The Star from Calcutta

Praise for The Star from Calcutta

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“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

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.

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