New Releases by Sujata Massey

Bombay’s only female solicitor, Perveen Mistry, grapples with class divisions, sexism, and complex family dynamics as she seeks justice for a mistreated young woman in this thrilling fourth installment in Sujata Massey’s award-winning series. India, 1922: Perveen Mistry is the only female lawyer in Bombay, a city where child mortality is high, birth control is unavailable and very few women have ever seen a doctor. Perveen is attending a lavish fundraiser for a new women’s hospital specializing in maternal health issues when she witnesses an accident. The grandson of an influential Gujarati businessman catches fire—but a servant, his young ayah, Sunanda, rushes to save him, selflessly putting herself in harm’s way. Later, Perveen learns that Sunanda, who’s still ailing from her burns, has been arrested on trumped-up charges made by a man who doesn’t seem to exist. Perveen cannot stand by while Sunanda languishes in jail with no hope of justice. She takes Sunanda as a client, even inviting her to live at the Mistry home in Bombay’s Dadar Parsi colony. But the joint family household is already full of tension. Perveen’s father worries about their law firm taking so much personal responsibility for a client, and her brother and sister-in-law are struggling to cope with their new baby. Perveen herself is going through personal turmoil as she navigates a taboo relationship with a handsome former civil service officer. When the hospital’s chief donor dies suddenly, Miriam Penkar, a Jewish-Indian obstetrician, and Sunanda become suspects. Perveen’s original case spirals into a complex investigation taking her into the Gujarati strongholds of Kalbadevi and Ghatkopar, and up the coast to Juhu Beach, where a decadent nawab lives with his Australian trophy wife. Then a second fire erupts, and Perveen realizes how much is at stake. Has someone powerful framed Sunanda to cover up another crime? Will Perveen be able to prove Sunanda’s innocence without endangering her own family?

Inde, novembre 1921. Bombay est en ébullition. Alors qu’Edward VIII, futur roi d’Angleterre et souverain de l’Inde, est en visite officielle, de violentes émeutes menées par les indépendantistes éclatent. Lors du passage du convoi royal, Freny Cuttingmaster, jeune étudiante, perd la vie en tombant d’une galerie du deuxième étage. Perveen Mistry, première femme avocate en Inde, ne croit pas à la thèse de l’accident. Rongée par la culpabilité, car Freny était venue lui demander conseil à peine quelques jours plus tôt, elle décide de mener l’enquête. Entre les services secrets de la Couronne aux abois et les émeutiers déterminés à obtenir l’indépendance, Perveen pourra-t-elle aider la famille Cuttingmaster à obtenir justice ? Née en Angleterre de parents d’origine indienne et allemande, Sujata Massey vit aujourd’hui aux États-Unis. Ses romans ont été lauréats de nombreux prix littéraires, dont le prestigieux Mary Higgins Clark Award.

