Daiyu Wu is smart, curious, and fascinated by mysteries. She’s also Chinese in 1930’s Dallas, and blind; two very dangerous things to be at the time. With Chinese residents being chased out with racism and fear tactics, the Wu family does their best to stay out of the spotlight. With her close confidant Jacques Haskins, and a spirited dog named Prince Razor, Dai regularly uses her fascination with science and the world around her to solve mysteries. When a ballgown in left at her family-owned laundry business with no identifying information, Dai quickly discovers that something is very off with the dress. It appears the dress has been used to commit murder with arsenic and the murderer is trying to get rid of the murder weapon. With no mentions in the papers, and not enough evidence to convince the police to get involved, Dai and Jacques begin to unravel a mystery involving a rich man, a murdered fiancé, and those who flock to their sides.
Black Jade is a fun mystery with a clear attempt to highlight the Chinese culture, whiles still walking that fine line between adoration and appropriation. Dai is a unique and intelligent character, and Dallas is a unique place to set the story; especially in the 1930s when race tensions were even higher than today. Writer Gloria Olive clearly had fun writing this story, and creates believable and fascinating characters that make this book difficult to put down.
Black Jade: A Daiyu Wu Mystery #1 is available now.
