Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Murder on Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

10 reviews

lefthandlou's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this! I found the central mystery to be interesting, with a satisfying conclusion and nice twists. The historical aspects of life in 1920s Bombay and Calcutta were fascinating, and I adored Perveen’s character, especially. Looking forward to the other two in the series. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a book that was recommended to me as I was interested in reading something set in the 1920s. My quick review reads:
Indian girl study's law, marries badly, flash forward to after she is qualified, she is legal council for 3 widows and then murder! whodunit?

This is a historical fiction mystery and so it has a few inserts of some fairly antiquated practices. Falling foul of tradition, Perveen is captured by her husband's family and forcibly detained during her monthly "unclean time". This could be hard to read for some people, as it also deals with women who suffered and died in similar situations before such practices of traditional Zoroastrian culture were challenged and fazed out in the face of modern medical science. The rest of the story has a backdrop of the attitudes toward marriage, arranged marriages and the rules and attitudes toward marriage and its annulment in India in the early 20th century.

Perveen is a subversively anachronistic character. She meddles and fights for the rights of women, and when she finds three widows in religious seclusion from men, have signed away their inheritance to a charity, Miss Mistry smells a rat. Presuming that someone is manipulating the women, Perveen Mistry undertakes to use her privileged position as a woman trained in law, to meet with these women who will not speak to a man outside of their family, and inform them of their Legal Rights.

Soon after the women start questioning things, their caretaker is bloodily murdered, and the meddling Perveen is not prepared to back away and let the police violate these women's religious seclusion.

Oddly, this story was quite fun, if dire in places. It was informative and seems well researched. It gives a nuanced view of how the 1920s in India differed from UK and USA in the 1920s. One of Perveen's friends is expelled from her school for being overly intimate with another girl.. oops. Seems a bit of an aside, but I guess it's better than not dealing with the topic at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

heather667's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Grief

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, and Lesbophobia

theredheded_bibliomaniac's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous informative relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Hurmaava kirja vie aikamatkalle 1920-luvun Bombayhyn, jossa erilaiset kulttuurit kohtaavat, joskus kohtalokkainkin seurauksin.

Perveen Mistry on Bombayn ensimmäinen naispuolinen lakimies. Hän saa tehtäväkseen hoitaa perinnön jaon menehtyneen muslimimiehen kolmen eristyksessä elävän vaimon ja näiden lapsien kesken. Kimurantiksi muuttuva tapaus herättää muistoja Perveenin omasta menneisyydestä.

Kirja kuvasi kiehtovalla tavalla Intialaisia kulttuureja ja naisen asemaa 1920-luvun Intiassa. Vaikka kirjassa vilisi kulttuureihin liittyviä termejä ja sanoja, oli sen tapahtumia silti helppo seurata, ja vieraat sanat antoivat tarinalle oman mausteensa. Perveen päähenkilönä oli mielenkiintoinen ja hahmo oli uskottava kaikkine puolineen.

Kuuntelin kirjan äänikirjana, ja aluksi minua hieman häiritsi se, että kirja kertoo nuoren intialaisnaisen elämästä, mutta lukijan ääni kuulostaa liian kypsältä hahmoon nähden. Mutta totuin siihen nopeasti, ja aloin pitämään lukijan rauhallisesta tyylistä. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I enjoyed this! I was very caught up in both timelines, and at every stage I wanted to know what would happen. The mystery wasn't too easy to figure out (for me at least), and i read the second half of the book in one day because I just needed to finish it. I'd definitely read more if this became a series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

albane's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Colonisation

Minor: Abandonment

Set in India in the 1920s. Indian characters are the focus of the book.

cat_rave's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Kidnapping