India, novembre 1921. Per le strade di Bombay infuria la protesta contro l’arrivo in città del principe Edoardo, l’erede al trono d’Inghilterra destinato a reggere anche le sorti del subcontinente indiano. Non appena la sfarzosa parata di accoglienza allestita dal governo locale termina, e il corteo con il principe si allontana, la protesta non violenta indetta da Mohandas Gandhi sfocia in scontri feroci. Perveen Mistry, prima donna avvocato di Bombay, professionista fiera e appassionata, assiste agli incidenti senza sorprendersi piú di tanto. Il popolo in India soffre da tempo il giogo inglese e l’arrivo di Edoardo, principe di Galles ma non certo di Bombay, è come un getto di benzina sulle braci di una rivolta inevitabile. Sotto le tribune del Woodburn, Perveen scorge, a un certo punto, un corpo senza vita. Una tragica fatalità, a prima vista, una ragazza forse scivolata dal balcone di un edificio. Quando però Perveen si avvicina e scopre che la giovane è Freny Cuttingmaster, studentessa diciottenne che, appena il giorno prima, le ha chiesto come gli alunni del Woodburn College potessero boicottare la parata senza subire gravi conseguenze legali, il suo cuore sobbalza, come se volesse uscirle dal petto. Perché non ha dedicato alla ragazza l’attenzione che meritava? Perché non la ha trattenuta piú a lungo? Nascondeva forse altri timori, per rivolgersi a lei? Nei giorni successivi, l’indagine su quella morte inaccettabile si rivela tutt’altro che semplice: a Bombay dilaga la rivolta e i ribelli attaccano chiunque sembri avere un legame con la Corona. In particolare chi, come Perveen, ha tutto l’aspetto di una donna sola e indifesa. Per giungere alla verità stavolta saranno necessari coraggio e determinazione inusitati. Nuovo capitolo delle inchieste di Perveen Mistry, Il principe di Bombay è una storia di indipendenza e di ribellione, che mette in luce la forza e la passione di una straordinaria, e ostinata, eroina. «Perveen Mistry è una delle protagoniste piú incantevoli e appassionate che possiate mai trovare in un romanzo». New York Journal of Books «Eccezionale. Sujata Massey al suo meglio». Publishers Weekly «Perveen, la nostra eroina, è molto piú che una Miss Marple in sari... Deliziosa». Kate Quinn

Bombay, 1921. Perveen Mistry travaille dans le cabinet de son père, devenant la toute première femme avocate en Inde. Un statut qui ne manque pas de faire débat, alors que seuls les hommes sont autorisés à plaider au tribunal... Mais quand Omar Farid, un riche marchand musulman, décède, elle est la seule à pouvoir s’occuper de sa succession. Car ses trois veuves vivent recluses dans une partie de la maison interdite aux hommes. Alors que Perveen croit déceler une anomalie dans les documents de l’héritage, l’affaire prend une tout autre tournure quand l''un des employés de Farid est retrouvé poignardé. Arrivera-t-elle à faire éclater la vérité et à protéger les femmes et les enfants de Malabar Hill ? Une enquête passionnante qui nous plonge au cœur de la société indienne du début du XXe siècle et interroge la place qu’y occupent les femmes. Née en Angleterre de parents d’origine indienne et allemande, Sujata Massey vit aujourd’hui aux États-Unis. Avant de devenir romancière à plein temps, elle était journaliste de reportage au Baltimore Evening Sun. Ses romans ont été lauréats de nombreux prix littéraires, dont le prestigieux Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Bombay’s first female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is compelled to bring justice to the family of a murdered female Parsi student just as Bombay’s streets erupt in riots to protest British colonial rule. Sujata Massey is back with this third installment to the Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning series set in 1920s Bombay. November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a fourmonth tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college. Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest. When Freny’s death appears suspicious, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done. But Bombay is erupting: as armed British secret service march the streets, rioters attack anyone with perceived British connections, and desperate shopkeepers destroy their own wares so they will not be targets of racial violence. Can Perveen help a suffering family when her own is in danger?

A legally-minded sleuth takes to the streets of 1920s Bombay in a fascinating new mystery.

Bombay, 1921. Perveen Mistry travaille dans le cabinet de son père, devenant la toute première femme avocate en Inde. Un statut qui ne manque pas de faire débat, alors que seuls les hommes sont autorisés à plaider au tribunal... Mais quand Omar Farid, un riche marchand musulman, décède, elle est la seule à pouvoir s’occuper de sa succession. Car ses trois veuves vivent recluses dans une partie de la maison interdite aux hommes. Alors que Perveen croit déceler une anomalie dans les documents de l’héritage, l’affaire prend une tout autre tournure quand l''un des employés de Farid est retrouvé poignardé. Arrivera-t-elle à faire éclater la vérité et à protéger les femmes et les enfants de Malabar Hill ? Une enquête passionnante qui nous plonge au cœur de la société indienne du début du XXe siècle et interroge la place qu’y occupent les femmes. Née en Angleterre de parents d’origine indienne et allemande, Sujata Massey vit aujourd’hui aux États-Unis. Avant de devenir romancière à plein temps, elle était journaliste de reportage au Baltimore Evening Sun. Ses romans ont été lauréats de nombreux prix littéraires, dont le prestigieux Mary Higgins Clark Award.

