Today’s offerings: a new mystery set in the years of the Raj in India, an imagination-stretching dry-erase book for the little ones and a congratulation.

(Courtesy of the author)

“The Star from Calcutta” by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime, $29.95)

Perveen Mistry steps into the world of Indian filmmaking in the fifth in this series featuring the only woman solicitor in Bombay in 1922.

Perveen, a partner with her father in their law firm, is excited about taking on as clients director Subhas Ghoshal and his beautiful wife, Rochana, a popular movie star who recently left a rival studio. It seems a simple contract dispute at first, until things turn deadly.

A man who is a member of the powerful censorship board, seen at a party with Rochana, is found dead by Perveen in a puddle caused by the monsoon. Then, Rochana disappears just before the first showing of her latest film. There are plenty of suspects and Perveen walks a fine line between doing her duty to her clients and investigating the man’s death with the risk of implicating them.

Behind the glitz of an Indian film community striving to overtake British and American companies, she finds bribery, deceit and marital affairs.

Sujata Massey, who grew up in St. Paul, introduces the fifth book in her Perveen Mistry series, “The Star from Calcutta,” March 3, 2026, at Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis. (Courtesy of the author)

Perveen’s first case was “Widows of Malabar Hill” (2018), where readers learned of the tightrope Perveen has to walk as a female lawyer who uses her position to ask hard questions but must also back off so her conduct is never perceived as unseemly.

Her family belongs to the tight-knit Parsi community of the Zoroastrian faith who migrated from what was then Persia, and their young women must follow strict rules. For instance, when Perveen and her best friend, Alice, must spend the night at the studio both families are upset because women, even those in their 20s with careers, are expected to be home at night. Perveen, who left an abusive marriage, must hide her attraction to a handsome former civil service officer because she is technically still married and will be for the rest of her life.

Alice, who is gay, plays a crucial part in “The Star from Calcutta,” hiding a stunning secret from Perveen. Alice’s father is a British government official high in the ranks of Bombay society so her friendship with film star Rochana is frowned on by her strict mother.

As the story unfolds we also learn of relations between Indians and the colonial British and the awkward position of Anglo-Americans, as well as India’s diversity in languages and religious faiths.

This is the most complicated mystery in this series and a cast of characters would have been helpful for readers.

Massey was born in England and grew up in St. Paul’s University Grove neighborhood, attending the old Alexander Ramsey high school. She lives in Maryland with her husband Tony.

Before she started the Perveen series she wrote 11 award-winning mysteries featuring a Japanese-American antiques dealer based on her time living in Japan. Her Perveen books have also won awards. The new one is described by Kirkus Reviews as a “lush, leisurely, and well-researched 1920s historical mystery.”

Massey will introduce her book at a free reading at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

TEASER QUOTE:

“She was standing in a film frame and felt transported. She was Rochana: the runaway almost-bride, and a fleeing film studio wife. But was she escaping one kind of danger only to find a new, unknown one?”

(Courtesy of Candlewick Press)

“This Superhero Needs Your Help!” by David LaRochelle and YOU” (Candlewick Press, $10.99)

Fans of Minnesotan David LaRochelle’s children’s books will be happy to see “This Superhero Needs Your Help!”, third in his interactive Draw & Erase Adventure series that offer youngsters 4 to 8 the chance to stretch their imaginations (after “This Sheep Needs Your Help!” and “This Pirate Needs Your Help!”)

Using the wipe-clean marker that comes with the board book, youngsters are invited to draw themselves as superheroes on dry-erase pages and help catch Dr. Dreadful who is creating chaos. The young superhero is asked to draw museum masterpieces in empty frames, draw happy faces on daycare babies, catch Dr. Dreadful as he escapes in his Robo-mobile by turning a trash heap into a playground, and finally catching the scoundrel.

The great thing about these books is they aren’t classwork, although teaching art is a wonderful thing that’s being taken away in many schools. It’s just the child and the book with no pressure to follow any drawing guidelines. The young superhero can erase and change the story at any point.

More good news: For the coming holidays LaRochelle will offer “These Elves Need Your Help!”

LaRochelle is the author of the Theodor Seuss Geisel award-winning “See the Cat” and its sequels as well as many other books for young readers.

And a shout-out

“February 22nd was a great day for America,” proclaims poet/author/baker Danny Klecko. He’s referring to the U.S. men’s hockey team’s winning gold and — equally important, he says — his poem “At Jimmy’s Corner” was his 10th published in the New York Times Metropolitan Diary feature, one of the oldest in that newspaper. In the poem Klecko weaves together boxer Frazier’s left hook, butterflies and gods. He believes he is one of the most-published poets in the Diary series. “I’m Danny Klecko, the hardest-working poet,” he says, “right up there with the hockey winners.”

Related Articles

Readers and writers: Local literary community responds to federal surge

Readers and writers: Exploring the idea of ‘community’

Readers and writers: A treasure for young readers (and something for adults, too)

Readers and writers: An eye-opening read of people who are homeless, plus fiction and history

Readers and writers: An eclectic wintry mix takes a tour of state and time