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Juniper Song #3
Dead Soon Enough
From critically acclaimed author Steph Cha—Los Angeles-based P.I. Juniper Song is back in a thrillingly written, masterfully plotted story of how far a mother will go for her child
Finally a licensed private detective, Steph Cha’s “compelling and original” (LA Times) crime heroine Juniper Song is managing her own cases as the junior investigator of Lindley & Flores. When a woman named Rubina Gasparian approaches Song, she knows she’s in for her most unusual case yet. The daughter of Armenian immigrants, Rubina and her husband Van recently learned that she cannot get pregnant—so they hired Rubina’s younger cousin, Lusig, to act as a surrogate. However, Lusig’s best friend Nora has been missing for a month, and Rubina is concerned that her cousin is dealing with her stress in a way that could harm the baby. Rubina hires Song to shadow her and report all that she finds. Of course, Lusig is frantically searching for her friend, and Song’s case soon turns into a hunt for the missing woman, whom she finds was deeply embroiled in a public and ugly battle to erect an Armenian genocide memorial. As Song probes the depths of both this tight-knit immigrant community and the groups who antagonize it, she realizes that someone was willing to stop at nothing to ensure Nora’s silence. But can she find the killer before it’s too late for Rubina and Van’s child—or for Song herself?
A gorgeously written, tightly plotted, and emotionally charged read, The Surrogate is an unforgettable story of love, parenthood, and the things we do for our children, perfect for fans of Lisa Unger and Tana French.
Finally a licensed private detective, Steph Cha’s “compelling and original” (LA Times) crime heroine Juniper Song is managing her own cases as the junior investigator of Lindley & Flores. When a woman named Rubina Gasparian approaches Song, she knows she’s in for her most unusual case yet. The daughter of Armenian immigrants, Rubina and her husband Van recently learned that she cannot get pregnant—so they hired Rubina’s younger cousin, Lusig, to act as a surrogate. However, Lusig’s best friend Nora has been missing for a month, and Rubina is concerned that her cousin is dealing with her stress in a way that could harm the baby. Rubina hires Song to shadow her and report all that she finds. Of course, Lusig is frantically searching for her friend, and Song’s case soon turns into a hunt for the missing woman, whom she finds was deeply embroiled in a public and ugly battle to erect an Armenian genocide memorial. As Song probes the depths of both this tight-knit immigrant community and the groups who antagonize it, she realizes that someone was willing to stop at nothing to ensure Nora’s silence. But can she find the killer before it’s too late for Rubina and Van’s child—or for Song herself?
A gorgeously written, tightly plotted, and emotionally charged read, The Surrogate is an unforgettable story of love, parenthood, and the things we do for our children, perfect for fans of Lisa Unger and Tana French.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 2015
22 people are currently reading
630 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
October 16, 2016
Those of us interested in mystery series, crime novels, and police procedurals are usually on the lookout for the next series by a newcomer that is going to excite us. A Korean-American private investigator called Juniper Song headlining a series set in L.A. looked promising, and I jumped in at book #3 in the series to see what Steph Cha had done with the form.
The voice in this novel is young, smart, and challenging. Song widens our eyes with her opener:
The fictional private eye Philip Marlowe and his creator, Raymond Chandler, are mentioned explicitly in this novel more than once, drawing our eye to parallels Cha hopes to highlight. There is a hard-boiled, noirish feel to this piece, despite its clear generational separation from those earlier novels. The comparisons are still a bit aspirational, as there were areas in this novel that did not measure up to the more limited word count of the Marlowe detections.
What did work was the somewhat world-weary tone Song takes in the beginning, which is plenty hard to pull off for a twenty-something with a degree from Yale. Somehow Song manages to make us believe she is one of those disaffected bright young things who is simply bored with the more usual job prospects she could be seeking out. Cha perhaps plays a bit with our stereotypes and expectations about terribly bright Asians here, but she has my sympathies for this approach, and I could laugh soundlessly with her. Besides, intelligence can be used to make most jobs interesting, and in this case, she would have missed out on private detection if she had been more aggressive uncovering well-paid employment opportunities.
What also paralleled Marlowe and worked well was the consistently moral standpoint from which Song conducted her investigations and follow-ups. She had to make some tough decisions about people that may not have been completely straightforward, but her real-life judgments about truth and honesty asked a complicated question about where those two things got everyone in the end.
The final half of the book was beautifully fluent, well thought-out, and moved at a pace befitting the more usual form of a crime novel or police procedural. The first half was workman-like, explanatory, and needed tightening. Young women were the focus of this novel, but sometimes their thought processes, chatty conversations, and questionable choices are simply not interesting enough to hold our attention.
