The Star from Calcutta

Perveen Mistry, Book 5

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, is on the verge of securing 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 Calcutta studio 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 Champa Films 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.

Now with a different legal obligation to her clients—to protect them in the face of a developing murder case—Perveen begins to investigate, peeling back the glitz to reveal a salacious web of blackmail, deceit, and romantic affairs. Perveen has her own secret: her relationship with a handsome former civil service officer, which is becoming harder to hide by the day. 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?

©2026 Sujata Massey (P)2026 Recorded Books

As always - good images of India during the British Raj

I love this narrator. The author really brings out the trials and tribulations of living under the British Raj. My only wish would be to see her have a close Indian friend too.

Came together at the end

Well I kept asking the question where was the editor. Sentences were repeated over and over. There was an issue with the flow. It finally came together in the last 70 pages.

This series is phenomenal

I love all the stories in this series. Some catch my personal interests more than others. The narration is art. Really wonderful all around.

Less dynamic than befire

I've read or listened to all books of the series but I find my interest wanin. The main character is still great but the plot was not. It felt too artificial, too made up. The final twist was good though, unexpected.

Amazing Plot!

Loved the book. Hated when it ended. I hope there will be more adventures for Perveen.