Aunty Lee's Delights: A Singaporean Mystery (The Aunty Lee Series, 1)

I really wanted to like this book. It has so many story elements that I appreciate: an interesting cultural location (a well-off widow in present-day Singapore), a foodie setting (Aunty Lee runs a catering business, so there's lots of cooking references), and a whodunnit. But I confess that if I didn't have to write a review to comply with the Amazon Vine rules, I'd have quit reading this novel a third of the way through.

Instead, Aunty Lee's Delights comes across as an Asian knock-off of Alexander McCall Smith's [[ASIN:0375423877 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency]]. Granted, I *like* that series, not love it, but I can understand what its fans cherish about Precious Ramotswe. If you adore the McCall Smith books, you might give Aunt Lee's Delights another star -- or perhaps you'll be even more irritated than I am.

One of the reviews for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency describes it as, "It's the detective as folk hero, solving crimes through an innate, self-possessed wisdom that, combined with an understanding of human nature, invariably penetrates into the heart of a puzzle." Which is the same aim as Aunty Lee's Delights, surely. Aunty Lee is a well-meaning busybody who gives people solace with food while she queries them about the disappearance of two women.

Except here I did not like any of the characters, and since the novel shifts viewpoints from one character to another it's not only because we see the players from one person's eyes. Aunty Lee was okay, after a bit (I figured that her nosiness was part of the package), but I found everyone else really annoying, or dull, or... well, I did not want to hang out with any of them. The mystery itself was "eh."

I might have forgiven that if the setting was wonderful, but I didn't feel as though I learned much about Singapore life, and the foodie mentions weren't enough to keep me enthralled. ([[ASIN:B00005JKG1 Eat Drink Man Woman]] has a predictable plot, but the food in it is so wonderful that I re-watch the movie every couple of years.)

I'm bummed. I wanted to like this mystery novel. But I really cannot recommend it.

What a pure delight to read! I want an Aunty Lee in my life. This delightful, but nosy little plump Singaporean lady could go up against Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher and come out a winner.

This fun and lively mystery is fast-paced, filled with memorable characters that you will love (and in Aunty's niece-in-law's case, dislike a little!) and an intriguing mystery to boot! What more could you ask for? Plus you get to learn a whole lot about Singapore and it's foodie culture!

I adored this book and hope you will rush out to discover it as well!

It sounds intriguing. A murder mystery from Singapore with a lead character like Madame Ramotswe. I was definitely interested. Unfortunately this is not The Ladies Number One Detective Agency goes to South Asia. It could be and sometimes it is close but not quite. There are too many characters. There is very little description of the local area. Some of the protagonists characters change as the short novel evolves. And the ending doesn't tie up all of the loose ends.

The positive thing is that a few of the characters are very likeable and have the potential to be stars in the subsequent books in this series. I had to struggle to finish Aunty Lee's Delights but I will read the next book in the series when it comes out.

Aunty Lee of Singapore, a well-off widow runs a cafe specializing in Singaporean culinary delights. Aunty's stepson Mark is a wine importer and pairs his wines with Aunty's cooking for wine and dine events at the cafe. When two young women who are supposed to attend fail to show, Aunty Lee gets to use her amateur sleuthing abilities. What results is not terribly interesting. There is little character development and even less local color to make this mystery of much interest, although the food is intriguing but inadequately explained.

This debut mystery attracted me for several reasons:
1. The setting of a feisty widow who runs a coffee shop and pries into mysteries on the side has potential for a nice cozy series,
2. The location of the coffee shop in Singapore gives lots of opportunity to learn about Singapore culture and, especially, food,
3. The author's Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Iowa's International Writer's Program increased the probability that the book would be well written, and
4. Finally, the enthusiastic blurb from one of my favorite mystery authors, Louise Penny, who does not seem to strew blurbs for every new author who comes along, made me optimistic that my hopes 1-3 might be fulfilled.
Since the publisher's description does a reasonably good (but not great) job of summarizing the plot set-up, I will plow right into how well Ms. Yu satisfied 1-3.
Aunty Lee's family and friends make a nice cast for future episodes. Aunty herself is a fun protagonist. Widowed after being married to a wealthy man much her senior, she runs her business out of love for food and people rather than financial need. Her wise insights into problems and into people are offset by a charming quirkiness, although sometimes the quirkiness goes a bit too far and comes across as silly. Her maid Nina serves as a fine Watson and one senses that perhaps one policeman's interest in her may go beyond professional matters in the future. Aunty Lee's unsuccessful-entrepreneur stepson Mark and his scheming wife Selina make life interesting, as do the police officers: Commissioner Raja, who learns quickly how helpful Aunty Lee and her contacts can be, Senior Staff Sergeant Salim, who is not sure if his current assignment is going to make or break his career, and the very handsome Officer Pang.
I was somewhat disappointed not to learn more about Singapore. This book is being published by an American publisher, presumably primarily for Western readers who are typically not very familiar with Singapore, its language, or its food (beyond curry and satay). A good author has ways of introducing new words and concepts so that readers understand them without going into long digressions. There are no long digressions here, but also all too often no elucidation of what the author is talking about. I did learn a bit, such as when Yu described "kiasu", or fear of losing out, as a typical Singaporean characteristic or "kaipoh", minding other people's business with as much energy as one's own. But I still have no idea what most of the wonderful things Aunty cooked during the course of the book are, like "nonya cuisine", "shiok sambal", or "kalian"; Yu too rarely told me.
I also found the prose somewhat stilted. Although I was reading an uncorrected proof, there were more awkward sentences than I normally see and more sentences where references were simply not too clear or were repetitive, such as when a chapter opens with a statement that the police department waiting room is pleasant and then repeats the same statement a page later for no apparent reason. Aunty Lee says she is going to go visit patients in the hospital and then goes off to maid agencies (for unknown reasons) instead. This awkwardness extended to the plot, where there were too many coincidences to be plausible and too many actions that simply needed a better motivation. For example, it is not credible that Aunty Lee, Nina, and SSS Salim are all present when the murder victim's maid tells them that a man came to collect the victim's clothing after she disappeared, but no one follows up to try to get a description of the man. Worst of all, the initial deception that touched off the murders was not very believable. (Giving too many examples would spoil the plot.)
In sum, there is promise to the series but a few too many flaws for me to be terribly optimistic for its future. It cries out for better editing. I think I will continue to rely on the likes of Louise Penny for my mystery pleasures.