Overall, the attempt to raise important, thoughtful issues in a crime novel and its unusual point of view through the eyes of a Korean-American elevated this genre novel beyond its peers. Though I liked the idea of a brainy woman pulling off an escape from some pretty rough characters in this novel, it did occur to me that her lack of physical prowess might be a hard sell down the line. Perhaps Juniper needs to take some exercise in the form of self-protection skills that might be more useful to her than the gun she yearns to carry.
The voice in this novel is young, smart, and challenging. Song widens our eyes with her opener:
“When I was twenty-two, I sold three sets of eggs for a total of $48,000. I was broke, bored, and quietly depressed, and had no strength to fight the call of easy money…Everything about Song’s story as it unfolds in this installment of her adventures is current, relevant, and raises important issues designed to make us think…think not only about her perspective as an Asian-American woman but also about corporate law, the Armenian genocide of the early 20th century, online shaming and stalking, and surrogacy in childbearing. There is a lot going on, but Cha manages it handily.
…Apparently, [Asian-American egg donors] commanded high premiums for rarity on the market…”
The fictional private eye Philip Marlowe and his creator, Raymond Chandler, are mentioned explicitly in this novel more than once, drawing our eye to parallels Cha hopes to highlight. There is a hard-boiled, noirish feel to this piece, despite its clear generational separation from those earlier novels. The comparisons are still a bit aspirational, as there were areas in this novel that did not measure up to the more limited word count of the Marlowe detections.
What did work was the somewhat world-weary tone Song takes in the beginning, which is plenty hard to pull off for a twenty-something with a degree from Yale. Somehow Song manages to make us believe she is one of those disaffected bright young things who is simply bored with the more usual job prospects she could be seeking out. Cha perhaps plays a bit with our stereotypes and expectations about terribly bright Asians here, but she has my sympathies for this approach, and I could laugh soundlessly with her. Besides, intelligence can be used to make most jobs interesting, and in this case, she would have missed out on private detection if she had been more aggressive uncovering well-paid employment opportunities.
What also paralleled Marlowe and worked well was the consistently moral standpoint from which Song conducted her investigations and follow-ups. She had to make some tough decisions about people that may not have been completely straightforward, but her real-life judgments about truth and honesty asked a complicated question about where those two things got everyone in the end.
The final half of the book was beautifully fluent, well thought-out, and moved at a pace befitting the more usual form of a crime novel or police procedural. The first half was workman-like, explanatory, and needed tightening. Young women were the focus of this novel, but sometimes their thought processes, chatty conversations, and questionable choices are simply not interesting enough to hold our attention.
Overall, the attempt to raise important, thoughtful issues in a crime novel and its unusual point of view through the eyes of a Korean-American elevated this genre novel beyond its peers. Though I liked the idea of a brainy woman pulling off an escape from some pretty rough characters in this novel, it did occur to me that her lack of physical prowess might be a hard sell down the line. Perhaps Juniper needs to take some exercise in the form of self-protection skills that might be more useful to her than the gun she yearns to carry.
May 6, 2016
Merry Christmas, Steph! A five-star review from me to you!
August 4, 2015
The Bloomin' Onion was popularized in the United States when it appeared as a charter feature of the Outback Steakhouse when that national chain opened in 1988. The dish remains prominent on its menu. The owners of Scotty's Steak House in Springfield, New Jersey claim to have invented this dish in the 1970s. Its popularity has led to its adoption as an appetizer at various other restaurant chains, most notably Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, where it is known as the "Texas Rose". The dish is usually served with a restaurant-specific signature dipping sauce. Despite the implied association with Australian cuisine due to Outback Steakhouse's branding, the dish is almost unknown in Australia (much like the Outback Steakhouse chain itself) and rarely served outside of the United States. This dish, under the name Awesome Blossom, was also a very popular part of the Chili's menu, at least in the UK, until it was removed circa 2001, possibly for health reasons.
August 17, 2015
Smart, quick, dark (the Armenian genocide and its deniers plays an important role in the plot and the theme of sins of the past...), and fun all at the same time. Juniper Song is a feminist, millennial LA PI who isn't a superhero and is flawed in a very human way. Highly recommended and now I have to go read the first two books!
June 2, 2022
With each book, Steph Cha became a progressively better writer. This is leaps and bounds better than her first Juniper Song tale; a layered story of immigration, love, and genocide, as well as a true examination of working class Los Angeles. Kept me riveted through its excellent end and gave the strongest look at an author who would be ready in a few years to write the excellent “Your House Will Pay.”
