The Rose Apple Tree Mystery

Su Lin #9

by Ovidia Yu

'The sharpest exercise in decolonising fiction in Singapore's literary landscape. It is also, simply, really fun to read!' - Ong Sor Fern

----------

'Til death do us part...

Singapore, 1947. Newlyweds Su Lin and Le Froy are in the Cameron Highlands, an idyllic pocket of countryside on the tropical Malay Peninsula. But this is no honeymoon ... Le Froy is on a protection assignment for powerful businessman Max Moreno and his wife Elfrieda, whose associates have been brutally murdered.

But the hideaway cannot protect the Morenos from vicious threats and ghostly sightings, and when Elfrieda vanishes with a stash of precious emeralds, Su Lin and Le Froy fear the worst. The only clue to Elfrieda's disappearance is rotting fruit from a rose apple tree, piled outside her lodge.

When monsoon floods make escape from the Highlands impossible, Su Lin is determined to find Elfrieda with time to spare to get to know her new husband. But when Max's body is discovered surrounded by rose apples, passion turns to Su Lin and Le Froy must work together try to prevent further deaths, including their own.

----------

Praise for Ovidia

'One of Singapore's finest living authors' - South China Morning Post

'One of the most likeable heroines in modern literature' - The Scotsman

'Chen Su Lin is a true gem. Her slyly witty voice and her admirable, sometimes heartbreaking, practicality make her the most beguiling narrator heroine I've met in a long while' - Catriona McPherson

'Charming and fascinating with great authentic feel. Ovidia Yu's teenage Chinese sleuth gives us an insight into a very different culture and time. This book is exactly why I love historical novels' - Rhys Bowen

'Unassuming, brilliantly observant' -SCMP

'Ovidia Yu's writing helped me peel back the layers to understand Singapore. The story and Chen Su Lin's initiative and tenacity, set against a backdrop of wartime Singapore, intrigued both the historian and the mystery lover in me' - Kara Owens CMG CVO, British High Commissioner to Singapore

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Historical

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Sivasothi N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for fans of Su Lin, who in this 9th book of the series marks a significant time of her post-war life with another murder mystery to solve. This includes the murmurings of the post-war return of the British after the humiliation of the Japanese Occupation and the resumption of parasitic colonial practises which would escalate into the Emergency initiated by the Malayan Communists. So the setting of a rubber plantation and the Cameron Highlands retreats are well chosen.

Ovidia choses to explain local elements which can be a little tiring but was not too jarring. This makes it highly accessible for unfamiliar folk to imbibe aspects of local culture and have a better feel of the setting.

[Robert W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best

I enjoy the series but this was an overly complex re-telling of previous plot lines. Maybe it was meant as a bridge to the possible foretelling in the final chapter but it was just not a very good read

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making Su Lin and her newly wed husband, Le Froy, into communist sympathizers is bad enough, the very shaky history used to support that turn in their characterization is even worse. The Malayan resistance, the MPAJA, to the Japanese occupation in World War II is far from the popular force Ovidia Yu claims it was and then in the epilogue hints at its justification for the atrocities that would follow when it transitioned to the MNLA, the Malayan National Liberation Army that fought against the British during the Malayan Emergency. Neither entity had widespread support. In both cases, they were 90 percent or more composed of ethnic Chinese. And both armies, although they were sprinkled with a few other token ethnicities, in fact were in conflict with Tamils and especially Malays. In fact, during World War II, the MPAJA killed more Malays than it did Japanese soldiers. So the communists were not "increasingly popular," as Yu claims, except among the Chinese villages that sprang up near the jungles to help supply the MNLA during the Emergency. Yu's picture of one big happy family of Tamils, Chinese, and Malays is false to the core. Racial conflict, after all, was part of the reason for Singapore's eventual separation and independence from the rest of Malaysia. And it's the reason Lee Kuan Yew realized he had to establish an authoritarian state in Singapore to keep racial and ethnic conflict safely contained. This isn't a secret, not any of it. Anthony Burgess wrote about the racial and ethnic resentments during the 1950s in his Malayan trilogy. And a Malayan author with firsthand experience of the MPAJA and MNLA, Chin Kee On, wrote a series of novels describing the Stalinist nature of the two armies during and after World War II.

All this could be forgiven, however, had Yu composed a work the equal of her other volumes in the Su Lin mystery series. But that didn't happen. Yes, it creates good enough atmosphere, and moving the setting from Singapore to the Cameron Highlands where an isolated house holds the events of a classic mystery works well, too. The problem is that following Su Lin's marriage to Le Froy and the trip to Cameron Highlands, the mystery staggers around and the story just fails to advance. It's one thing to create intentional false leads, it's another to present them in such a choppy manner.

There's also some confusion about when events take place. Early on, Su Lin's grandmother says, "Now is the 1950s already." And late in the book, Su Lin says she has known Le Froy for 15 years. Su Lin was 16 years old in the early books in the series when she met Le Froy in 1936. So that all indicates the story takes place around 1951. Aha, but then Yu also describes Su Lin anticipating Queen Elizabeth's marriage, which was in late 1947. Not to mention the epilogue describes the end of the book taking place just before the beginning of the Emergency in 1948. Why such a mess?