India, 1922: è la stagione delle piogge nelle lussureggianti e remote montagne Sahyadri, dove si trova il principesco stato del Satapur. Una maledizione sembra tuttavia essere caduta sulla famiglia reale: il maharaja è deceduto a seguito di un’improvvisa malattia poco prima che suo figlio venisse ferito mortalmente in un tragico incidente di caccia. Lo stato è ora governato da un agente del Raj britannico per conto delle due maharani di Satapur, la regina vedova e sua nuora. Le signore reali si trovano però in disaccordo sull’educazione del giovane principe ereditario e ritengono necessari i consigli di un avvocato. Le maharani vivono in Purdah, ovvero in rigoroso isolamento, e non possono avere contatti con gli uomini. Solo una persona può aiutarle: Perveen Mistry, l’unica donna avvocato di Bombay. Perveen è determinata a portare la pace nella casa reale, ma non passerà troppo tempo prima che la giovane si renda conto di essere finita in una trappola: il palazzo di Satapur è un luogo insidioso, in cui vanno in scena sanguinosi giochi di potere e dove si consumano atroci vendette causate da antichi risentimenti. Chi c’è realmente dietro la misteriosa maledizione che grava sul palazzo? E come potrà, Perveen, proteggere il principe ereditario?

In 1922 Bombay a curse has fallen upon a royal family, whose maharaja died of a sudden illness shortly before his teenage son was struck down in a tragic accident. The royal ladies and the British Raj are in dispute over the education of the crown prince - but the ladies live in purdah and do not speak to men. Enter Perveen Mistry, India''s only female lawyer. She is determined to bring peace to the royal house, but realises she has walked into a trap. But whose trap? And how can she protect the royal children from the palace''s deadly curse?

Bombay, 1921. Figlia di una rispettabile famiglia parsi, Perveen Mistry è da poco entrata a far parte dello studio legale del padre, situato in un elegante edificio nel quartiere del Fort, l’insediamento originario di Bombay. Laureata in legge a Oxford, oltre alle funzioni di procuratore legale, la giovane donna svolge anche quelle di segretaria, traduttrice e contabile. Ma non può certo lamentarsi: nessun altro studio legale in città sarebbe disposto ad assumere un’avvocatessa. Incaricata dal padre di eseguire il testamento di Mr Omar Farid, un ricco musulmano che ha lasciato tre vedove, Perveen si trova al cospetto di tre purdahnashin, donne che non parlano con gli uomini e vivono in isolamento, musulmane ricche e in clausura che potrebbero rappresentare un’eccellente opportunità da un punto di vista professionale. Sfogliando, tuttavia, il carteggio relativo all’eredità, qualcosa di strano salta agli occhi dell’avvocatessa: in una lettera scritta in inglese, Faisal Mukri, amministratore dei beni della famiglia Farid, comunica che, su espressa richiesta delle tre donne, la rendita che, secondo le disposizioni patrimoniali, spetterebbe a ognuna di loro, va devoluta al wakf, un fondo di beneficienza. Una richiesta davvero singolare, considerato che le tre purdahnashin rinuncerebbero in tal modo ai loro unici mezzi di sostentamento dopo la morte del loro marito; una richiesta, inoltre, che due delle firme apposte alla lettera, pressoché identiche, rendono a dir poco sospetta. Convinta che le tre vedove stiano subendo il raggiro di un uomo senza scrupoli, Perveen si reca a casa Farid per appurare la veridicità di quel documento. Giunta però nella ricca dimora del defunto Mr Farid, si imbatte nel corpo senza vita di Faisal Mukri. Dalla gola dell’amministratore sporge un coltello argenteo e il sangue inonda la nuca e il collo. Che anche le tre purdahnashin siano in pericolo di vita? Ispirato alle prime avvocatesse indiane: Cornelia Sorabji, prima donna a frequentare legge a Oxford nel 1892, e Mithan Tata Lam, prima donna ammessa al foro di Bombay nel 1923, il personaggio di Perveen Mistry annuncia l’entrata in scena di una nuova, formidabile investigatrice e il felice debutto di una serie ambientata nella Bombay degli anni Venti, una metropoli abbagliante in cui suoni, odori e colori di mille comunità danno vita a un luogo dall’anima unica e irripetibile.

Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father''s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women''s legal rights. Inspired in part by a real woman who made history by becoming India''s first female lawyer, The Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp and promising new sleuth, Perveen Mistry.

Rei Shimura, die kalifornische Amateurdetektivin, steht in ihrer Wahlheimat Tokio vor ihrem bizarrsten Fall: Der renommierten Zeitung Gijin Times laufen die Abonnenten davon. Was liegt näher, als mit kultigen Comics neue Leser zu gewinnen? Die attraktive Rei, angeheuert, dem Blatt aus der Misere zu helfen, sucht in der trendigen Manga-Szene nach Ideen. Schon bald entdeckt sie, wie weit die Begeisterung der jungen Manga-Fans gehen kann: Sie identifizieren sich so bedingungslos mit ihren Helden, daß sie deren Abenteuer nachleben wollen - bis zum bitteren Ende. Im Land der aufgehenden Sonne, wo Jugendkultur und uralte Traditionen aufeinanderprallen, entwickelt die preisgekrönte Autorin einen originellen, atemlos spannenden Krimi.

Nur widerwillig ist Rei Shimura ihrem Verlobten Hugh von Japan nach Washington gefolgt. Und während sie sich noch nach Japan zurücksehnt, vermittelt ihr ihre Cousine Kendall einen vielversprechenden Job: Sie soll die Innenausstattung für ein trendiges Japanrestaurant übernehmen. Doch als Kendall bei dessen Eröffnung entführt wird, sind wieder Rei Shimuras Qualitäten als Ermittlerin gefragt ...

Shiroyama, ein kleiner charmanter Ort in den japanischen Bergen: Seine reiche Geschichte verheißt eine faszinierende Neujahrszeremonie, und das einladende Badehaus der kleinen Familienpension verspricht wohltuende Stunden. Die junge Englischlehrerin Rei Shimura fühlt sich wie im Paradies, als sie für ein paar Urlaubstage aus Tokio anreist. Und daß ihr gleich am ersten Abend der reizende Hugh Glendinning über den Weg läuft, betrachtet sie als gutes Omen. Am nächsten Morgen jedoch findet man die Frau des einflußreichen Geschäftsmannes Nakamura tot unter dem Fenster des Badehauses. Glendinning scheint mehr zu wissen, als er preisgibt, und zu viele Details des Falles wollen nicht so recht zusammenpassen. Reis detektivischer Spürsinn ist geweckt, doch sie ahnt nicht, daß der Täter ganz in ihrer Nähe ist ...

Four unforgettable heroines star in a collection of romantic, suspenseful novellas and stories spanning India''s late colonial period up to the present day.

Rei Shimura and her husband Michael rush to Japan in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami -- she, to find her mentor Yasushi Ishida and his missing apprentice Mayumi, he, to battle the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