December 2, 2019
I liked the mystery, and came to like Armenian pregnant surrogate Lusig a lot. But I thought the heroine, Korean PI Juniper Song, acted strangely and irrationally. The situations she got herself into just didn't ring true to me.
August 14, 2023
Another great installment in a series that continues to get better and better! We revisit Juniper Song, really growing into her role as a private investigator, not so much the junior detective at Lindley & Flores as she was in the last book, more confident, more capable, but also exposed to more danger.
This case is a one that was very Chandleresque at first, a very “the thing that isn’t said is the most important thing of all” situation. Song is hired by Rubina Gasparian, wealthy daughter of Armenian immigrants and prominent in the Los Angeles Armenian community, to trail her younger cousin Lusig, who agreed to be a surrogate for Rubina and her husband Van. Rubina is worried that Lusig is putting the unborn baby in danger by her activities, at first pretty much drinking or smoking or just the stress from not living a healthy lifestyle, but quickly Song realizes that the stress Rubina is really worried about is from Lusig looking for her missing friend Nora. Rubina never really explicitly at first said for Song to look for Nora, but it becomes clear that to keep Lusig safe from stress (and any other danger), Song has to take over the search.
Nora, a prominent Armenian activist, has been missing for over a month. Nora was very closely involved in an ugly public fight over a monument to the Armenian Genocide that is going to be put up in a park in Los Angeles, with Nora’s website attracting hateful and threatening comments and apparently Nora being stalked as a result. As Song dives down the rabbit hole of activists and genocide deniers, encountering a tangled web of heated century-old arguments, she slowly discovers that there are far more ugly factors at play than people passionate about a monument to the Armenian Genocide and a missing blogger/influencer.
I liked this complex tale, one to the author’s immense credit was skillfully revealed, both maintaining a great pace while never losing me. I appreciated continued character growth for Song, her friend and roommate Lori, and for retiring a plotline began in the first book and continued in the second that I thought really had nowhere to go. Song herself continues to have tremendous personal growth and her life isn’t static either, as she gains and loses people in her life. Several cool set piece scenes, good use of the L.A. setting, interesting and important information about the Armenian Genocide, and the climatic act is really tense and exciting. Definitely a great neo-noirish tale.
This case is a one that was very Chandleresque at first, a very “the thing that isn’t said is the most important thing of all” situation. Song is hired by Rubina Gasparian, wealthy daughter of Armenian immigrants and prominent in the Los Angeles Armenian community, to trail her younger cousin Lusig, who agreed to be a surrogate for Rubina and her husband Van. Rubina is worried that Lusig is putting the unborn baby in danger by her activities, at first pretty much drinking or smoking or just the stress from not living a healthy lifestyle, but quickly Song realizes that the stress Rubina is really worried about is from Lusig looking for her missing friend Nora. Rubina never really explicitly at first said for Song to look for Nora, but it becomes clear that to keep Lusig safe from stress (and any other danger), Song has to take over the search.
Nora, a prominent Armenian activist, has been missing for over a month. Nora was very closely involved in an ugly public fight over a monument to the Armenian Genocide that is going to be put up in a park in Los Angeles, with Nora’s website attracting hateful and threatening comments and apparently Nora being stalked as a result. As Song dives down the rabbit hole of activists and genocide deniers, encountering a tangled web of heated century-old arguments, she slowly discovers that there are far more ugly factors at play than people passionate about a monument to the Armenian Genocide and a missing blogger/influencer.
I liked this complex tale, one to the author’s immense credit was skillfully revealed, both maintaining a great pace while never losing me. I appreciated continued character growth for Song, her friend and roommate Lori, and for retiring a plotline began in the first book and continued in the second that I thought really had nowhere to go. Song herself continues to have tremendous personal growth and her life isn’t static either, as she gains and loses people in her life. Several cool set piece scenes, good use of the L.A. setting, interesting and important information about the Armenian Genocide, and the climatic act is really tense and exciting. Definitely a great neo-noirish tale.
February 9, 2021
The third and, unfortunately last of the Juniper Song books. Again, excellent plot involving an Armenian family using a cousin in a surrogate pregnancy. There is a lot going on and a great twist at the end. Hope we can look forward to more of these!
