Books | Finally, A True Detective

When I email Sujata Massey to set up an interview, she's in the thick of her promotional tour for The Satapur Moonstone, the second book in the gripping Perveen Mistry series, with an event in a new city practically every night. We chat over a WhatsApp call, while she's waiting to board a flight from Milwaukee to Minnesota.The Baltimore-based writer has authored 14 novels, including the popular Rei Shimura series, chronicling the adventures of the eponymous Japanese-American sleuth in Tokyo. Last year, Massey introduced her fans to Perveen Mistry, a young crime-solving Parsi solicitor in 1920s Bombay, in A Murder on Malabar Hill. The novel, with its quick pace and vivid descriptions of colonial Bombay, was lapped up by readers and critics alike. The recently released The Satapur Moonstone takes Perveen to a fictional town in the Sahyadri mountains, to weigh in on the future of a 10-year-old prince following a pair of mysterious deaths in the royal family. The Satapur Moonstone, A Perveen Mistry Novel, by Sujata Massey, PENGUIN, Rs 399; 360 pages"I was fascinated to learn that under half the subcontinent (at that time) was in royal, not British, hands. But the more I looked into it, the more I realised that the British still had control, over where the maharajas were educated, who they would marry, and whether they were even allowed to holiday in Europe. In exchange for getting to keep their wealth, the maharajas really had to toe the line. Perveen is very curious about what it's like in these princely states," says Massey, who stayed in a royal palace-cum-hotel in Udaipur on one of her trips to India..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}"I toured sections like the zenana, that were built hundreds of years ago. When I was looking out the windows, I realised I felt very trapped, and that added to the story what life was like for royal women," adds the Agatha, and Macavity award winner.Massey has long been fascinated by the lives of women in pre-Independent India. Perveen's character was inspired by Cornelia Sorabji and Mithan Tata Lam, India's earliest female lawyers. "A woman lawyer would be a most dynamic character, with a believable reason to get involved in crimes through her legal work," she says.The 55-year-old does most of her writing at home after her son goes to school. She's also part of 'Crime Writers of Color', a listserv of sorts that includes writers of African-American, West Asian, Latino and other native heritages. "We've banded together to support each other," she says.Massey is currently working on the third Perveen novel, which explores the challenges female students faced in co-ed settings. "Bombay was unique in having co-ed colleges. And women sometimes felt they had to keep silent because they were subject to intense attention. I loved incorporating characters I've developed in earlier books it's like a happy reunion for all of us in Bombay," she says.Published By: Chanchal ChauhanPublished On: Jul 5, 2019--- ENDS ---

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Books | Finally, A True Detective

With Perveen Mistry, writer Sujata Massey has created a Parsi sleuth who is as radical as she is believable

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