Description

Longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Gold Crown Award

‘Vivid, enigmatic, enchanting’ M. L. Rio
‘Irresistible’ Sunday Times

Some people think foxes go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908: A young woman is found frozen in the snow.

Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes, believed to lure people into peril by transforming into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all, she’s a mother seeking vengeance. Hunting a murderer, the trail will take her from northern China to Japan, with Bao following doggedly behind.

And as their paths draw ever closer together, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.

The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depth of maternal bonds, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

PRAISE FOR THE FOX WIFE

‘Poetic and evocative’ Good Housekeeping

‘Magical, wondrous, transporting and illuminating’ Nguyen Phan Que Mai

‘Rich and beguiling’ Daily Mail

‘Filled with wonder, mystery and folklore’ Sue Lynn Tan

‘Enchanting’ the i

‘A rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history’ Alix E. Harrow

Publisher Review

Like the foxes who populate its pages, The Fox Wife is vivid, enigmatic, and enchanting. Choo's fresh new fable conjures a world where danger and intrigue are forever entwined with sublime and sensory delights * M.L. Rio, author of IF WE WERE VILLAINS * A stunning story filled with wonder, mystery and folklore. I was utterly captivated by Yangsze Choo's exquisite prose and fascinating characters from the first page till the last. A remarkable tale, one that will stay with me * Sue Lynn Tan, author of Heart of the Sun Warrior * Magical, wonderous, transporting and illuminating, The Fox Wife reminds me that reading can be pure joy . . . I was captivated from the very first word of this novel until its very last. Yangsze Choo is a writer of immense talent * Nguyen Phan Que Mai, internationally best-selling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child * Masterfully plotted and superbly surprising, The Fox Wife will entice you into a world of magic and heartbreak, a beautiful tapestry woven from love and revenge and forgiveness. But beware: once you start, you may not be able to put it down! -- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of INDEPENDENCE and THE LAST QUEEN The Fox Wife is a rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history, delivered with Choo's inimitable grace and precision. It's not a book so much as a beguilement; it enchanted me entirely -- Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of STARLING HOUSE Choo's writing is lush and the slow revelations of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat * Publishers Weekly * Snow's difficulties as both a fox and a young woman in a man's world are clearly drawn, as is the pathos of Bao's situation as a gentle soul who's always been in search of something or someone. An intriguing vulpine mystery worth the suspension of disbelief * Kirkus *