Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials by Ovidia Yu
Published By: William Morrow (@WmMorrowBks),
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)
Official Authors Websites: Site| @OvidiaVanda | Facebook
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse via: #OvidiaYu
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Aunt Lee’s Deadly Specials” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Setting into the environment of Aunty Lee’s Delights: Meet Aunty Lee!
( on my readings of the first novel )
Oh! it is the name of a cafe! The title is reminiscent of a delectable foodie haunt where traditional Peranakan cuisine was served as regular as hearty conversative gossip! The manner of how Yu writes her novel has a curious in-step where the pace and delivery reminded me of the long ago letters from my Singaporean friends. The delivery of the scenes was quite unique and brought me back to the beautiful conversations I had with my friends, shared through paper and pen! Every language has it’s own style, and thereby each writer has a distinction of voice that is individualistically unique. With this novel, it is twofold – I could see a reflection of my friends’ voices through the writing style of Yu!
I champion the inclusion of local customs, words and phrases whenever a story is set in a place outside a readily known locale. It brings the setting to the level of feeling local and intimately familiar; as if we were not visiting the locale for the first time. Yu does this in such a natural way, it befits not only her characters but the overall texture of her novels!
Aunty Lee is a flamboyant woman who adores her experimentation of cooking whilst cooking and creating traditional foods with a dedicated quality of ingredients. She has a comfortability of being in harmony with herself as much as with her living environment and city. She asserts herself in situations and circumstances where she feels she has the most to give as much as what she can gain through the experience of being involved as well. Her attention to tasks at hand are slightly off-kilter to her sensational interest in current events which parlay into murder; this concentrated effort on her behalf means far more to her than the placement of her knife in relation to her fingers and the vegetables she is chopping on the board! Thankfully, Aunty Lee had the wisdom to hire Nina, a ‘jack of all trades’ as she is part maid, part assistant in arms, and part sous chef; all knowledge of trade are in combination with the medical arts, thereby circumventing any horrific disaster that could befall Aunty Lee!
Aunty Lee is a bit excluded from her family, partially out of death (of her late husband, being his second wife) and have by the status of her inheritance of his wealth which did not pass down to his son and daughter. Of the two, the wife of his son found this most insulting of all, although the son found nothing wrong with the arrangement on principle. Aunty Lee has the charming grace to face facts whilst embracing life as it arrives. The most delish moment of her day is the prospect of a murder washing ashore and walking into her life; as what could be more alluring than a mystery of an unexplained death?
Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials
by Ovidia Yu
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours
Rosie “Aunty” Lee, the feisty widow and amateur sleuth and proprietor of Singapore’s best-loved home-cooking restaurant, is back in another delectable, witty mystery involving scandal and murder among the city’s elite.
Few know more about what goes on in Singapore than Aunty Lee. When a scandal over illegal organ donation makes news, she already has a list of suspects. There’s no time to snoop, though—Aunty Lee’s Delights is catering a brunch for local socialites Henry and Mabel Sung. Rumor has it that the Sungs’ fortune is in trouble, and Aunty Lee wonders if the gossip is true. But soon after arriving at the Sungs’, her curiosity turns to suspicion. Why is the guesthouse in the garden locked up—and what’s inside? Where is the missing guest of honor? Then Mabel Sung and her son, Leonard, are found dead. The authorities blame it on Aunty Lee’s special stewed chicken with buah keluak, a local black nut that can be poisonous if cooked improperly. She’s certain the deaths are murder—and that they’re somehow linked to the organ donor scandal. To save her business and her reputation, she’s got to prove it—and unmask a dangerous killer.
Places to find the book:
Series: Singaporean mysteries, No. 2
Also in this series: Invincible
Published by William Morrow
on 30th September, 2014
Format: P.S. Edition Paperback
Pages: 384
Author Biography:
Ovidia Yu is one of Singapore’s best-known and most acclaimed writers. She has had more than thirty plays produced and is also the author of a number of mysteries. She received a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Iowa’s International Writers Program and has been a writing fellow at the National University of Singapore.