August 5, 2018
Excellent Modern Noir
This is the third in this really good amateur-sleuth-turned-PI series, which stars a young woman in L.A. solving crimes with her dark stained view of the world–and I hope there is more to come in the series. Song takes on the case of a missing woman, which ends up going into strange-town real quick because of the client’s unique situation. She’s hired to find Lusig’s missing friend, a woman outspoken about the Armenian genocide. But the person who actually hires Song is Lusig’s cousin Rubina, because Lusig is Rubina’s surrogate at the moment, and Rubina fears Lusig trying to find what happened to her friend is putting Rubina’s unborn child in danger. Still with me? It’s a complicated family web of drama that is deliciously bonkers while also realistic to how complicated family relationships can be. Song finds herself way over her head, dealing with the clients and the case, as once again Cha wrote a mystery with a massive nod to the noir genre but cemented it very much in the modern world. (I recommend the entire series because I love Juniper Song, and watching her progress from amateur to licensed PI, but this one can be read as a standalone.)
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: http://link.bookriot.com/view/56a8200...
This is the third in this really good amateur-sleuth-turned-PI series, which stars a young woman in L.A. solving crimes with her dark stained view of the world–and I hope there is more to come in the series. Song takes on the case of a missing woman, which ends up going into strange-town real quick because of the client’s unique situation. She’s hired to find Lusig’s missing friend, a woman outspoken about the Armenian genocide. But the person who actually hires Song is Lusig’s cousin Rubina, because Lusig is Rubina’s surrogate at the moment, and Rubina fears Lusig trying to find what happened to her friend is putting Rubina’s unborn child in danger. Still with me? It’s a complicated family web of drama that is deliciously bonkers while also realistic to how complicated family relationships can be. Song finds herself way over her head, dealing with the clients and the case, as once again Cha wrote a mystery with a massive nod to the noir genre but cemented it very much in the modern world. (I recommend the entire series because I love Juniper Song, and watching her progress from amateur to licensed PI, but this one can be read as a standalone.)
--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: http://link.bookriot.com/view/56a8200...
October 23, 2015
The Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and continued through WWI. In total, upwards of 1.5 people were slaughtered. The phases of this genocide included the slaughter of all able-bodied males and later the deportation via death marches of women, children, the elderly and infirmed.
Heavy subject matter for the typically light-hearted Juniper Song mystery series. Author Step Cha definitely dials it up for this one with a plot firmly related to the above-referenced historical event. Twenty-something Korean-American Juniper Song is the least likely person you would go to for help. Examination of her life indicates she cannot even help herself --- zero career prospects, single, lonely, etc.
What Juniper does have is a love of all things crime noir --- specifically LA Noir and the works of Raymond Chandler featuring his Phillip Marlowe character. That drove her to give private investigation a go. She fills out a three-person team that includes her elderly mentor, Chaz, and another investigator named Arturo.
DEAD SOON ENOUGH presents Juniper with her most involved and deadly case yet. A woman named Rubina Gasparian approaches Juniper with an interesting proposal. She wants her cousin, Lusig, followed. Rubina is concerned for her well-being as Lusig is not only pregnant but dealing with the disappearance of her closest friend, Nora.
Nora is far from innocent. She is a volatile personality who throws herself into life and various causes. The latest cause is heading up a group seeking universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Nora has stirred up many Armenian youths, particularly in Southern California, and must have pushed someone's buttons as she suddenly disappeared.
Juniper begins her investigation, but it is far from straight-forward. First off, she learns that Lusig is allegedly carrying the baby as surrogate for Rubina and her husband Van. Juniper also begins to have feelings for a contact she meets up with in regards to her search for Nora, a fellow Korean-American named Robert Parks.
As the case become more and more complex Juniper realizes that she may never find Nora. The situation now is one of survival as her investigation may have put her in danger as well. DEAD SOON ENOUGH deals with serious social and moral issues with ease. It is by far the most impressive novel in this young series. Nice to see Juniper and her creator, Steph Cha, take things to the next level and the result is a mystery series that now needs to be taken seriously.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
Heavy subject matter for the typically light-hearted Juniper Song mystery series. Author Step Cha definitely dials it up for this one with a plot firmly related to the above-referenced historical event. Twenty-something Korean-American Juniper Song is the least likely person you would go to for help. Examination of her life indicates she cannot even help herself --- zero career prospects, single, lonely, etc.
What Juniper does have is a love of all things crime noir --- specifically LA Noir and the works of Raymond Chandler featuring his Phillip Marlowe character. That drove her to give private investigation a go. She fills out a three-person team that includes her elderly mentor, Chaz, and another investigator named Arturo.
DEAD SOON ENOUGH presents Juniper with her most involved and deadly case yet. A woman named Rubina Gasparian approaches Juniper with an interesting proposal. She wants her cousin, Lusig, followed. Rubina is concerned for her well-being as Lusig is not only pregnant but dealing with the disappearance of her closest friend, Nora.
