The widows of Malabar Hill : a mystery of 1920s India
(Book)

Includes an interview with the author and discussion questions.

1920s Bombay. Perveen Mistry has just joined her father's law firm. 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. 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.