The Feng Shui Detective (Feng Shui Detective #1)

From Publishers Weekly A bestselling English-language author based in Hong Kong, Vittachi stands to become a lot better known in the U.S. with this soft-boiled mystery peopled by quirky, engaging characters, the first in a new crime series. Set in Singapore and featuring C.F. Wong, a "geomancer" or feng shui master, this lighthearted novel blends, blurs and contrasts the three main ethnic groups of the Asian city-state-Chinese, Malays and Indians. Along with his cohorts, Madame Xu and Dilip Kenneth Sinha (both psychics), the gifted, if often reluctant, detective gets drawn into a plot to save a young girl who has an extraordinarily bleak future, psychically speaking. Wong is dragged to Australia to solve the case by his intern, Joyce McQuinnie, a British-Australian teenager forced on him by a valued client. McQuinnie makes a great foil for his crankiness and obsession with order. The author, unfortunately, sometimes vies for the big laugh with groan-worthy broad humor, usually revolving around someone's accent or lack of understanding of English. Overall, however, his love for Singapore and its distinctive internationalism shines through. Vittachi's unique worldview infuses his writing with vitality and gives his characters a charming believability. American readers should enjoy the virtual vacation this book provides. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From This first entry in a series featuring Singapore feng shui master C. F. Wong draws most of its energy from Wong's interaction with his various clients as well as his encounters with brash Australian intern Joyce and his bossy, overly made-up office manager, Winnie. Wong's specialty is applying the principles of feng shui to crime scenes. Nothing pleases the diminutive Asian more than sniffing out clues based on how the room feels, smells, or looks. Stopping only to work on his book, Some Gleanings of Oriental Wisdom , Wong investigates a kidnapping and a mysterious fire some believe was started by a dead man. Liberally quoting bits of wisdom from his book and trying vainly to understand the more modern aspects of Singaporean society (such as coffee shops and night clubs), Wong emerges as a thoroughly appealing mystery hero. Vittachi also populates the story with an assortment of hilarious New Age characters, such as psychic Madame Xu and bomoh (or mystic) Amran Ismail. Reading this charming, funny, feel-good story is bound to result in a huge boost of good karma. Jenny McLarin Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Mr. Wong Is A Feng Shui Consultant, But His Cases Tend To Involve A Lot More Than Just Interior Decoration. You See, Wong Specializes In A Certain Type Of Problem Premises: Crime Scenes. He And His Brash Teenage Aussie-american Ex-pat Intern (think An Asian Sherlock Holmes Paired Up With Kelly Osbourne) Travel Around Singapore Solving Crimes While Trying To Decipher Each Other's Language And Behavior. His Latest Case Involves A Mysterious Young Woman Who, According To A Psychic Reading, Is Doomed To Die. Wong's Desperate Efforts To Save Her Eventually Lead Him And His Sidekick To Sydney Where The Story Climaxes At The Opera House, A Building Known For Its Appalling Feng Shui. A Delightful Combination Of Crafty Plotting, Quirky Humor, And Asian Philosophy, The Feng Shui Detective Is An Investigator Like No Other! Saturday: Dying Is Very Bad Feng Shui -- Monday: Crimes Committed By Dead People -- Tuesday: No Such Thing As Ghosts -- Wednesday: Life Is Not A Miniseries -- Thursday: Ghosts Can't Get Any Deader -- A Perfect Murder -- Monday: The Use Of Human Hands. Nury Vittachi. Previously Published As: The Feng Shui Detective Goes South. Meet CF Wong - not quite a private eye, nor exactly a Zen sage. He's a feng shui master whose work sometimes presents him with problems of a less mystical, even criminal, nature...welcome to the first book in the charming and delightful Feng Shui Detective series.CF Wong is not quite a private eye, nor exactly a Zen sage. He is a feng shui master, a geomancer who consults to people who want to optimise the energy flow of their buildings. But his work has a habit of presenting him with problems of a less mystical, even criminal, nature.This summer he has been saddled with a favour for his boss: to supervise a young Australian woman on work experience. Riotous cultural confusion results as the unlikely pair travel across Asia solving mysteries in a style reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. A delightful combination of crafty plotting, quirky humour and Asian philosophy, the Feng Shui Detective is an investigator like no other. C.F. Wong is a feng shui consultant who specializes in crime scenes. He and his brash teenaged Aussie-American intern travel around Singapore solving crimes while trying to decipher each other's language and behaviour. Wong's latest case involves a young woman who, according to a psychic reading, is doomed to die. Wong and his sidekick travel to Sydney in an effort to save her