Nora is far from innocent. She is a volatile personality who throws herself into life and various causes. The latest cause is heading up a group seeking universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Nora has stirred up many Armenian youths, particularly in Southern California, and must have pushed someone's buttons as she suddenly disappeared.
Juniper begins her investigation, but it is far from straight-forward. First off, she learns that Lusig is allegedly carrying the baby as surrogate for Rubina and her husband Van. Juniper also begins to have feelings for a contact she meets up with in regards to her search for Nora, a fellow Korean-American named Robert Parks.
As the case become more and more complex Juniper realizes that she may never find Nora. The situation now is one of survival as her investigation may have put her in danger as well. DEAD SOON ENOUGH deals with serious social and moral issues with ease. It is by far the most impressive novel in this young series. Nice to see Juniper and her creator, Steph Cha, take things to the next level and the result is a mystery series that now needs to be taken seriously.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
February 15, 2016
Korean-American PI Juniper Song returns in Author Steph Cha's third novel. This time, the wily Song has been hired by an overprotective parent to watch over the surrogate who's carrying her baby. The surrogate (her cousin) has been behaving strangely and has been stressed out by the disappearance of her best friend, an Armenian-American activist.
Lusig, the surrogate, has been trying to conduct her own investigation into her missing friend', Nora. Nora is a blogger, who frequently writes about the Armenian community and lately she's enflamed some, who don't want to see the new memorial to the Armenian genocide erected in a local Los Angeles neighborhood park.
Lusig suspects something serious has happened to her friend, but being eight months pregnant with her cousin's child has hampered her search into the mystery. Meanwhile the mother-to-be Rubina (Lusig's cousin) is worried for the health and safety of the birth of the upcoming boy. Rubina hires Song first to follow Lusig and later to delve into the mystery in an attempt to get Lusig to calm down and rest.
Once Juniper Song begins investigating the missing girl, things begin to get more dangerous, but potentially more complicated and interesting as well. And, surprisingly, lead to a potential new love interest (an unemployed lawyer) for Song. Things heat up, new factors are introduced as Song works the case, and the story gets more complicated and more personal for the Armenian family.
This is a fast-paced mystery with interesting characters and back story. The only flaw in the entire book comes near the end, when Song is threatened by two thugs who intend to kill her (and then don't). It just doesn't pass the sniff test. However, if readers can overlook this, they'll find a book very much worth reading.
Review first appeared on ReviewingtheEvidence.com.
Lusig, the surrogate, has been trying to conduct her own investigation into her missing friend', Nora. Nora is a blogger, who frequently writes about the Armenian community and lately she's enflamed some, who don't want to see the new memorial to the Armenian genocide erected in a local Los Angeles neighborhood park.
Lusig suspects something serious has happened to her friend, but being eight months pregnant with her cousin's child has hampered her search into the mystery. Meanwhile the mother-to-be Rubina (Lusig's cousin) is worried for the health and safety of the birth of the upcoming boy. Rubina hires Song first to follow Lusig and later to delve into the mystery in an attempt to get Lusig to calm down and rest.
Once Juniper Song begins investigating the missing girl, things begin to get more dangerous, but potentially more complicated and interesting as well. And, surprisingly, lead to a potential new love interest (an unemployed lawyer) for Song. Things heat up, new factors are introduced as Song works the case, and the story gets more complicated and more personal for the Armenian family.
This is a fast-paced mystery with interesting characters and back story. The only flaw in the entire book comes near the end, when Song is threatened by two thugs who intend to kill her (and then don't). It just doesn't pass the sniff test. However, if readers can overlook this, they'll find a book very much worth reading.
Review first appeared on ReviewingtheEvidence.com.
August 18, 2015
This is my favorite Steph Cha novel to date. I seriously couldn't put it down, it was so compelling, exciting, well-researched and all-around interesting. I hope she writes more detective fiction soon!
January 20, 2019
The third and hopefully not last book in this series.
This one was a lot like the second one. Not as much sarcasm from the lead character and the case seemed to hit the same beats. Overall, a solid mystery though that had me guessing til the end.
This one was a lot like the second one. Not as much sarcasm from the lead character and the case seemed to hit the same beats. Overall, a solid mystery though that had me guessing til the end.
October 29, 2019
Armenian genacide blogger is missing Juniper Song is hired. Slow going
February 19, 2018
The Juniper Song book series is written with a contemporary twist that adds dimension to the shadows inherent in a noir mystery story, while still paying homage to the great authors who created a masterful body of works in the genre’s beginnings. This newest book has a case that is a fast paced read. You’ll be intrigued as Private Investigator Juniper Song finds a victim could be found Dead Soon Enough.
