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The Tembusu Tree Mystery

Releases
Jun 2026
June 4, 2026
Main Genre
Historical Mystery Hist. Mystery

About This Book

Singapore, 1947. Su Lin and Le Froy start married life renting the top floor of a house near Cathay Cinema, where Su Lin is the manager. The Chen family tries to deal with workers striking in support of trade unions - but when two of the striking workers are found dead in the cinema when the lights go up, with no sign of how they were killed, it's revealed they were there to meet Uncle Chen.

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Praise for Ovidia Yu:

'The longest-running and sharpest exercise in decolonising fiction in Singapore's literary landscape. It is also, simply, really fun to read.' - Ong Sor Fern

'Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while' - Catriona McPherson

'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels' - Rhys Bowen

'A wonderful detective novel . . . a book that introduces one of the most likeable heroines in modern literature and should be on everyone's Must Read list' - The Scotsman

'Ovidia Yu's writing helped me peel back the layers to understand Singapore. The story and Chen Su Lin's initiative and tenacity, set against a backdrop of wartime Singapore, intrigued both the historian and the mystery lover in me' - Kara Owens CMG CVO, British High Commissioner to Singapore

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eBook

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First Edition Jun 2026 Little, Brown ISBN 0349000662
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Jun 2026 -- Not Selected ISBN B0FCDRB4K3
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