A Wonderfully Engaging New Heroine Has Arrived in Singapore
This eight-book Crown Colony Series by Ovidia Yu is not to be missed
Her superpower is invisibility. Being a short, skinny Chinese girl with a limp in a dominant white society makes her as worthy of note as a potted plant in the corner.
In 1936, in the British colony of Singapore, Chen Su Lin’s infirmity and race kept her unseen to most of the people with power. The one exception was the Chief Inspector for the Royal Police Force, who quickly recognized that Chen Su Lin was more than a quick typist and translator.
We see Singapore between the wars through this young woman’s eyes and follow her witty observations and thoughts. From the food in her grandmother’s kitchen to the luxury lifestyle of her colonial overloads, Su Lin’s voice and practicality are woven into the murder mysteries she’s tasked to solve.
To this reviewer, Chen Su Lin becomes one of the most captivating heroines in the mystery genre. She matches Lisbeth Salander from The Millennium Series of author Steig Larsson for endurance and mental agility.
In book one of the series, The Frangipani Tree, the 16-year-old girl demonstrates her curiosity and keen intelligence to Chief Inspector Thomas La Froy, and the two become unusual…
