The Bombay Prince is an absorbing historical mystery set in 1920s colonial India, brimming with intrigue, cultural tension, and the complexities of justice under British rule. The story follows Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s first female solicitor, as she investigates the suspicious death of a young Indian student during a visit from the Prince of Wales.

Massey’s writing is rich with historical detail, capturing the vibrancy of 1920s Bombay and the political unrest simmering beneath the surface. Through Perveen’s sharp intellect and compassionate nature, Massey explores the challenges faced by women and the pressing questions of independence and identity that define this era.

The pacing is finely tuned, weaving together elements of mystery, cultural reflection, and legal drama. Perveen’s journey is as much about seeking justice as it is about navigating her own role in a society at a crossroads. The storytelling is both suspenseful and thought-provoking, capturing the personal stakes and broader societal issues in equal measure.

The Bombay Prince is a captivating blend of mystery and historical fiction driven by a brave and perceptive heroine. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Soho Crime for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the Bombay Prince by Sunata Massey. I love mysteries and historical fiction, so mysteries in a historical setting are always fun to read. Perveen is such a great character, and she felt like a real person while still being likable. The setting really added to the story in this novel. However, I felt like the ending dragged on a tiny bit. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book.

Sujata Massey has done it again! Perveen's personality and the people around her continue to grow and develop in this series, and I can't wait for more.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

This is the third volume of Massey's excellent Perveen Mistry series. Taking place in 1921 this one has Perveen, who is Bombay's first female lawyer investigating the death of a young Parsi student during the visit of Edward, Prince of Wales. Rich in detail, the story unfolds encompassing the political upheaval, murder and her personal relationships. As always, this is an excellent story.

I love the flavor of India in the 1920s, as seen through the eyes of Perveen Mistry. The two previous entries into the series read a bit quicker than this one, but the story was good overall. I love the characters, especially Perveen, who delicately balances pushing social boundaries and preserving her family’s honor.Okay

The “Bombay prince” is the future Edward VIII, who in November 1921 took a four-month tour of India, one of the many colonial lands he expected to rule one day. Many Indians supporting independence were angry about the visit, which led to calls for boycotts and agitation in the streets.

This historic event is the setting for the third in Sujata Massey’s excellent mysteries of 1920s India featuring Perveen Mistry, the country’s first female solicitor (she’s fictional but based on a real-life figure).

Miss Freny Cuttingmaster, a talented student at Woodburn College, stops by Mistry Law for a legal consultation with Perveen. She and her classmates are required to attend the parade celebrating the Prince of Wales’s arrival in Bombay, but Freny detests what he symbolizes and wants to stay away. Impressed by her principles, Perveen advises her as best she can. Then, on the day of the procession, poor Freny’s body is found on the ground, beneath a balcony on her campus. Was her death suicide-as-protest, a political murder, or something else?

Massey admirably directs a cast of dozens, all with distinct personalities and with a range of religious backgrounds. The amount of cultural information smoothly woven through these pages is astounding and is exhibited via the characters’ interactions. The Cuttingmasters are Parsis, like Perveen, which leads her and her lawyer father, Jamshedji, to advocate for Freny’s distraught parents during the coroner’s inquest and ensure her funeral at Doongerwadi isn’t improperly delayed. Feeling an affinity for their late daughter, Perveen wants to see justice done, but she’s disconcerted by Mr. Cuttingmaster’s abruptness (he’s a tailor, as his name suggests) and tries to act without causing offense. She doesn’t always succeed.

Perveen’s manner feels stiff at times, which she acknowledges; it feels appropriate to her status as a pioneering woman in her field who happens to be separated from an abusive husband. Both on the job and within society, her behavior must be above reproach, plus Jamshedji disapproves of her socializing with men. This includes Colin Sandringham, an English political agent helping to arrange the prince’s itinerary. Readers of the previous book will be happy to see him again. Perveen and Colin had become close during her trip to Satapur, but as for a relationship between them – there be danger ahead, she knows.

Followers of the series should delight in how this book ends, and anyone tempted by mentions of the delicious Indian dishes consumed by the characters can find recipes on the author’s website.

Perveen Mistry holds a unique status in 1920’s Bombay as India’s sole female solicitor. The title of Sujata Massey’s mystery, The Bombay Prince, refers to The Prince of Wales, son of King Edward VII and grandson of Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India, who is about to embark on a tour of India. The four-month visit of the British heir apparent is not universally welcomed by the citizens of Bombay. Many Indians chafe under British colonial rule and yearn for its end. On July 1st, 1867, three British colonies merged to form the new, self-governed country of Canada. Why could India not follow a similar path?

Royal tours aside, a lawyer’s lot is paved with contracts. Mr. Shah is a client who wants to rent out his bungalow. Mr. Ahmad is a well-qualified potential tenant.