Finally, there is this: all the previous Su Lin mysteries had a slight undertone of humor to them, even the ones about the Japanese occupation. Yu falls flat in creating the same effect, here. And that's mainly because she is much more overt and even slapstick in the dark humor she lets play out, especially in the third chapter from the end, "Murder of Max." It's often hard to take as funny, even with an accompanying quip, a knife into someone's neck.

This sounds like a harsh review. And I suppose it is in some ways. I still like the series, though. And I hope there are more Su Lin books to come. But I do wonder when we'll ever see Su Lin at Tiger Balm Gardens/Haw Par Villa?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Newly married Su Lin and LeFroy go to the Cameron Highlands, not on a traditional honeymoon, but on an assignment to protect a powerful rubber plantation owner. After the Japanese Occupation ends, tensions are high as the British and others seek to reassume their colonial role. While I liked the historical setting, the plot dragged more than the others in this series. There’s a missing person and a locked room murder in this book. Of the two mysteries Su Lin solves here, one is very easy to work out. Still, I liked catching up with the recurring characters and look forward to the next book. Singaporean and Malaysian history will be entering a tumultuous era in the 1950’s, so I hope the author keeps the series going.

[Betti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this series, the setting, the characters, the way the trees create atmosphere along the story - but this book feels like it was written by a bot, or a young fan, very disappointing. The characters sound like empty shells, the amazing Cameron highlands setting and the historical period is almost nowhere to be felt, the relationships of the old friends are not developing, the mystery completely falls flat.... Still hoping it is not the last chapter of of Sun Lin & co's adventures. :-(

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 bk 172. At long last, weddings occur! our best friends are married and setting out to begin lives as married women. But when LeFoy is sent upcountry into Malaysia to solve murders and threats, well I kept hearing the music to a 4 o'clock movie I watched back in the early 1970's. It was set in Indonesia, about the same time, and involved a mystery on a plantation. So many similarities. But Yu doesn't use that movie plot - oh no - things go in a very different direction. I loved her details and seeing how people viewed the marriage of our favorite Singapore couple. Very well done!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Su Lin and Le Froy have endured a lot and are finally married. Unfortunately, their honeymoon also turns into an endurance test. They are in the Cameron Highlands, where they find that the wife of the rubber plantation owner has disappeared. Su Lin and Le Froy are admirable characters. However, many of the other people in the story are absolutely vile, which makes the book somewhat of an ordeal to read.

[Niki Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Informative and Entertaining Read

I feel like I personally know and definitely love these characters. Throughout these books my love of Singapore and Malaya grows with joy. So entertaining also. Thank you so much to Ovidia Yu.

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery was not as engrossing as several of the earlier books. The mystery was in an isolated areas. The author referred to Agatha Christie several times and I easily picked up on several red herrings.

I enjoyed seeing the character growth from characters I have grown to love.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back with Su Lin and now she's married and off on a honeymoon, which turns into an investigation of murder and missing person.
The bigotry was appalling, and the epilogue tells of what happened with the rubber industry after the Japanese left. All very interesting.

[Jonathan Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

a locked room mystery!

So Ovidia Yu brings what maybe the final book in this wonderful series together with a happily married pair and a locked room mystery. A classic in the making.

[annapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1947 and Su Lin and Le Froy are married at last. They are ostensibly on their honeymoon in Malaysia but Le Froy is also investigating the massacre of the British owners of a rubber plantation and protecting the businessman Max Moreno who is the current owner. But Moreno's wife goes missing along with the emeralds that were her dowry, and when later Max himself is found dead, Su Lin and Le Froy must find the killer before they are either imprisoned for it or killed themselves.

It's nice to have our protagonists married at last, though there is a distinct lack of "romance" in their relationship. This is another twisty mystery, and though I did suspect where the emeralds were hidden there were other revelations that came as a surprise. I hope the author continues the series!

[Susan D. Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all het books

This was as good as any of her work. I dislike how fast I have read them. Learning a little history while at it is a great added benifit.

[Msiroky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the characters but the conversations get a little choppy and I have to go back to
Figure out who is talking

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good addition to the series! I love the long arc of the characters over the course of the series.

[Sharron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good period detail and the usual cast of characters were appealing. Unfortunately, the plot was not.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the setting of this book which took the main characters on the road to a Malaysian hill resort. A very entertaining and enjoyful mystery yet again!

[Sheila Suzanne Peel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I enjoyed this book immensely. I'm so glad they got married. What a honeymoon! I look forward to the next book.

[Chazda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Coming back for more of this series. I really like the main protagonist, but also her beau. Good stuff.

[Donna McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. Spent two years in Malaysia (Sabah) in the 1960s and three months in Singapore. Thanks for taking me home to a place I loved!!

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a bit of a weird one in the series, much more limited cast of characters due to the weather trapping them in a limited physical location. My biggest issue was that Su Lin seemed to be less perceptive than usual and took a lot of what people said at face value without questioning it even though they gave her no reason to trust them. I'm not someone who really tries to guess things, but figured out some things wayy before Su Lin did. It makes sense that Su Lin wouldn't be as proficient in certain types of detecting, but she is usually much better at reading people. There was also a minor plot line that felt very queer-bait-y to me, which was a disappointment.

[Giuliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all nine Su Lin/Tree mysteries and have loved each of them. The latest, Rose Apple is a whole next level in terms of Su Lin's development as a woman and as a character. Ovidia's writing takes us through history as a personal experience. Her storytelling keeps me turning the pages, I am always OoO until I finish reading the latest on Su Lin. Can't wait for #10!