My name is Chen Su Lin. ’Chen’, my family name, happens to be the name of the family that runs the local blackmarket in Singapore, but I’m very much on the side of law and order. I’ve even got a job with Singapore’s newly set up Detective Unit, under Chief Inspector Le Froy.
Of course that’s thanks to my grandmother, Chen Tai, who sent me to learn English at the Mission Centre after my parents died. Their deaths and my polio limp marked me as a ‘bad luck’ girl since no respectable Chinese family would match a son with me.
I’ve always loved the chill morning hours, before it gets too hot here. This is when you can smell the leftover scents of the night—night jasmine and frangipani flowers—and see dew drops sparkling on intricate webs spun overnight on the roadside grass.
And in the evening, you can smell the tiny yellow flowers of the mock lime growing along the hedge in front of Chen Mansion. It lives up to its Cantonese name ‘Gau Lei Heong’ meaning ‘nine miles of fragrance’.
‘What’s the name of that perfume?’ recent arrivals, like my new friend Dolly, always want to know, refusing to believe it comes from such an insignificant plant. Just like they refuse to believe I am capable of doing the work I turn in.
The British, our Colonial Masters, come out East with certain expectations. To them civilisation means speaking English, celebrating Christmas instead of Ching Meng and growing roses. Some even see our local flowers, especially orchids, as bizarre and diabolical. To them, respectable flowers should look like roses, daisies or violets. Sometimes I think it’s such expectations that cause most of our problems.
If, like Bernie Hemsworth, you’ve lived most of your life believing men should wear pants and women should wear skirts, it’s a shock when you end up in Singapore where men walk around in batik sarongs (a cotton tube tied around the waist) and women in samfoos (like I’m wearing in the picture on the cover).
Frankly, I wished more than once that Bernie Hemsworth had never come to Singapore and never been appointed to oversee the Detective Unit. . . and I hope I can convince you that I never killed him.
Giveaway: Do you have a favorite tree? If so, which one? Answer that question in a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of The Paper Bark Tree Mystery. The giveaway ends August 24, 2019. The winner will be notified by email (so check your spam folder). Good luck everyone!
You can read more about Su Lin in The Paper Bark Tree Mystery, the third book in the “Crown Colony” historical mystery series, released August 20, 2019.
Su Lin is doing her dream job: assistant at Singapore’s brand new detective agency. Until Bald Bernie decides a ‘local girl’ can’t be trusted with private investigations, and replaces her with a new secretary – pretty, privileged, and white. So Su Lin’s not the only person finding it hard to mourn Bernie after he’s found dead in the filing room. And when her best friend’s dad is accused, she gets up to some sleuthing work of her own in a bid to clear his name.
Su Lin finds out that Bernie may have been working undercover, trading stolen diamonds for explosives from enemy troops. Was he really the upright English citizen he claimed to be?
Meanwhile, a famous assassin commits his worst crime yet, and disappears into thin air. Rumours spread that he may be dangerously close to home.
Beneath the stifling, cloudless Singaporean summer, earthquakes of chaos and political unrest are breaking out. When a tragic loss shakes Su Lin’s personal world to its core, she becomes determined to find the truth. But in dark, hate-filled times, truth has a price – and Su Lin must decide how much she’s willing to pay for it.
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About the author
After dropping out of medical school, Ovidia Yu wrote short stories, plays and training manuals (that are best forgotten). Now she writes murder mysteries like the History Mystery Tree series set in Colonial Singapore. Ovidia’s most recent book is The Paper Bark Tree Mystery, released in August 2019 (following The Frangipani Tree Mystery and The Betel Nut Tree Mystery).
To learn more about Ovidia, visit her website at ovidiayu.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Evergreen tree…I love when there’s an evergreen tree on a front lawn…
Thank you for the giveaway…
I just read the first book in this series and looking forward to the next ones
I’m so pleased to have discovered your books
I don’t have a large garden but I have an oak tree about two hundred years old at the bottom and I love it
Dogwood tree, because of its beautiful flowers in spring. I’ve visited Singapore several times and would enjoy reading a book set there.
Weeping willows!
I love the bald cypress trees they have in Ohio. They grow tall and wide with soft green leaves on them. I planted one from just a tiny root and it has grown really big. I love historical mystery books. This one set in Singapore sounds exciting. I am reading another historical mystery set in Singapore called The Singapore Sapphire. Makes me want to visit there.
Sycamore trees. They were on the street where my family lived when I was a child. The trees were old and tall, and so majestic.
Japanese maples
Cherry tree because I never lie. One truth is I am looking forward to this book because of how much I enjoy Ovidia ‘s books.
My favorite tree is the Aspen tree — I love the way its leaves shimmer in the wind ~
The cottonwood tree.
I love the magnolia for its blossoms. How about gardenias? Those bushes can become minor trees! Love the scent.
I loved to read in the shade of a huge elm tree as a child. Unfortunately these magnificent trees died off decades ago. I still miss them.
Sounds like an intriguing series.
The aspen tree – when they shimmer in the wind it’s such a gentle rustling. Reminds me of the Western high canyons.
Wow! I had to think about that since I never really have been asked that question before. There are so many trees to think about; maple, oak, apple, cherry, oriental red maple, and on and on. To choose my favorite I guess I’d have to say one of the flowering trees – ornamental cherry. Thanks Dru Ann for introducing me to Ovidia Yu. Her book has been added to my want to read list.
Oak tree
I have always loved a willow tree. Memories of growing up with next door neighbors having one. This book sounds good.
love this series – you are there – the smell the sound the sights – awesome!
My favorite tree is the Red Bud. It’s so nice to see them blooming in the Spring and they look so delicate and beautiful.
My favorite tree is a peach tree.
I have two favorites because I cannot choose between a fig tree or a persimmon tree. Both give wonderful fruit and the latter is particularly beautiful with the bright orange fruits hanging on the tree long after one would expect to see such vibrant color in the cooler months.
My favorite tree is any that provides lots of shade.
River Red Gum tree. Tough, gives good shade from a blazing summer sun, lives for centuries and bees use its blossoms to produce a beautiful honey.
My favorite is a palm tree!
I love the southern live Oak for the shade it provides, its long life, & the resurrection fern it supports.
**** WINNER ****
The Paper Bark Tree Mystery is Mary D
Congratulations!