La giovane protagonista di questo romanzo ha più di un nome. All’età di sette anni, prima che un monsone devastasse il Bengala meridionale separandola dalla sua famiglia, la madre e le gemelline la chiamavano Didi, ma per tutti, al villaggio, era soltanto Pom, «un colpo su un tamburo, la pioggia che batte su un tetto di lamiera». Compiuti i dieci, dopo essere stata raccolta malconcia dal ciglio di una strada e rimessa in sesto dal dottor Andrews a forza di dal, riso e latte bollito, per entrare a servizio nella scuola inglese di Miss Jamison, Pom è costretta a cambiare il suo nome in uno «da donna», «uno tratto dal libro sacro dei cristiani», e diviene Sarah: la piccola orfana che serve il bed tea alle insegnanti ancora assonnate, passa lo straccio nella sala da pranzo, manovra i ventilatori nelle aule per tenere fresche le allieve. Nell’istante, tuttavia, in cui sente leggere L’isola del tesoro, Il libro della giungla, e ancora Virginia Woolf e Steinbeck, Sarah scopre che cosa vuole fare da grande: lavorare con i libri. E, magari, diventare una brava insegnante. Spinta da una forza di volontà fuori dal comune, ogni notte, dopo il lavoro, studia l’Oxford English Dictionary cercando di apprendere il più possibile. Quando, però, sembra aver fatto passi da gigante, nella scuola scoppia uno scandalo e la ragazza è costretta a fuggire a Kharagpur, una città insidiosa, violenta, in cui alle donne sole è permesso lavorare soltanto nei postriboli. Dopo nuove fughe e imprevedibili rivelazioni, il caso la conduce a Calcutta dove incontra un affascinante funzionario del governo inglese che le offre di lavorare nella sua biblioteca. «Mi chiamo Kemala» si presenta questa volta. Sarà capace di svolgere quel nuovo impiego? E quell’ennesimo nome riuscirà a portarle fortuna e a trasformarla in ciò che Didi, Pom e Sarah hanno sempre voluto essere: una donna istruita, libera e innamorata? «Avvincente romanzo sull’amore, il tradimento e l’arte di sopravvivere» (Booklist), L’amante di Calcutta narra la storia di una giovane donna costretta a lottare contro le costrizioni imposte dal sistema delle caste e dalla colonizzazione. Grazie a «una scrittura attraente, sensuale, piena di colori, di profumi e di sapori»(Washington Independent Review of Books), Sujata Massey regala ai lettori un personaggio indimenticabile: una donna forte e generosa, in grado di leggere nel cuore degli altri. «Le costrizioni imposte dal sistema delle caste e dalla colonizzazione in un impeccabile romanzo storico». Booklist

Winner of the Agatha Award. "Sujata Massey blasts her way into fiction with The Salaryman''s Wife, a cross-cultural mystery of manners with a decidedly sexy edge."-- Janet Evanonich Japanese-American Rei Shimura is a 27-year-old English teacher living in one of Tokyo''s seediest neighborhoods. She doesn''t make much money, but she wouldn''t go back home to California even if she had a free ticket (which, thanks to her parents, she does.) She''s determined to make it on her own. Her independence is threatened however, when a getaway to an ancient castle town is marred by murder. Rei is the first to find the beautiful wife of a high-powered businessman, dead in the snow. Taking charge, as usual, Rei searches for clues by crashing a funeral, posing as a bar-girl, and somehow ending up pursued by police and paparazzi alike. In the meantime, she attempts to piece together a strange, ever-changing puzzle—one that is built on lies and held together by years of sex and deception. The first installment in the Rei Shimura series, The Salaryman''s Wife is a riveting tale of death, love, and sex, told in a unique cross-cultural voice.

From an award-winning novelist, a stunning portrait of late Raj India—a sweeping saga and a love story set against a background of huge political and cultural upheaval. YOU ASK FOR MY NAME, THE REAL ONE, AND I CANNOT TELL. IT IS NOT FOR LACK OF EFFORT. In 1930, a great ocean wave blots out a Bengali village, leaving only one survivor, a young girl. As a maidservant in a British boarding school, Pom is renamed Sarah and discovers her gift for languages. Her private dreams almost die when she arrives in Kharagpur and is recruited into a secretive, decadent world. Eventually, she lands in Calcutta, renames herself Kamala, and creates a new life rich in books and friends. But although success and even love seem within reach, she remains trapped by what she is . . . and is not. As India struggles to throw off imperial rule, Kamala uses her hard-won skills—for secrecy, languages, and reading the unspoken gestures of those around her—to fight for her country’s freedom and her own happiness.

