Book: The Mistress of Bhatia House
Author: Sujata Massey
Pages: 420
Read: The paperback edition pictured above
Read in: ~5 hours
Plot Summary: Bombay, 1920s. At a lavish fundraiser party for the launch of a new women’s hospital, the grandson of Lord Bhatia, an influential aristocrat, is badly burned in an accident—but a young servant, Sunanda, rushes to save him. Instead of being lauded as a hero, Sunanda is dismissed from the household, and simultaneously, suspiciously charged with “child murder”—also known as abortion.
Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s only female solicitor, cannot stand by while this heroine is mistreated and takes her on as a client. Perveen goes as far as inviting Sunanda to live with the Mistrys, as Sunanda’s family has put her out of the house in shame at her supposed crime.
The Mistry home is full of tension, as Perveen’s sister-in-law, who has just given birth, is struggling with new motherhood, and Perveen’s father is less than happy to have a disgraced servant under his roof. Perveen herself is going through personal turmoil as she navigates a societally taboo relationship with a handsome librarian.
When the Mistrys’ servant residence is set aflame, Perveen realizes just how much is at stake in this case: has someone extremely powerful framed Sunanda to cover up another crime? Will Perveen be able to prove Sunanda’s innocence without endangering her own family?
General Thoughts: This is the fourth book in the Perveen Mistry series- a historical crime thriller series set in India in the early 1920s- and I have read and enjoyed every single one of the previous books! Click here, here and here to read my reviews of the previous books in the Perveen Mistry series.
Things I Liked:
1. As with all the previous books in the series, The Mistress of Bhatia House was well written and very well researched. It is a very atmospheric book and takes you right into the heart of Bombay in the early 1920s where Indians had little to no rights and women even less so. The author has done meticulous research to bring alive the casteism, classism and religious biases of the era, especially in colonial India.
2. I liked that this book spent a lot of time exploring the absolute lack of rights and voice that Indian women (or even the British women, to some extent) had in the 1920s. The case in this book is about a young woman, 20-year-old Sunanda, who is arrested by the police because some man overheard someone saying that Sunanda drank some herbal "tea" that was supposed to have abortive properties. Since abortion (done to oneself or to another woman) was a crime under British law, a mere hearsay led to an innocent young woman's arrest.
As a contrast, the author also takes us to the world of the upper crust of Bombay society- both Indian and British- where the women are working together to build a women's hospital that would be accessible to Indian women as well. The women, inspite of their good intentions and rigorous fundraising, were not being taken seriously even by their own husbands! As an independent Indian woman living in Bombay merely 100 years after the events described in this book, I could only count my blessings that things are different now - not 100% ideal or utopian but better in many ways!
3. This book also showcases the corruption that was such a part and parcel of the British bureaucracy in India, which we have inherited and continue to grapple with to this day! From the police officers to law clerks to even some very senior officers, several people within the British establishment were corrupt (no surprises there) and were misusing their public office for personal gains.
4. More than any of her other books, this book delves into the dynamics and challenges of living in a joint family, which was the norm back in the day. We have the Bhatias, a wealthy business family, where the two daughters-in-law can barely coexist without being snide and jealous of the other and, for a change, we also see brewing tensions inside Perveen's own family when her sister-in-law, Gulnaz, suffers from post-partum depression.
5. As with any book in a beloved series, it was lovely to visit Perveen- she is getting more assertive and stronger with every book and I love that for her! It was also nice to revisit her lovely parents, who are so supportive and progressive as well as meet Colin Sandringham once again!
Things I Didn't Like:
1. The mystery in this book was a bit of a slow burn, which made me lose interest several times but I persisted because I am so fond of Perveen Mistry as a character and wanted to know how this story would end. There was way too much family drama and the motive was way too convoluted for my liking.
Rating: 4/5
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