The Rose Apple Tree Mystery (A charming 1940's Singaporean mystery) - Ovidia Yu

'The sharpest exercise in decolonising fiction in Singapore's literary landscape. It is also, simply, really fun to read!' - Ong Sor Fern----------'Til death do us part...Singapore, 1947. Newlyweds Su Lin and Le Froy are in the Cameron Highlands, an idyllic pocket of countryside on the tropical Malay Peninsula. But this is no honeymoon ... Le Froy is on a protection assignment for powerful businessman Max Moreno and his wife Elfrieda, whose associates have been brutally murdered.But the hideaway cannot protect the Morenos from vicious threats and ghostly sightings, and when Elfrieda vanishes with a stash of precious emeralds, Su Lin and Le Froy fear the worst. The only clue to Elfrieda's disappearance is rotting fruit from a rose apple tree, piled outside her lodge.When monsoon floods make escape from the Highlands impossible, Su Lin is determined to find Elfrieda with time to spare to get to know her new husband. But when Max's body is discovered surrounded by rose apples, passion turns to policing: Su Lin and Le Froy must work together try to prevent further deaths, including their own.----------Praise for Ovidia Yu:'One of Singapore's finest living authors' - South China Morning Post'One of the most likeable heroines in modern literature' - The Scotsman'Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while' - Catriona McPherson'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels' - Rhys Bowen'Unassuming, brilliantly observant' -SCMP'Ovidia Yu's writing helped me peel back the layers to understand Singapore. The story and Chen Su Lin's initiative and tenacity, set against a backdrop of wartime Singapore, intrigued both the historian and the mystery lover in me' - Kara Owens CMG CVO, British High Commissioner to Singapore