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23 September 2020

Review: AUNTY LEE'S DELIGHTS, Ovidia Yu

  •  this edition published by William Morrow 2013

  • ISBN 978-0-06-222715-7
  • 257 pages
  • source: my local library
  • #1 in the Aunty Lee series

Synopsis

This delectable and witty mystery introduces Rosie "Aunty" Lee, feisty widow, amateur sleuth, and proprietor of Singapore's best-loved home-cooking restaurant

After losing her husband, Rosie Lee could have become one of Singapore's "tai tai," an idle rich lady. Instead she is building a culinary empire from her restaurant, Aunty Lee's Delights, where spicy Singaporean meals are graciously served to locals and tourists alike. But when a body is found in one of Singapore's tourist havens and one of her guests fails to show at a dinner party, Aunty Lee knows that the two events are likely connected.

The murder and disappearance throws together Aunty Lee's henpecked stepson, Mark, his social-climbing wife, Selina, a gay couple whose love is still illegal in Singapore, and an elderly Australian tourist couple whose visit may mask a deeper purpose. Investigating the murder are Police Commissioner Raja and Senior Staff Sergeant Salim, who quickly discover that Aunty Lee's sharp nose for intrigue can sniff out clues that elude law enforcers.

Wise, witty, and charming, Aunty Lee's Delights is a spicy mystery about love, friendship, and food in Singapore, where money flows freely and people of many religions and ethnicities coexist peacefully, but where tensions lurk just below the surface, sometimes with deadly consequences.

My take

This was my second venture into the Aunty Lee series, an enjoyable, not overly complex cosy. It gives good background for the later novel that I had already read. Apart from the murder mystery there is interesting commentary on life in Singapore. In style it reminded me just a little of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. 

My book group have suggested I also try the Crown Colony series.

Listings from Fantastic Fiction

Singaporean Mystery
   1. Aunty Lee's Delights (2013)
   2. Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials (2014)
   3. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge (2016)
   4. Meddling and Murder (2017)

Crown Colony
   1. The Frangipani Tree Mystery (2017)
   2. The Betel Nut Tree Mystery (2018)
   3. The Paper Bark Tree Mystery (2019)
   4. The Mimosa Tree Mystery (2020)
   5. The Cannonball Tree Mystery (2021)

My rating: 4.2

I've also read

4.4, MEDDLING AND MURDER #4  in the Aunty Lee series

at

1 comment:

  1. Terra 23 September 2020 at 13:02

    I like mystery series with settings like India (in my blog post today) and this one set in Singapore sounds like a good one too. The series you list with the word tree in the titles sounds interesting.

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