Steph Cha writes what she describes as Korean-American feminist noir. I’d add that her Private Investigator novels are mystery filled with thrills. These situations and characters appeal to a broad audience regardless of gender or background. Her books are spiced with thought provoking references to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, and then transcend that epic to make this urban noir her own. Treat yourself to a real action packed PI series with titles Follow Her Home, Beware Beware, and Dead Soon Enough.
In this third book of the series the case concerns the mystery of a woman’s disappearance and the experiences of the Armenian-American community in Los Angeles. The search for the missing woman uncovers her activist embroiled efforts in an ugly and public battle over the erection of an Armenian genocide memorial. While handling the sinister side of Los Angeles, other issues with the client bring up questions surrounding surrogate pregnancy. The investigation also tests Juniper Song’s satisfaction with her noir lifestyle.
This author creates a cast of characters who are all intriguing and fascinating. You really don’t know what they will do next, and the emotions that drive them are described intently and bring a meaningful dimension to the story. We all have beliefs and causes and people that we believe in, and this book explores what people will do for those. What extremes will their actions reach? In the work of this author, she writes so sincerely about raw, human emotion that will have you on the edge of your chair. That creates a fun adventure to read and also presents memorable and haunting ideas.
And if you want to hear more from the author listen on YouTube, iTunes or SoundCloud to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Steph Cha
Steph Cha writes what she describes as Korean-American feminist noir. I’d add that her Private Investigator novels are mystery filled with thrills. These situations and characters appeal to a broad audience regardless of gender or background. Her books are spiced with thought provoking references to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, and then transcend that epic to make this urban noir her own. Treat yourself to a real action packed PI series with titles Follow Her Home, Beware Beware, and Dead Soon Enough.
In this third book of the series the case concerns the mystery of a woman’s disappearance and the experiences of the Armenian-American community in Los Angeles. The search for the missing woman uncovers her activist embroiled efforts in an ugly and public battle over the erection of an Armenian genocide memorial. While handling the sinister side of Los Angeles, other issues with the client bring up questions surrounding surrogate pregnancy. The investigation also tests Juniper Song’s satisfaction with her noir lifestyle.
This author creates a cast of characters who are all intriguing and fascinating. You really don’t know what they will do next, and the emotions that drive them are described intently and bring a meaningful dimension to the story. We all have beliefs and causes and people that we believe in, and this book explores what people will do for those. What extremes will their actions reach? In the work of this author, she writes so sincerely about raw, human emotion that will have you on the edge of your chair. That creates a fun adventure to read and also presents memorable and haunting ideas.
And if you want to hear more from the author listen on YouTube, iTunes or SoundCloud to Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries with Steph Cha
December 6, 2021
I've enjoyed immensely getting into Steph Cha's series starring Yale-educated, LA-based, Korean-American PI Juniper Song. The writing is excellent, Song is a uniquely compelling character, and the plots are all well-crafted. 'Dead Soon Enough' is a fine addition to the set.
This story begins with the recently legitimized PI Song being approached in her office by potential female client Rubina, a beautiful Armenian-American physician, with a job proposal. Rubina is unable to bear children but her cousin Lusig is acting as a surrogate and carrying her child. Rubina and her husband are concerned that Lusig is endangering their future child by making too much of an effort to find her missing friend, another young Armenian woman active in a group attempting to memorialize the 1915 genocide against the Armenians by the Turks. Song accepts the assignment which soon morphs into one that involves not only finding the Lusig's missing friend but also keeping an eye on the very pregnant but chomping-at-the-bit-to-not-be Lusig. LA's finest are also looking for the woman since she'd been receiving death threats but Song has a few advantages that keep her a step ahead. The story moves along quickly and along the way a few shocks are delivered as the layers of the mystery of the woman's disappearance are slowly pealed back. The conclusion isn't a huge shock but Song's rookie mistake near the end almost costs her dearly.
Cha's writing is strong and the world-weary dialogue of the 20-something LA-types that inhabit Dead Soon Enough is both realistic and funny. A bonus here is that readers learn a few details about an important historical occurrence (the Armenian genocide) that is often overlooked or ignored in history books. Dead Soon Enough is a nice, tight mystery that shows Juniper Song's continued growth as a character.
