The Star from Calcutta

Perveen Mistry gets tangled in deadly Bollywood drama in Massey’s clever fifth novel featuring 1920s Bombay’s only female lawyer (after The Mistress of Bhatia House). Perveen and her father are hired by newlyweds Subhas and Rochana Ghoshal to fend off a lawsuit from Rochana’s former employer for breach of contract. Rochana, one of India’s biggest movie stars, worked for Royal Indian Pictures until, six months ago, she left to marry Subhas, owner of Champa Films, and join his studio as leading lady and coproducer of a new film. While the Mistrys plan their defense, Perveen and her best friend are invited to an advance screening of Rochana’s movie. What begins as a pleasant evening ends with the discovery of a film censor’s corpse, raising red flags for Perveen. Before she can dig too deeply, a key witness vanishes, increasing her fears that the Ghoshals are more dangerous than they seem. As always, Massey balances shrewd plot mechanics with an illuminating look at Perveen’s hardships and advantages as a professional woman. It’s another satisfying installment of a dependable series. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary. (Mar.)