Sisters May and Gemma Chow are working hard to keep their family afloat while their father is away being treated for tuberculosis. When they discover the body of Lulu Wong, a former classmate and rising Hollywood star on the outskirts of Chinatown, they set out to solve the mystery of her death.
I’m always on the lookout for historical fiction that centers the experience of people who were marginalized during the era of the setting, because to see history through their eyes is usually completely different from the mainstream experience. And that this book has a murder mystery is only the cherry on top!
The narrators of this book are the reserved May and adventurous Gemma, who live in Depression-era Los Angeles. I enjoyed getting to know the sisters and their family and friends in Chinatown. Though the sisters have contrasting personalities, they work together well as a team and I enjoyed their banter and their love for each other. I also loved how heavily the author incorporated the historical setting, and learned a lot about what daily life was life for Chinese families in this time and place.
However, I did think the mystery moved at a rather sluggish pace. The sisters hit dead end after dead end on their search for the truth, and things got a little dull as the focus drifted from the mystery to their other troubles. It was a little disappointing after all their efforts for the solution to come into reach only by a deus ex machina-esque intervention from minor characters. I also wish the author had chosen to either put more focus on the romances or to tone it down, because at the level was present in the story I couldn’t get properly invested in it or brush it aside.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.