Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S. Hussain Zaidi

After series of non-fictional dose, I decided to read something different and took a shot at criminal stories. After much digging, I landed on couple of books but could not really enjoy reading them. Finally, with half mind about reading crime non-fiction, I started reading a book called "Mafia Queens of Mumbai" by S. Hussain Zaidi and to my surprise, I could not stop myself from finishing it in a day.

"Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weakness." Marie de Vichy-Chamrond from Letters to Voltaire, this quote rightly explains the strength a woman can have when she decides to face her worst fear.

This book brings together a such a set of stories about interesting and powerful female leaders of the Mumbai underworld and their conquest to face their fears.

The Mumbai underworld, or the Mumbai Mafia has seen many legends like Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim, Varadarajan Mudaliar, and Karim Lala, to name a few. But, there were women who ruled the roost there too, women who remained in the background but pulled the strings, women who acted as mentors and advisers to the famous dons, women who were wives of the dons and then took over when their husbands were killed, women who assumed leadership to try and bring down rival leaders who had harmed their family.

Their stories are the intriguing, untold tales of these women who, in cold blood, were able to make tier way up in what was certainly a man's world. A highly recommended book that reveals a side of Mumbai's Underworld that has never been seen before.

Quotes from the book:

"She has seen the good, the bad and the ugly, and yet her dreams still seem far from being realized."

"Then the old man said something that set the ground for the change that would occur in Ashraf s life: ‘Don’t you want to take revenge?"

Goodreads rating for the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10735428-mafia-queens-of-mumbai

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