Fannish Fifty: Crown Colony novels

[smallhobbit]

The Crown Colony novels are written by Ovidia Yu and feature a young girl of Chinese extraction living in Singapore, Chen Su Lin.  The novels begin in the 1930s when Singapore is a Crown Colony, belonging to the British, continue through WWII when the island is conquered by the Japanese and the British are interred, so Su Lin exchanges one master for another.  The latest book in the series is set just after WWII when the British are trying to re-establish command in the island.

There is a murder, or more than one, and Su Lin is involved in solving it, although generally not with any official role.  The plots are clever, but what also appeals to me is the description of island life.  The behaviour of Su Lin's family and neighbours ring true.  And there are wonderful descriptions of the food.

There are seven books in the series so far and up to recently I was able to borrow them from the library.  However, the latest book, The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery, wasn't available, so I bought myself a new copy, since I had no intention of waiting for a cheap second hand copy to become available.

It's important to begin with the first in the series The Frangipani Tree Mystery as each book builds on the previous, both in the period and in learning about the characters.  And yes, they are all The XYZ Tree Mystery.

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

A good recommendation and a reminder that I am behind on these.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you - enjoy them when you get round to them :)

[rusty_armour]

It's great to have another recommendation from you. I'll have to remember The Crown Colony novels as they sound extremely interesting. Actually, I suspect that this would be up my mom's street as well.

[smallhobbit]

I think they're very good - a combination of mystery and historical details.