Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Now You See Us

It’s hard to rate this book, I really enjoyed Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by this author and in many ways, this book follows a similar plot and structure.

I’d put it in the cosy mysteries section but I did find it really slow in some places.

Although the author interviewed domestic workers from the Philippines, since she is not of that community I found it hard to get into the story as much as I would have liked to.

I totally believe the stories shared are true instances of how these workers are treated but I wish they’d been able to tell their own stories.

The plot is enjoyable and moves along but not as quick as I would have liked.

If you enjoyed Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jessie Sutanto, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

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chailady's review

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ukponge's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Now You See Us explores the lives of women working as domestic workers or helpers in Singapore. The story follows three different Filipino women and a significant portion of the plot revolves around their belief that a fellow migrant worker charged with the murder of her employer has been falsely accused. Their investigation into this was a little improbable but I wasn’t unduly bothered. For me the real strength of the book was the way it highlighted the vulnerability of female foreign migrant worker to abuses by employers, agencies and Singaporean society in general. Even good employers overstepped boundaries and created difficulties for their helpers, albeit with kind intentions. I couldn’t help cheering when feisty Donita, who was subject to the worst abuse by her employer, seized an opportunity to have her say and get revenge in a wonderfully public way. This book has much in common with Christy Lefteri’s Songbirds. They’d make a good pairing. There are also a couple of LGBTQ storylines woven into the plot. They are minor but they are definitely more than tokenism, and add to the picture of Singaporean society and to one of the characters especially.

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