Un cozy mystery ambientato a Singapore e che al di la dell'ambientazione poco consueta non spicca sotto nessun aspetto.
La prima parte benché non originale si sviluppa in maniera piacevole; facciamo conoscenza con la protagonista un po' stereotipata ma simpatica (una miss Marple più ricca e più brava in cucina), veniamo introdotti nel suo mondo e gradualmente, in maniera naturale e non forzata, ci vengono presentati anche i futuri sospettati: tutto come nel più tradizionale dei gialli insomma. Poi qualcosa in questo meccanismo ben collaudato si inceppa e con l'inizio vero e proprio delle indagini il libro perde mordente: invece di concentrarsi sul mistero l'autrice perde tempo a darci lezioncine sui diritti lgbt+. Lodevole l'intento, ma poco appropriato per un romanzetto giallo senza pretese che infatti finisce per banalizzare la questione ed affogarla in un mare di buonismo da quattro soldi. Tra un coming out e una riconciliazione familiare la soluzione arriva quasi per sbaglio, non ci viene nemmeno spiegato come Aunty Lee abbia risolto il caso.
Non è tutto da buttare, infatti la scrittura è scorrevole l'ambientazione convincente: peccato per la trama gialla non all'altezza (e in un mystery non mi pare problema da poco). ( )

From the book jacket: After losing her husband, Rosie Lee could have become one of Singapore’s “tai tai,” an idle rich lady. Instead, she is building a culinary empire from her restaurant, Aunty Lee’s Delights, where spicy Singaporean meals are graciously served to locals and tourists alike. But when a body is found in one of Singapore’s tourist havens and one of her guests fails to show at a dinner party, Aunty Lee knows that the two events are likely connected.

My reactions:
I had hopes for this first in a new cozy mystery series. I’ve visited Singapore and love the cuisine. And I love cozy mysteries with fun amateur sleuths. But this one just fell flat for me.

I though Yu was trying too hard to craft a complicated mystery and NOT doing enough to endear Aunty Lee and her trusty sidekick/maid, Nina, to the reader. Senior Staff Sergeant Salim seems way too inexperienced and easily cowed by Aunty, but he is a good foil for her efforts to solve the crime on her own.

The other characters were just ridiculous … though I did love how Aunty thought of her stepdaughter-in-law; “Silly-na” perfectly describes Selina!

And there was something off-putting for me about the lesbian characters and theme. Perhaps I don’t have sufficient understanding of the Singaporean culture to appreciate what Yu was doing by introducing these characters and their storyline. ( )

Overall, it was an interesting read which reminded me a lot of Miss Marple. I wonder if Ovidia Yu had been inspired by Agatha Christie in this instance.

Here's my full review:
http://www.sholee.net/2019/01/mpov-aunty-lees-delights-singaporean.html ( )

cozy murder mystery set in Singapore. I only read to page 24, but aside from a hastily explained italicized term every once in a while, I wasn't getting that much local flavor, not even from the (too brief) descriptions of the food. This is also one of those "cozy" mysteries, which seems to mean that characters putter about for a while and I get bored. Not to say that there needs to be more butchering of bodies a la the Scandinavian fictional psychopaths, but the style of writing doesn't pique my interest. ( )

This was my second venture into the Aunty Lee series, an enjoyable, not overly complex cosy. It gives good background for the later novel that I had already read. Apart from the murder mystery there is interesting commentary on life in Singapore. In style it reminded me just a little of Alexander McCall Smith's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

My book group have suggested I also try the Crown Colony series.

Listings from Fantastic Fiction

Singaporean Mystery
1. Aunty Lee's Delights (2013)
2. Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials (2014)
3. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge (2016)
4. Meddling and Murder (2017)

Crown Colony
1. The Frangipani Tree Mystery (2017)
2. The Betel Nut Tree Mystery (2018)
3. The Paper Bark Tree Mystery (2019)
4. The Mimosa Tree Mystery (2020)
5. The Cannonball Tree Mystery (2021) ( )