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_askthebookbug 's review for:
The Mistress of Bhatia House
by Sujata Massey
The fourth and latest book in the series has left me feeling very lukewarm. Of course, I still enjoy Massey’s writing style, her cleverness of including a lot of cultural and political references from a pre-independent India era and certain delightful charms of her characters. Although this one is another well researched book by her, the entire concept of the book being a murder mystery was sidelined. This book is the lengthiest amongst her other titles but somehow I found it better paced than The Bombay Prince. It also happens to be a lot more bolder than her previous titles.
When Perveen attends a fundraising party on behalf of her sister-in-law, she somehow ends up getting a very unlikely client. A woman is wronged by the powerful and Perveen is instinctively alert to save her client. The story gets tangled as we proceed where secrets and threats fill the pregnant air. Perveen’s own family is under duress as she struggles to maintain a healthy relationship with her sister-in-law. Massey has once again painted a picture of how tough life was for women before independence, but she also manages to introduce some strong female characters in the story.
But somewhere along the lines, the murder mystery took a backseat and it became more of a historical fiction. Certain aspects of the story seemed a little exaggerated but surprisingly this didn’t affect my reading pace. I was expecting to see a lot more of Colin but their time was very limited in the novel. Gulnaz’s character arch too felt too over the top. Nevertheless, Massey has still managed to build Perveen’s character really well. Although this one didn’t impress me much, I do look forward to reading the next books in the series.
Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
When Perveen attends a fundraising party on behalf of her sister-in-law, she somehow ends up getting a very unlikely client. A woman is wronged by the powerful and Perveen is instinctively alert to save her client. The story gets tangled as we proceed where secrets and threats fill the pregnant air. Perveen’s own family is under duress as she struggles to maintain a healthy relationship with her sister-in-law. Massey has once again painted a picture of how tough life was for women before independence, but she also manages to introduce some strong female characters in the story.
But somewhere along the lines, the murder mystery took a backseat and it became more of a historical fiction. Certain aspects of the story seemed a little exaggerated but surprisingly this didn’t affect my reading pace. I was expecting to see a lot more of Colin but their time was very limited in the novel. Gulnaz’s character arch too felt too over the top. Nevertheless, Massey has still managed to build Perveen’s character really well. Although this one didn’t impress me much, I do look forward to reading the next books in the series.
Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