I like reading a book about an unfamiliar culture, especially when it's written by someone from that culture. Louise Penny comes immediately to my mind. In the same way that Ms. Penny opened up parts of the French Canadian culture for me, Ovidia Yu showed me some of the Singaporean culture in Aunty Lee's Delights.

Aunty Lee is a wealthy Singaporean widow who cooks in her resturant because food and friends are important to her. She is also quick witted and unbearably courious. When one murder quickly becomes two and both victims are known to Aunty Lee, she gets very involved. The story revolves around her investigation of the murders. The methods she used were quirky by Western cultures. That was part of the charm of the book, as were the choices of words and styles of expression.

From outside, Singapore appears to be a squeaky clean city-state, a melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and religions. Ovidia Yu, however, turns off the bright lights and lets us peek behind the dazzle and the glitter. The culture is not a melting pot. Rather it is a kalidescope of splintered glass, beautiful to view, but dangerous to take apart and to hold the pieces of glass. Aunty Lee's Delights left me with a handfull of glass shards.

Aunty Lee's Delights: A Singaporean Mystery is indeed a delight brought to us by author Ovidia Yu. I was not familiar with Yu but it seems she is an accomplished writer with plays, children's books and one other mystery novel, Miss Moorthy Investigates, to her credit.

The story revolves around Aunty Lee, an elderly widow who runs a cafe in Singapore. Although her eyesight is failing, very little gets past this super-sharp lady. She is both nosy and caring, and evaluates how to help people by what she thinks they need to eat. When a body is found washed up on a nearby beach, Aunty Lee is filled with curiosity. The victim turns out to be a member of the wine-dining club she and her stepson have been hosting to help his fledgling wine business and nothing can stop Aunty Lee from investigating. In fact, she is soon directing the police's efforts to solve the case.

I hope this is the beginning of a series because I would definitely like to get to know Aunty Lee and the rest of her family better. I especially liked her maid/companion Nina and police officer Salim. Aunty Lee's stepson Mark and his wife Selina seem likely to be regular characters, too.

I know absolutely nothing about Singapore, so it would have been nice if there had been a little information on the culture. Yu lives in Singapore and is writing from the point of everyday life for her. It would have been nice if the publisher had included some background in the U.S. edition of the book. I am not a cook, but for once I wish a few recipes had been included. Food played a fairly significant part in the story, but I had no idea what Aunty Lee was feeding everyone. I reviewed a free uncorrected advance copy, so it is possible that some additional information will be available either in the books themselves or on the publisher's website once the book is released for sale.

The characters were more like caricatures in a play. Not fully formed, more like sketches. The book did not draw me in. The main caricature was to cutesy for my taste. The plot was full of holes.

Enjoyed the character, though one of my friends really objected to her pigeon English. Thought it was obvious who the bad guy was from the very beginning. The writing of characters other than Aunty Lee was one-dimensional. Probably wouldn't read another book if it turns into a series, and probably wouldn't read another book by the author, but I don't regret the time I gave it.

This fast-paced drama was both fun and entertaining and I like it. The writing was crisp and the author took the time to explain some of the foreign words in this enjoyable whodunit. The plot was good and I love the ease of flow the story took that made this an easy read. The author did a good job in keeping the suspense alive with plenty of suspects and it was fun to see the list dwindle down until only the killer was left for wont of a motive. Aunty Lee is delightfully eccentric and observant and I would not have her any other way. This was a good read and I hope there are more adventures with Aunty Lee and her friends.