But suddenly, her client wanted an amendment prohibiting the butchering of meat. Mr. Ahmad had crossed that out and written in capital letters that his wife had the right to cut and cook whatever she pleased. He also insisted that Mr. Shah replace a dying mango tree in the garden.

What is behind these last-minute antics? “Perveen suspected that religious anxiety had infected her Parsi client and made the prospective renter react defensively.” Perveen subtly reminds Mr. Shah that “municipal taxes would rise in the new year,” causing him to reconsider his demands because an empty house won’t garner him a rent check. This dispute reminds readers that Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995) is not culturally homogeneous. The predominant but not exclusive religious groups in the city include Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Parsis, and Sikhs.

A young woman, Freny Cuttingmaster, comes to Perveen’s office to ask for a consultation, highly irregular. Mustafa, “the silver-haired giant who served as Mistry Law’s guard, butler, and receptionist,” tells Perveen that Freny was referred to Mistry Law by Alice Hobson-Jones, Perveen’s best friend, a Mathematics instructor at Woodburn College. The two women do a song and dance about how best Freny should address Perveen, the eighteen-year-old rejecting ‘Memsahib’ as too British and ‘ma’am,’ in Perveen’s opinion, skewing too old.

“If you’d like, you may call me Perveen-bai.”



Freny nodded. “Perveen-bai, I am representing Woodburn College’s Student Union. We are seeking a legal consultation.”



Activism was on an uptick throughout Bombay. In recent months the famous lawyer Mohandas Gandhi had been gaining adherents with his calls for protest against British rule. Perveen longed to assist freedom fighters, but she was a solicitor, so her work was mostly contracts. “I am honored you thought of Mistry Law. Would you like to tell me your concern?”



Freny looked intently at Perveen. “We want to know if we have the right to stay away from college without being punished.”

Perveen is puzzled and annoyed. Why would the student union be consulting a lawyer about something so trivial as students skipping class? Freny sets Perveen straight, saying the question is political. “We want to be absent from the college on the day the Prince of Wales enters Bombay. Did you know that Gandhiji has called a hartal?” A hartal is more than a boycott: it is a “concerted cessation of work and business especially as a protest against a political situation or an act of government.” The crux of the issue for Perveen is how to advise students who don’t wish to honor “the prince, yet not be punished by the authorities.” Unfortunately, feigning an illness to avoid the parade is not an option because telling the truth is a “cornerstone of the Parsi theology,” and a touchstone for Parsi Freny. Perveen has no good advice to give Freny, but she promises to look for college contracts that might offer an escape route in the three days before the prince’s arrival.

Perveen turns down her family’s invitation to join them to watch the prince’s triumphal entrance into Bombay. In all conscience, she cannot because she supports India’s eventual independence from Great Britain. At the last minute, worried about Freny’s ultimate decision to join (or not) her fellow students in the stands lining the prince’s route, Perveen rushes over to Woodburn College. Her friend Alice Hobson-Jones makes room for her, but Perveen can’t spot Freny, that is until she spots her prone body on the ground in the college’s garden. Freny must have fallen “from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession” passed by the college. Perveen hopes that Freny is just stunned, that she isn’t dead, but when a constable turns over the body, Perveen knows that’s impossible: “The right underside of Freny’s face was smashed, with bits of bone protruding. She had fallen very hard indeed—or been struck.”

Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest. When Freny’s death is ruled a murder, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done.

Her decision to help solve Freny’s murder puts Perveen’s Parsi family at risk because political tensions inexorably fuel religious tensions. Nevertheless, Perveen and her pappa Jamshedji, her legal mentor and the founder of the law firm, share a reverence for the rule of law and justice that supersedes their fears for their family’s safety. Besides, as Perveen said to Freny in their first and only meeting, “Bombay women are at least as strong as coconuts!” Perveen’s professional journey to be recognized as a full-fledged solicitor by the Bombay legal establishment—since the “Bombay High Court refused to recognize woman lawyers as advocates”—parallels her undeniable talent for detection. I look forward to a fourth Perveen Mistry novel for the young solicitor who undeniably lives in turbulent, interesting times and she’s right in the thick of it.

This thoroughly enjoyable series is so well researched and written that I feel like I am in Bombay. Perveen is such a great character, who tries to balance her work as the first female solicitor, her family obligations, her religion and her inquisitiveness. She is a champion for those she believes in and wants to see justice for those who have been wronged. In this latest book much is happening in Bombay with Prince Edward's visit and unrest in the city because of it. I loved the historical aspect of the book and learned a lot, but the mystery is also interesting and kept me guessing. This picks up where the last book left off and I was happy to see Colin make an appearance in this book as well. The best book in the series so far.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is exceptional! I have not read any of the other titles in this series, but had no trouble jumping right in. It is fascinating to explore the history of India through this very appealing and engaging mystery.