Reflections on Book One
in the Singaporean mysteries:
Borrowed Book By: I was thankfully able to borrow “Aunty Lee’s Delights” via my local library’s ILL (inter-library loan) services, receiving the paperback P.S. Edition novel of the first book in this series in time to read before the sequel’s blog tour, of which I was participating. I always like to read series by order of publication and/or by order of the time frame of the series structure, in this particular case I was thankful my library’s ILL services had this title available as it was published in 2013. I was not obliged nor compensated to post my thoughts & opinions on the first novel, as I read it for my own edification ahead of the sequel.
The heart of Aunty Lee’s Delights is to set the stage for future mysteries Aunty Lee herself wiggles her way into investigating on the off-chance that her noodling mind can unlock pieces of the puzzle the investigating officers cannot deduce for themselves! She has the uncanny confidence that her methodology of sleuthing is a bit of a step ahead of modern forensic science and criminology practices.
The opening act is how Aunty Lee and her step-son in-law organise wine dinners as a duality of promotion; one half for the cafe and one half for his wine business. The craziness of what happens behind-the-scenes in the planning stages reminded me instantly of Hyacinth’s peculiar attention to detail for her candlelight suppers in Keeping Up Appearances (a BBC tv serial)! Each of the dinner guests held an air of suspicion over them and to my attuned eye, they all had something to hide as they were all trying too hard to blend in as ‘regular’ and ‘unassuming’ in their mannerisms. The Australian couple were suspicious simply by how they responded to common questions of interest; whereas their countryman Harry stood out due to his insistent nature of cracking jokes of ill-humour and his ducking of direct character questions; the only saving grace he had was noting that country to country have their own unique differences in acceptability. He is of short statue you see, and he blends in better here than he did back home. Cherril the wife of a local political power-weight seemed to have an ulterior motive and Selina (Mark’s wife; Mark being Aunty Lee’s step-son) has the propensity to hold too tight of a rein of control over the entire evening itself. Meanwhile, Nina (Aunty Lee’s right arm) has the blessing of being the reader’s narrating voice over what she observes and how all the players interact or remain elusively particular whilst in her line of sight.
Aunty Lee takes great pleasure out of noodling out facts whilst being in conversation with the police. Her mind is a spitfire hive of connecting patterns of behaviour and of processing what all the facts are alluding to reveal. Her maid (of whom I refer to as her assistant) Nina is her source of understanding everything technologic as Aunty Lee herself is absent of knowing how most gadgets work that do not function in the kitchen! I had a good chuckle over how Aunty Lee educated Nina in the ways of cyberspace, computers, and iPads! Aunt Lee’s enthused approach to solving a puzzle of murder reminded me a bit of other silver haired sleuths who rattle their respective local detectives in earnest! Her agility of mind and physicality surprises (Senior Staff Sergeant) Salim but her willingness to talk to him as an equal nearly unhinge his confidence.
I appreciated most of the novel except for where the winding threads of the murder mystery itself was leading Aunty Lee, as there are parts of the mystery itself that felt a bit unbalanced and untethered. I did not feel it was a solid structure, but rather one that kept being pieced back together. I was most shocked when I found in the last handful of chapters a lot of explicit language being suddenly included, as prior to those ending chapters not one strong word was used! Not one! I am not sure I understand why one character decided to become so wild and vile, but so be it. The most surprising climax in the arc of the story itself is where the focus ended up going — I had it in mind that this was going to be a crime of passion, but it ended up being disappointing instead. There is an LGBTQ central focus inside the narrative but one that is darkly lit and without a positive segue until nearly the end. Overall, I loved the moments leading up to the investigation itself — but once it was underway, each new wrinkle of the plot started to irk me a bit too much.
My Review of Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials:
I felt a bit redeemed in a way, as the cumulation of the last mystery alighted inside the opening chapter of Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials in such a manner of relating the facts to not necessarily alter them but to polish them up a bit and re-deliver the outcome of the mystery to give me a bit of a pause for reflection. In this particular version, I found the better bits of the concluding chapters of Aunty Lee’s Delights warming in recollection rather than as a pickle inside of a foot! I also cheered seeing Cherril Lim-Peters (the politicians wife) in a new light in this opener, as she came off a bit, hmm, what is the right word? Let’s simply say ‘awkwardly forcing her hand without revealing her cards’. In this new installment of the story, she’s aligning herself directly with Aunty Lee, taking over the position of an alliance Mark (the Aunty’s step-son previously held) originated with the wine dinners and turnt a new leaf over by introducing healthier options for the heart conscience foodies. In this beginning, the ending of the last story has softened and the transition felt natural to me to go forward in this vein.
