles and fights for the rights of women, and when she finds three widows in religious seclusion from men, have signed away their inheritance to a charity, Miss Mistry smells a rat. Presuming that someone is manipulating the women, Perveen Mistry undertakes to use her privileged position as a woman trained in law, to meet with these women who will not speak to a man outside of their family, and inform them of their Legal Rights.

Soon after the women start questioning things, their caretaker is bloodily murdered, and the meddling Perveen is not prepared to back away and let the police violate these women's religious seclusion.

Oddly, this story was quite fun, if dire in places. It was informative and seems well researched. It gives a nuanced view of how the 1920s in India differed from UK and USA in the 1920s. One of Perveen's friends is expelled from her school for being overly intimate with another girl.. oops. Seems a bit of an aside, but I guess it's better than not dealing with the topic at all.

Hurmaava kirja vie aikamatkalle 1920-luvun Bombayhyn, jossa erilaiset kulttuurit kohtaavat, joskus kohtalokkainkin seurauksin.

Perveen Mistry on Bombayn ensimmäinen naispuolinen lakimies. Hän saa tehtäväkseen hoitaa perinnön jaon menehtyneen muslimimiehen kolmen eristyksessä elävän vaimon ja näiden lapsien kesken. Kimurantiksi muuttuva tapaus herättää muistoja Perveenin omasta menneisyydestä.

Kirja kuvasi kiehtovalla tavalla Intialaisia kulttuureja ja naisen asemaa 1920-luvun Intiassa. Vaikka kirjassa vilisi kulttuureihin liittyviä termejä ja sanoja, oli sen tapahtumia silti helppo seurata, ja vieraat sanat antoivat tarinalle oman mausteensa. Perveen päähenkilönä oli mielenkiintoinen ja hahmo oli uskottava kaikkine puolineen.

Kuuntelin kirjan äänikirjana, ja aluksi minua hieman häiritsi se, että kirja kertoo nuoren intialaisnaisen elämästä, mutta lukijan ääni kuulostaa liian kypsältä hahmoon nähden. Mutta totuin siihen nopeasti, ja aloin pitämään lukijan rauhallisesta tyylistä.