The Feng Shui Detective’s Casebook by Nury Vittachi
Publication: Allen & Unwin, Paperback, 312pp / ISBN 9781741147803
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 
Find @ Amazon (used)
Challenges:Countdown 2010 (2006 #2)
Read: October 2009
Source: BookMooch
I’m not entirely sure how I found out about this book– it might have been on one of those Amazon listmania lists for unsual mysteries. At any rate, it lingered on my BookMooch wishlist for about a year (or two), until, one day, some lovely person in Australia posted a copy. Since I don’t think The Feng Shui Detective’s Casebook was ever published in America, I’m lucky indeed. (Huzzah BookMooch!)
Also I just found out this is actually the third book in the series (the first two are The Feng Shui Detective and The Feng Shui Detective Goes South), but it seems that the first two are out of print, unfortunately. I don’t think it’s that important, but I thought I’d mention it.
Summary from Allen & Unwin:
A murder in the Philippines, a kidnapping in Thailand, grand theft auto in Singapore: just another day at the office for CF Wong. No, he’s not a detective, he’s a feng shui master, and he’d much rather just get paid, go home, put his feet up, and leave solving crimes to someone who cares.
But that’s just not going to happen. CF and his assistant, Joyce, are on a business trip around the Asia Pacific and wherever they go, their unique way of getting to the bottom of the most perplexing cases seems to be needed.
Baffling crimes, ingenious schemes, exotic locations and bucket-loads of charm. The Feng Shui Detective’s Casebook is Vittachi at his witty, original best.
The Feng Shui Detective’s Casebook is made up of interconnecting short stories, and while sometimes I wasn’t sure what was going on (I was just a little bit too lost among the vibrant backgrounds) I enjoyed them immensely, especially the ones that were a) solved by accident and/or b) actually solved using feng shui. The first mystery, for instance, was solved because CF Wong figured out where a hidden door was using the placement of a statue.
I said the backgrounds were vibrant, and they were extremely so. It was interesting seeing so many different cultures and cities, but, like I said, sometimes I was lost. I think it’s because I’m not really familiar with Thailand and the Philippines and so on, and I become confused when something common to that area shows up but isn’t really explained. Most of the time this is food– so I Googled a lot.
The characters were quite fun. CF Wong is a misogynist and obsessed with money, and Joyce is unfortunately old-fashioned in name and slang, but I liked them anyway. They’re comparable to the quirky country weirdos in Midsomer Murders, if you like. You might not want to get too near them, but they’re lovable from a distance.
I’m not sure why this was never published outside of Australia(/England?). It’s very much along the lines of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, only set in various countries in Asia instead of Africa, and it’s just as filled with quirky characters and interesting-yet-on-the-edge-of-mundane mysteries that show off the culture of those countries (and the personality of the Feng Shui Detective). If you like those sorts of mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this book a lot!
Other reviews: Asian Review of Books
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