The backdrop of Aunty Lee’s latest catering job is a family in turmoil – a son who is disabled and unable to properly care for himself has his parents at odds over his medical care to be provided at home or at a facility. The Sung’s from outside appearances are a family whose wealth and influence would warrant a stress-free lifestyle, but the undercurrents of their relationships and bonds with each other are fractured. The husband, Henry feels trapped in a marriage he cannot divorce out of, whereas Mabel his wife is caught up in attending to her son Leonard and encouraging the career of their daughter Sharon to new heights despite the fact Sharon would prefer otherwise. Aunty Lee is swirling with delight setting up the food and festivities whilst the family is overwhelmed in spirit and emotion. Their lack of communication notwithstanding, it is the destruction of their unit as a whole that was sobering to witness.
Salim was promoted internally to Inspector, whilst continuing with his post of duties within the district of Aunty Lee; a convenience and a privilege having learnt of his connection with the Commissioner was through Aunty Lee in the previous story. When he finds out what goes into creating a certain dish that is one theory for the culprit of the crime found inside Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials, I realised it was the same recipe I had read earlier in the P.S. Edition extras! The unique aspect of how one particular nut can be turnt so very deadly if prepared in the wrong way! Such a curious nut to be truthful! And, after Aunty Lee went through her explanation of preparing the chicken dish, I had the slight suspicion Inspector Salim was no longer going to consider he suspect in this murder! Although how he could really consider Aunty Lee a murderess is beyond logic, if you ask me! She’s much more akin to Jessica Fletcher than someone with a keen sense of being the next Grim Reaper! She loves to get caught up in the chase of clues, not the one who leaves behind nefarious riddles and drives the local police a bit batty in the process of deduction!
How the plot thickens when the web of deception, lies, and black market racketeering are uncovered, placing human life on the line for the highest bidder to deepen the coffers of those involved! What rankled me the most is how those who were deceiving the victim’s family were actually deceiving themselves; as sinister intentions always catch up to the wickedest hearts. The story this time was quite stirring if not horrific if you consider what the ‘goods’ were being exchanged for money involved, but more to the point, how desperate an act it were for those who were willing to give up a piece of themselves for a payment in return. The horrid part was how their innocent act of getting money was turnt against them for a sin worst than any they could have imagined probable!
Yu continues to stitch Aunty Lee’s quirkily eccentric character together with each story she gives us, uniting us closer into the folds of Aunty Lee’s world and endearing us to be caught in her embrace of sleuthing past what is reasonable distance from danger! I am most eagerly happy to know there is a third and potentially a fourth novel coming in this series! I cannot get enough of Aunty Lee and her eclectic family of associates, friends, and family! I look forward to seeing whose story alights next on the pages of book number three! And, perhaps for Salim and Nina, there can be a creative solution for their… ahem, problem! No spoilers from me! Ha!
Fly in the Ointment:
The voice within the novel has changed a bit, I am wondering if the Editor for the novel decided to change how the story relates on the printed page — as part of the charm of reading Aunty Lee’s Delights was seeing how the words fit to the page in the style of a non-native English speaking writer; as their style is uniquely different. This story reads as though it went through a few more filters before being printed, to where Yu’s unique writing style is not as strong as it once were. I was disappointed in seeing this change, as I appreciated the other style more, as it felt most akin as being her own. There are still subtle ways in which I can hear Yu’s voice coming through to me, but I can see the editing bits as well to where parts of her natural style are erased. I am the same type of reader who feels that novels writ in British English do not need to be ‘filtered’ into American English; such as the infamous re-packaging of the Harry Potter novels. Part of the joy of reading international writers is reading stories in a style and manner of expression that is unlike your own and broadening your horizons as you read. Why novels need to be condensed into one particular voice of thought I will never quite understand.
