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By (author) Shroff, Parini

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For Geeta, life as a widow is more peaceful than life as a wife…

Until the other women in her village decide they want to be widows, too.

”Tender, unpredictable, brimming with laugh-out-loud moments” Téa Obreht, author of THE TIGER”S WIFE

”Original, memorable, and endearing” Charmaine Wilkerson, author of BLACK CAKE

”A rollicking mash-up of adventure story, thriller, dark revenge, and comedy” Cristina García, author of DREAMING IN CUBAN

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For Geeta, life as a widow is more peaceful than life as a wife…

Until the other women in her village decide they want to be widows, too.

Geeta is believed to have killed her vanished husband – a rumour she hasn”t bothered trying to correct, because a reputation like that can keep a single woman safe in rural India. But when she”s approached for help in ridding another wife of her abusive drunk of a husband, her reluctant agreement sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of all the women in the village….

A darkly irreverent and fresh take on a feminist revenge thriller, perfect for readers of My Sister the Serial Killer, How To Kidnap The Rich and the Sharon Horgan series Bad Sisters.

Review quote
Parini Shroff captures the complexity of female friendship with acuity, wit, and a certain kind of magic irreverence, turning on a dime from humor to horror, horror to heart, and then back again, exhilarating her reader until the very last line. Tender, unpredictable, brimming with laugh-out-loud moments, The Bandit Queens heralds a prodigious and sophisticated literary talent.

Review quote
Parini Shroff”s splendid The Bandit Queens is a hilarious romp about serious things – as serious as a novel gets, and as funny, too, with characters who are dear and maddening and indelible and gorgeously drawn. Twisty, compulsive, bold, surprising, moving: it”s a wonderful book.

Review quote
The Bandit Queens is an original, memorable, and endearing story. At times deeply serious, at times laugh-out-loud funny…a sobering but hopeful exploration of womanhood, social injustices, and second chances.

Review quote
Parini Schroff”s debut novel, The Bandit Queens, is a rollicking mash-up of adventure story, thriller, dark revenge, and comedy. Rooted in a rural village in India-and led by the pariah widow Geeta, who everyone believes to have killed her husband-a handful of women band together to take back their lives, and take down the patriarchy. An immensely enjoyable read!

Review quote
This is the best book I”ve read in a while. THE BANDIT QUEENS is an original, memorable, and endearing story. At times deeply serious, at times laugh-out-loud funny, THE BANDIT QUEENS is a sobering but hopeful exploration of womanhood, social injustices, and second chances in an Indian village.

Biographical note

Parini Shroff is a graduate of Loyola Law School and holds a MFA from the University of Texas in Austin. Her work has appeared in journals such as Southern Humanities Review, Salamander and MacGuffin, among others. Her interests include reading in the bathtub with wine, concerts and boxing.