The Widows of Malabar Hill

A very layered mystery about a female lawyer in 1920's India (inspired by one of the country's first female barristers). After discovering the corpse of a client's guardian, Perveen Mistry becomes entangled in the case, eventually unmasking the killer.

The novel goes back and forth between two timelines and I found myself equally invested in both. Perveen's backstory, though tragic was necessarily fleshed out. I loved learning about the world she inhabited, which was so wonderfully detailed and rich. It is clear that the author really did her research.

The “who” in this whodunit isn't surprising, but this isn't a thriller. It's character driven, historical fiction with a dash of murder, and if you go in with those expectations you won't be disappointed.