A MYSTERY IN HISTORY

We review two novels set in the 20th century with fabulous, flawed female protagonists out to investigate strange goings-on

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It’s satisfying if a suspense novel has a woman in the lead role, seeking answers to mysterious riddles and triumphing in the end. It’s fascinating if the novel is also set in the past and allows you a glimpse of history. And it’s absolutely riveting if the protagonists turn out to be intensely human – with all the flaws and failings that entails.

Two sparkling mystery novels by two stellar writers have recently made it to the news. While Sujata Massey’s The Bombay Prince is the third in her award-winning Perveen Mistry series and is set in pre-Independence Bombay, Clare Chambers has set Small Pleasures in the suburbs of 1950s London. Besides their historical setting, both books feature protagonists who are eminently relatable: women who make mistakes, lust after the wrong men, have career ambitions, and seek the truth despite odds. Read on for detailed reviews.

THE BOMBAY PRINCE

This is the third in the Perveen Mistry series that has already earned Sujata Massey the Agatha Award for best historical mystery novel (2018) and the Mary Higgins Clark Award for mystery writing (2019). Based in Baltimore, Maryland, US, Sujata is the much-acclaimed author of 14 mystery and suspense fiction novels set in India and Japan, and her latest June 2021 release continues to keep the bar high.

Set in 1921,