What I found most fascinating in the P.S. Editions on behalf of Ovidia Lu:
P.S. Editions by William Morrow are a bit of a mini blog tour right in the easy grasp of your hands – you get to curl into special extra features by the authors who are focused on per book, and gain further insight into who they are, their characters, and the locales by which their stories are set! The first novel in the series focused on an informative interview with Ms. Yu, where I happily learnt that Agatha Christie played a creative role in inspiring her to write her own mysteries, but it was what gave her the impetus to set her mysteries in Singapore that I found the most remarkable! Also, how she used the writing competition for self-motivating writers Nanowrimo was a moment to create what became Aunty Lee’s Deadly Delights! Wrimos have a collective spirit of animated joy in the creation of worlds within the fictional realms of imagination – I was most delighted to see that we have had a shared experience in being Wrimos at different intervals! I wonder then, if they still had Wrimo Radio when she participated as it was singularly my most favourite component to being a part of the journey that November! (aside from the fact the Toronto Wrimos created an entire radio-style programme of the experience itself!)
She also mentioned that there are certain ingredients in traditional cooking practices in Singapore that can turnt deadly if the person who is handling the process of the recipe is not schooled in the danger nor in how to avoid it. I found that most curious, as I always love finding unique ways to carry a mystery forward outside the conventional standards – food and poison are captivating as they are a more unique way to knit the suspense into the folds of a story! I learnt quite a bit about the author, and loved the disclosures she gave inasmuch as noting that there was a slight worry over the reaction Americans might have on her series in general. I wasn’t entirely sure why there was a concern for where the mysteries were set, as we are a diverse lot of readers who appreciate travelling to different countries of locale for our detective literature! For instance, I appreciate settling into Japan as much as England and all points across the United States as readily as I soaked into Aunty Lee’s Singapore! If anything, I think mysteries need more diversity for locales rather than becoming stoic and stagnant in yesterday’s choices! This particular American reader and book blogger loves Aunty Lee!
In this particular installment, we were greeted with a lovely travelogue guide to Singapore (loved the sites picked out to visit & my I say, I LOVE the foodie selections throughout all the books including the in-person spots to visit in this Appendix!) as much as a discussion questionnaire for book clubs! Two more recipes as well to delight your cookery sense of appetite! Part of me felt inspired to find a bonefide cookbook for Singapore delicacies as I already adore the spice profile (nearly all the spices she mentioned thus far along are commonly used in my own cookery delights!), have wanted to master the art of cooking curry for half an age now, and of course, the compliments of rice and naan are already in my foodie sense of pleasure!
The hardest part for me is that there wasn’t a street cart vendor selling all the lovelies Aunty Lee was describing to me whilst I was consuming the novels! Each of the recipes whet a fancy of an interest for a different reason — even though I am a veghead caught up in a omnivore lifestyle at the moment, I found such a keen respect for the foods being served, I very much wanted to see if there were a restaurant nearby who served the same foods! The fact that coconut milk and miso were key ingredients made my heart dance! Yum, yum! Nom, nom! Cheers, dear hearts!
An interesting tidbit of news for the Aunty Lee mysteries (of which is my endearing name for the series!): there is a third novel already in the works! Aunty Lee’s Chilled Vengeance! I spied the title within the photograph of Ms. Yu’s Facebook page where the manuscript can be seen alongside copies of Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials! A fourth book still unnamed is in the works next! Despite my misgivings on the first book’s structure of the mystery and the conveyance of what led to the murder itself — this is one mystery series I am keen on continuing to read and seeing where Aunty Lee is developed as a character by Ms. Yu! Sometimes your favourite books in a sequence arrive after the first one is released!
This blog tour stop was courtesy of TLC Book Tours:
{ click-through to follow the blogosphere tour }
You can also follow the blog tour for “Aunty Lee’s Delights” from September 2013
to gauge further insight into the first novel.
See what I am hosting next by stopping by my Bookish Events page!
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{SOURCES: Cover art of “Aunty Lee’s Delights” & “Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials”, author photograph, author biography, book synopsises and the tour badge were all provided by TLC Book Tours and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.
If anything could tempt me to read a mystery, it would be the food aspect. :)
Hallo Kristen,
You’re in for an absolute delight then, with Aunty Lee! The woman cannot help herself but get you motivated to try her cooking! I hope you enjoy the foodie aspect of this novel as much as I had myself! Beyond yum! :)
Thanks for being a part of the tour!