This mystery series has gotten better with each installment, as we see more of Perveen Mistry and her intelligence and ground breaking legal position. It’s 1921 in India, where violence is breaking out between British supporters and those wanting independence. When Freny comes to Perveen’s office to ask her advice, Perveen is impressed with the young college student. When a murder occurs, during the visit by Prince Edward in the midst of the unrest, Perveen becomes involved. I am fascinated by the descriptions of politics and religious differences, as well as the plight of women to be recognized in positions of power. I highly recommend this series, and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

I truly love reading about Perveen's life. I know very little about India's history, and the subtle revelations are very interesting. It's wonderful that her parents are as supportive of her as they are. Of course I'm interested in a romantic relationship for her, but it certainly seems impossible.....we shall see!

I was again delighted to be granted access to an advance copy of Sujata Massey's third Perveen Mistry offering, The Bombay Prince. The continuing saga of India's first female lawyer was just as good as the first two! Set during Prince Edward's extended visit and Bombay's inevitable response, a young girl's murder takes center stage. Well drawn characters, clever plotting and of course, historical and cultural details, round out this book. I would highly recommend to both mystery and historical fiction fans. You won't be disappointed!

Purveen Mistry is the only female solicitor in Bombay of 1921. She feels she is always walking a thin line between what is respectable for a woman of her time and her desire to be a lawyer. She is visited by Freny Cuttingmaster, a student at a local college, seeking her opinion. This is a time of great unrest in Bombay. Edward, Prince of Wales has come to India for a four-month long tour and many of the locals are not happy about it. Many, wishing to be free of the English, would like to cause trouble to their overlords. Freny supports their views and would like to boycott the parade in honor of the Prince, but she does not want to dishonor her parents who gave up so much for her education. When Freny is found dead on the grounds of the college during the parade, Purveen is there and seeks justice for Freny.

I really liked Purveen. She is a strong woman who has overcome obstacles (including a bad marriage) to get where she is and who truly wants to help the people she represents. I think the one thing that stands out to me is learning about India at the time and in particular the Parsis.of which Purveen is one. I know a lot more about Hinduism, so this book was and education for me. I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to any of my patrons.

I adored the first two books in this series, and this third one absolutely did not disappoint! Sujata Massey has a gift in relating the setting and time period and I can't wait to see what else she comes up with in the future!

Thanks to Soho Press for the ARC!
I always enjoy Ms. Massey's books, and was happy to see a new Perveen Mistry story.
This series is set in Bombay soon after WWI and Perveen, the main character, is a lawyer.
The city, the era, society, culture and politics are all described vividly, and the protagonist's somewhat precarious place (the only female lawyer in the city) creates interesting situations.
The main story here is the death of a student at the school that a friend of Perveen's teaches at.
Alice, her friend, and Colin, her not-boyfriend help Perveen try and solve the mystery.
Like someone else mentioned, I felt like the book ended abruptly, or there could have been more exposition, otherwise I would've said 5 stars.
I really enjoy this series and hope that there will be more.

THE BOMBAY PRINCE by skilled author Sujata Massey is the third mystery in the Perveen Mistry series, set in 1920s India and featuring a female solicitor based in Bombay. Other titles are The Widows of Malabar Hill and The Satapur Moonstone. As ever, Perveen Mistry's heart is touched by others in need and this story starts with a visit from a young college student, Freny Cuttingmaster, hoping to avoid showing respect at an upcoming visit by the British royal family. That young girl is killed the same day as the parade honoring the visit and Perveen Mistry struggles to solve the crime while dealing with numerous constraints because of her gender and religion. The strength of this series is based not only on the complex "whodunit" aspects, but also on the detailed background provided about the political situation, historical societal practices, and religious beliefs. THE BOMBAY PRINCE received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Other mysteries set in India include those by Abir Mukherjee and Nev March.

The Bombay Prince is a lush read, one that gives you a real feel for Bombay in the declining days of the Raj.

Perveen Mistry is a young, female, Oxford-educated barrister in practice with her father, and it's fascinating to see how much she can detect while staying within the constraints of her family and class. In this case, she investigates the death of a young Parsee student-- the same ethnic background she shares.

She relies on varies contacts within the community and her own analytical skills to figure out what happened to young Miss Cuttingmaster. Overall, an excellent read.

Perveen Mistry investigates the murder of a college student that happens to occur while the Prince of Wales is visiting Bombay. I have learned so much about Indian history and culture from this series.

Beautifully, yet simply written, this book reads as though it was written when it takes place….1921. Highly evocative, the author paints a vivid picture of time and place and I loved the luscious description of the clothing. I almost felt as though unraveling the mystery was secondary to learning about Bombay society in this era as an independence movement burgeons.

Purveen Mistry, the first woman solicitor in Bombay, is a strong, independent character
I didn’t realize that this was the third in a series; it is, then, the first I have read. It was a delightful introduction this author and her characters.