Life in modern Tokyo is a blast for Rei Shimura, a young Japanese-American woman who enjoys busy days as an antiques dealer and steamy nights with a devoted new boyfriend. But things come to a standstill when Rei overpays for a rare old chest of drawers for a wealthy client, the owner of a famous Zen temple in Kamakura. The exquisite tansu turns out to be a fake: the worst deal Rei has ever made. When the temple family turns on Rei -- and the con man who sold the tansu is murdered -- she realizes she''s opened a Pandora''s box of deception and murder. A young martial artist, an aspiring rock singer, and an elderly antiques mentor all become part of Rei''s search for the killer through the shadows of an ancient culture. As her world begins to rapidly and inexplicably unravel, Rei realizes that it will take strength, wit, and a Zen attitude to survive.

The seventh book in Sujata Massey''s Agatha and Macavity Award–winning mystery series is a witty, suspenseful story that takes its young sleuth into the Washington DC restaurant world. A dazzling engagement ring and the promise of a fresh start bring antiques dealer and sometime sleuth Rei Shimura to Washington, DC. But just as she''s starting to settle down –catching up with a long–lost cousin and undertaking a lucrative commission furnishing a trendy Japanese restaurant nearby – things begin to go haywire. First, her cousin vanishes from the restaurant''s opening–night party, and then Rei is drafted to help find a Japanese war bride who disappeared 30 years earlier. The search for both missing women becomes suspiciously linked, and along the way, Rei faces truths about herself that may change her destiny – if she lives long enough.

Chronically underemployed Japanese-American sleuth Rei Shimura has taken a freelance gig with a Washington, D.C., alphabet agency that just might have ties to the CIA. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to go undercover as a clerk in a big Tokyo department store. It''s a risky assignment, but it also gives Rei a store discount that allows her to freely indulge her shopaholic tendencies. Meanwhile, she''s listening in on private conversations, crashing a conference, and fending off the unwanted advances of a couple of the store''s executives who seem fascinated by her navel ring. When her cover is blown, Rei is in big trouble. Suddenly she''s neck-deep in something very nasty, and it will take all her resourcefulness and unorthodox methods to survive a determined killer.

A Rei Shimura Mystery - During a family reunion on the island of Oahu, Japanese-American undercover spy Rei Shimura is roped into helping the Hawaiian branch of her family regain land stolen from them during World War II. But when fire sweeps the island and her young cousin is accused of arson, Rei, with the assistance of both her boyfriend and ex-lover, must discover the truth, which turns out to be linked to the Shimura family history . . .

The newest book in the Agatha and Macavity Award-winning mystery series is a witty and suspenseful story that sends sleuth Rei Shimura from Washington, D.C., to Tokyo and back again on a mysterious quest.

A new crime–thriller full of suspense from Sujata Massey, the acclaimed author of The Bride''s Kimono and The Floating Girl. Antiques dealer Rei Shimura is in San Francisco visiting her parents and researching a personal project tracing the story of 100 years of Japanese decorative arts through her own family''s experience. Her work is interrupted by the arrival of her boyfriend, lawyer Hugh Glendinning, who is involved in a class action lawsuit on behalf of aged Asian nationals forced to engage in slave labour for Japanese companies during World War II. These two projects suddenly intertwine when one of Hugh''s clients is murdered and Rei begins to uncover unsavoury facts about her own family''s actions during the war. Rei unravels the truth, finds the killer, and at the same time learns about family ties and loyalty and the universal desire to avoid blame.

Japanese-American writer Rei Shimura finally feels at home in Tokyo. Working on an article about the history of comic book art, her story turns when the creator of a comic book, which reveals the social milieu of pre-World War II Japan, is found dead. Rei finds herself floating through Japan''s youth underground to get the story--and save her own skin. A Mystery Guild Selection.