// Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan

It's the last night of 1949, and India is still settling into its newly acquired independence. The economy isn't faring so well, the rich have lost money and the poor are striving for equality. There are only a handful of Britishers who are still willing to stay back in the country and amidst that is an English diplomat named Sir James Herriot. When Herriot is found dead at his own New Year's Eve party, the higher authorities are pressurised to solve the case quickly. The case, somehow falls into the lap of India's first female Inspector, Persis Wadia. Persis then sets out on a clever wild goose chase with almost everyone standing against her. This is entirely a female centric novel, one that has been executed exceptionally well. And how delightful it was to read about Persis!

It's 2021 and yet women aren't taken seriously at work or everywhere else so one can imagine a scenario when a female inspector had to work alongside disgruntled men back in the 40s. There's a lot of patriarchy, machismo as we watch Persis throw herself into solving the case. The characters are wonderfully built, the setting of the book is vivid and Persis's personality is gold. The history of our country, its leaders, politics and the communal riots that trailed after the partition are very well narrated. While the mystery can be resolved on our own before we reach the climax, it does not dim the story in any which way. The various twists thrown at us coupled with all the suspicious characters do the job to keep us guessing. But it is Persis's character that steals the show. Vaseem creates a protagonist with her own shortcomings but also brilliant in her own way. I saw myself in her and so will many other women who read this book.

This is one book that is a perfect cocktail of history and mystery, neither overpowering the other. Want to read a crime novel which houses a stellar female protagonist? Look no further.

Thank you for the copy @hachette_india