This story begins with the recently legitimized PI Song being approached in her office by potential female client Rubina, a beautiful Armenian-American physician, with a job proposal. Rubina is unable to bear children but her cousin Lusig is acting as a surrogate and carrying her child. Rubina and her husband are concerned that Lusig is endangering their future child by making too much of an effort to find her missing friend, another young Armenian woman active in a group attempting to memorialize the 1915 genocide against the Armenians by the Turks. Song accepts the assignment which soon morphs into one that involves not only finding the Lusig's missing friend but also keeping an eye on the very pregnant but chomping-at-the-bit-to-not-be Lusig. LA's finest are also looking for the woman since she'd been receiving death threats but Song has a few advantages that keep her a step ahead. The story moves along quickly and along the way a few shocks are delivered as the layers of the mystery of the woman's disappearance are slowly pealed back. The conclusion isn't a huge shock but Song's rookie mistake near the end almost costs her dearly.
Cha's writing is strong and the world-weary dialogue of the 20-something LA-types that inhabit Dead Soon Enough is both realistic and funny. A bonus here is that readers learn a few details about an important historical occurrence (the Armenian genocide) that is often overlooked or ignored in history books. Dead Soon Enough is a nice, tight mystery that shows Juniper Song's continued growth as a character.
January 11, 2020
"... in the wake of a homicide, detectives know that if they don't find a lead within the first 48 hours, their chances of solving a case are cut in half."
The First 48.
Nora Mkrtchian has been missing for far longer than that and Steph Cha's Yale graduate with zero to negligible job prospects, Juniper Song is on the case; not to find the missing millennial blogger activist per se, but to watch Nora's friend, Lusig Hovanian, who's the surrogate mother for her cousin, Rubina Gasparian, the woman who hired Song.
... and this is perhaps an eighth of what's going on in Dead Soon Enough, the third installment in the Juniper Song series.
In a departure from the previous two books, Follow Her Home and Beware Beware, Dead Soon Enough tackles the Armrnian genocide; the systematic mass extermination and expulsion of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians within the Ottoman Empire by the Ottoman government from approximately 1914 to 1923.
But while imparting history lessons, Cha doesn't abandon the genre, putting our girl yet again in precarious positions of which she's more inclined to talk her way out, yet still enduring the violent overtures of her foils.
Her Marlowe sensibilities and instincts never leave her.
Although I'm late to the Juniper Song saga, this book was published in 2015, and I can't quite remember how I stumbled upon this (it may be in part to Cha's latest (unrelated to Juniper Song), the fabulous Your House Will Pay), I'm saddened this is the last in the series thus far.
Dead Soon Enough dabbles just enough in international intrigue. Enough to tell us that our troubles are not rooted in social mores that extend outwardly, but the paper thin strands of what we call character within all of us.
"Then one day, I started lying." - Juniper Song
The First 48.
Nora Mkrtchian has been missing for far longer than that and Steph Cha's Yale graduate with zero to negligible job prospects, Juniper Song is on the case; not to find the missing millennial blogger activist per se, but to watch Nora's friend, Lusig Hovanian, who's the surrogate mother for her cousin, Rubina Gasparian, the woman who hired Song.
... and this is perhaps an eighth of what's going on in Dead Soon Enough, the third installment in the Juniper Song series.
In a departure from the previous two books, Follow Her Home and Beware Beware, Dead Soon Enough tackles the Armrnian genocide; the systematic mass extermination and expulsion of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians within the Ottoman Empire by the Ottoman government from approximately 1914 to 1923.
But while imparting history lessons, Cha doesn't abandon the genre, putting our girl yet again in precarious positions of which she's more inclined to talk her way out, yet still enduring the violent overtures of her foils.
Her Marlowe sensibilities and instincts never leave her.
Although I'm late to the Juniper Song saga, this book was published in 2015, and I can't quite remember how I stumbled upon this (it may be in part to Cha's latest (unrelated to Juniper Song), the fabulous Your House Will Pay), I'm saddened this is the last in the series thus far.
Dead Soon Enough dabbles just enough in international intrigue. Enough to tell us that our troubles are not rooted in social mores that extend outwardly, but the paper thin strands of what we call character within all of us.
"Then one day, I started lying." - Juniper Song
January 20, 2023
I wonder if I am questioning Juniper’s ethics more because she is a woman? She has to live with her moral choices and so do I because I look forward to Steph Cha’s next book with Song. I was sorry to see less of Lori Lim in this book and sorry that she is moving out from Song’s apartment to live with her boyfriend. I liked how she took care of Song. Song didn’t take care of her lack of roommate problem in this book but I suspect Lusig will become her new roommate. Rubina hired Song to follow her cousin, Lusig and Song became friends and confidents with Lusig.
Song, thankfully seemed to drink less in this book than in Beware, Beware. Cha also explored the dangers of addiction through her character, Van, Rubina’s husband.
I was glad that Song described her first impression of Chaz in the first book, Follow her Home because he is a respected mentor, friend and father-figure now and I thought I remembered that Song didn’t think much of him in the first novel but she explained it as her naivety not his failing.
