The Night Tiger

Review of The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

The lives of two strangers in 1930s Malaysia are set in motion to honor a strange old man’s dying wish— to be buried whole. The dead man’s mission of finding the finger he’d donated to science years before leads his servant Ren to Ji Lin, a seamstress’ apprentice working a risqué second job to pay her mother’s mahjong debts. The severed digit and an elusive man-eating tiger link the pair in a chain of secrets, murder, and adventure.

I loved this book from the beautiful cover to the vivid imagery to the fantastic characters to the well-paced storyline. The story is told through Ji Lin, Ren, and Ren’s new master William’s perspectives. Through their dialogue and interiority, The Night Tiger overflows insightfully with everyday colonial Malaysian society, ancient Chinese superstitions, and folklore, making every character so realistic and vibrant in my mind.

The pace and plot line were great. I never felt like the story was lagging or was extremely predictable. From the three perspectives, I always felt engrossed in how they were experiencing the events that happened without feeling lost or bored.

I 100% recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, crime, or suspense novels.