Star from Calcutta
Star from Calcutta
Star from Calcutta
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Description
Description
A movie censor murdered, a leading lady vanished--the glamour, romance, and intrigue of the beginnings of Bollywood come to vivid life in the thrilling new installment of the Perveen Mistry historical mystery series. India, 1922: Perveen Mistry, the only female lawyer in Bombay, has secured her biggest client yet: Champa Films, a movie studio run by director Subhas Ghoshal and his wife, Rochana, the biggest name in Indian cinema. In the public eye, Rochana is notorious for her beauty and her daring stunts--behind the scenes, she has recently left the studio in Calcutta that made her famous, and the studio owner is enraged by what he claims is a breach of contract. Rochana needs Perveen's legal help to extricate Champa Films from the impending controversy. To study Rochana's glamorous world, Perveen attends a special screening and brings her film fanatic best friend, Alice Hobson-Jones. But in the aftermath of the event, one of the guests is found dead, and to make matters worse, Rochana has disappeared. To protect her clients, Perveen begins to investigate the developing murder case, peeling back the glitz to reveal a salacious web of blackmail, deceit, and romantic affairs. For the first time in their friendship, Alice seems to be keeping a secret from Perveen. Is she hiding key information about the night of the murder? Will Perveen be able to detangle the truth from lies while protecting herself--and her closest friend?
About the Author
About the Author
Sujata Massey was born in England to parents from India and Germany, grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and lives in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a features reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun before becoming a full-time novelist. The first Perveen Mistry novel, The Widows of Malabar Hill, was an international bestseller and won the Agatha, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark Awards. Visit her website at sujatamassey.com.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
Praise for The Star from Calcutta We Are Bookish "30 Must-Read Books Hitting Shelves in 2026"
BookRiot Most Anticipated BIPOC Books of 2026 "Massey brings the glittering decadence of the 1920s film world to the social restrictions of India under British rule... A wonderful history-mystery read, filled with fascinating details both of the complexity of life in British India and of the workings of the 1920s film world."
--Booklist, Starred Review "A lush and leisurely period mystery with a proto-feminist heroine . . . Massey, who's generous in her historical color, devotes equal attention to Perveen's singular life and the tangled whodunit [and] Massey's tale moves with stately elegance to its complex solution."
--Kirkus Reviews "Another satisfying installment of a dependable series."
--Publishers Weekly "A lavishly detailed, atmospheric and thoroughly entertaining mystery."
--BookTrib
"The author smoothly handles the tensions and relationships between the British overlords and the Indians who yearn for independence. Perveen's life as a Parsi and as a trailblazer in women's rights are well handled, as are her sometimes fraught friendships across cultural lines. The early days of the Indian film industry make for an exotic, fascinating background."
--Historical Novel Society
"Perfect 'smart escapism.'"
--Book and Film Globe "[The Star from Calcutta] works perfectly as an entry point . . . Massey's larger argument is that history is not made only by formal declarations -- laws passed, barriers lifted -- but by the quieter acts of individuals who behave as though those changes have already occurred."
--Judicial Junkie "The nascent film industry is a great backdrop for this exciting mystery, with the burgeoning independence movement once again factoring into the exciting story along with Anglo prejudices, religious differences, patriarchal norms, and suppressed (and sometimes not suppressed) desires."
--Daniel Goldin, Boswell Books (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) "Behind the glitz of an Indian film community striving to overtake British and American companies, she finds bribery, deceit and marital affairs."
--St. Paul Pioneer-Press "There are twists, turns, and jolts of action; still, the unrushed storytelling gives the city's vivid landmarks - from Chowpatty Beach to Malabar Hill - time to glow."
--The Christian Science Monitor "This thoughtful addition to the series is rendered in vivid detail, pairing period intrigue with a portrait of a woman determined to carve out authority in a world reluctant to grant it."
--The Seattle Times Praise for the Perveen Mistry novels "Brilliantly pictured 1922 India."
--The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent series."
--Boston Globe "Well-researched and convincing."
--The Wall Street Journal "Marvelously plotted, richly detailed."
--The Washington Post "Ms. Massey develops wonderfully strong, endearing and thoughtful women who solve mysteries . . . Quick moving, suspenseful and good wins out in the end."
--The Economist "Massey's evocative mysteries featuring Mistry have always woven political, cultural and critical social issues into a compelling historical mystery."
--Carole E. Barrowman, The Minneapolis Star Tribune "[The] series keeps getting stronger with each book."
--The Christian Science Monitor
BookRiot Most Anticipated BIPOC Books of 2026 "Massey brings the glittering decadence of the 1920s film world to the social restrictions of India under British rule... A wonderful history-mystery read, filled with fascinating details both of the complexity of life in British India and of the workings of the 1920s film world."
--Booklist, Starred Review "A lush and leisurely period mystery with a proto-feminist heroine . . . Massey, who's generous in her historical color, devotes equal attention to Perveen's singular life and the tangled whodunit [and] Massey's tale moves with stately elegance to its complex solution."
--Kirkus Reviews "Another satisfying installment of a dependable series."
--Publishers Weekly "A lavishly detailed, atmospheric and thoroughly entertaining mystery."
--BookTrib
"The author smoothly handles the tensions and relationships between the British overlords and the Indians who yearn for independence. Perveen's life as a Parsi and as a trailblazer in women's rights are well handled, as are her sometimes fraught friendships across cultural lines. The early days of the Indian film industry make for an exotic, fascinating background."
--Historical Novel Society
"Perfect 'smart escapism.'"
--Book and Film Globe "[The Star from Calcutta] works perfectly as an entry point . . . Massey's larger argument is that history is not made only by formal declarations -- laws passed, barriers lifted -- but by the quieter acts of individuals who behave as though those changes have already occurred."
--Judicial Junkie "The nascent film industry is a great backdrop for this exciting mystery, with the burgeoning independence movement once again factoring into the exciting story along with Anglo prejudices, religious differences, patriarchal norms, and suppressed (and sometimes not suppressed) desires."
--Daniel Goldin, Boswell Books (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) "Behind the glitz of an Indian film community striving to overtake British and American companies, she finds bribery, deceit and marital affairs."
--St. Paul Pioneer-Press "There are twists, turns, and jolts of action; still, the unrushed storytelling gives the city's vivid landmarks - from Chowpatty Beach to Malabar Hill - time to glow."
--The Christian Science Monitor "This thoughtful addition to the series is rendered in vivid detail, pairing period intrigue with a portrait of a woman determined to carve out authority in a world reluctant to grant it."
--The Seattle Times Praise for the Perveen Mistry novels "Brilliantly pictured 1922 India."
--The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent series."
--Boston Globe "Well-researched and convincing."
--The Wall Street Journal "Marvelously plotted, richly detailed."
--The Washington Post "Ms. Massey develops wonderfully strong, endearing and thoughtful women who solve mysteries . . . Quick moving, suspenseful and good wins out in the end."
--The Economist "Massey's evocative mysteries featuring Mistry have always woven political, cultural and critical social issues into a compelling historical mystery."
--Carole E. Barrowman, The Minneapolis Star Tribune "[The] series keeps getting stronger with each book."
--The Christian Science Monitor
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Soho Crime
Pub date:
2027-02-02
Length:
384 pages
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