GreenChair reviewed The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Review of 'The Night Tiger' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
It started out really strong. I enjoyed the first 100 pages or so. Atmospheric setting of colonial 1930s Malaya. A lot of fascinating culture references and old myths that set of a quite gripping plot with lots of mysteries to be uncovered.
However, it went all downhill from there. This book sabotages itself with the most unnecessary and cringe y romance subplot I have read in a long time. It doesn't help that this slows down the already slow pace of the story even more. It's quite hart to get through at times, when the plot barely advances and we are instead stuck in the inner monologue of our main character <spoiler> lusting after her own (step)brother </spoiler> .
Also the ending is a bit over the top and not very believable. At least not to me. <spoiler> Like, is selling old specimens from a dusty storage room really such …
However, it went all downhill from there. This book sabotages itself with the most unnecessary and cringe y romance subplot I have read in a long time. It doesn't help that this slows down the already slow pace of the story even more. It's quite hart to get through at times, when the plot barely advances and we are instead stuck in the inner monologue of our main character <spoiler> lusting after her own (step)brother </spoiler> .
Also the ending is a bit over the top and not very believable. At least not to me. <spoiler> Like, is selling old specimens from a dusty storage room really such a terrible crime that a guy would commit several murders to cover it up?? And does it really happen that someone kisses the wrong person on party, just because she kinda looks a bit like your girlfriend and then not even remember it? And then that person also turns out to be a complete psycho, that follows you around the world and runs amok through your acquaintances??? </spoiler> In hindsight this book has quite some soap-opera vibes. Just wasn't for me.