Song, thankfully seemed to drink less in this book than in Beware, Beware. Cha also explored the dangers of addiction through her character, Van, Rubina’s husband.
I was glad that Song described her first impression of Chaz in the first book, Follow her Home because he is a respected mentor, friend and father-figure now and I thought I remembered that Song didn’t think much of him in the first novel but she explained it as her naivety not his failing.
March 19, 2018
A podcast with Steph Cha on Kendall & Cooper Talk Mysteries sent me off to read this book--this brilliant snap of LA noir from a Korean-American sleuth's world where it touches on Armenian-American life was one of the best thrillers I've read for a while. Cha doesn't flinch in the face of hard things, like the Armenian genocide in 1915, or surrogate mothers, or alcoholism. She works these through characters who are really alive. And she writes so well--fresh phrases and unexpected comparisons--and she does dialogue so superbly that I'd like to listen to this book. There are stop-in-your tracks moments: "There's only so much you can ignore, I think, and retain a strong sense of yourself." And I loved the mis-allusion to Twin Peaks: "It was like the [crying] dad." "Bad example." I had to smile. An eye-opener, a great read, and I'm glad there are more Juniper Song books for me to read!
January 25, 2020
I can't get enough of Juniper Song. She is a voice for a new generation of detectives and mystery readers. But she is firmly grounded in her appreciation of Phillip Marlowe and all things LA noir.
And the noir foundation is back for the third book in the series, which bounces back nicely from a bit of a sophomore slump the second time around.
An Armenian woman asks Song to investigate the woman's cousin, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy as her surrogate. She wants to make sure nothing is being done that could harm her baby.
But the surrogate's best friend has been missing for a month. And Song is certain she will also end up looking into the disappearance.
It's a complex story told with a unique voice. And I am hoping it is a voice we will hear more.
But Cha has written her break-out book (the critically acclaimed Your House Will Pay) and I fear we may have seen the last of Song. If so, it was a great trilogy and a wonderful introduction to an exciting new author.
And the noir foundation is back for the third book in the series, which bounces back nicely from a bit of a sophomore slump the second time around.
An Armenian woman asks Song to investigate the woman's cousin, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy as her surrogate. She wants to make sure nothing is being done that could harm her baby.
But the surrogate's best friend has been missing for a month. And Song is certain she will also end up looking into the disappearance.
It's a complex story told with a unique voice. And I am hoping it is a voice we will hear more.
But Cha has written her break-out book (the critically acclaimed Your House Will Pay) and I fear we may have seen the last of Song. If so, it was a great trilogy and a wonderful introduction to an exciting new author.
August 12, 2019
After the Storm is an engaging mystery that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Kate Burkholder is a dynamic character with whom readers can identify and respect. Her Amish roots give her a layer of credibility in this story, while her career and relationship with Tomasetti show her to be modern and independent. Kate is a great female lead, deserving of being the main character.
SUMMARY: After a tornado unearths human remains at an abandoned farm in rural northwestern Ohio, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder opens an investigation to identify the remains and solve the crime. What she discovers along the way is both surprising and devastating to those involved. With a mysterious person out to kill her, Kate must figure out if these crimes are related, and get to the bottom of the story before the bullet hits it's target.
SUMMARY: After a tornado unearths human remains at an abandoned farm in rural northwestern Ohio, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder opens an investigation to identify the remains and solve the crime. What she discovers along the way is both surprising and devastating to those involved. With a mysterious person out to kill her, Kate must figure out if these crimes are related, and get to the bottom of the story before the bullet hits it's target.
March 14, 2024
A private detective, Juniper Song, is hired by Rubina to spy on her cousin, Lusig, who is the surrogate for her baby… Rubina wants to ensure Lusig is taking due care and attention whilst carrying the baby. It turns out that Lusig is indeed being the responsible surrogate, but that she is out and about doing some private detective work of her own.
The first twist comes soon after, which ultimately sees Song move in with Rubina, her husband Van, and Lusig, in order to instead find out what has happened to Lusig’s best friend, Nora. Nora ran a blog as a proud Armenian, and was calling out the Armenian Genocide deniers who were protesting a planned memorial. Nora had a stalker, and then… disappeared.
This book was full of unexpected twists and had moments of real humour… I enjoyed it- easy to read, a real page turner, and it ended in a way that didn’t annoy me… worth a read!
The first twist comes soon after, which ultimately sees Song move in with Rubina, her husband Van, and Lusig, in order to instead find out what has happened to Lusig’s best friend, Nora. Nora ran a blog as a proud Armenian, and was calling out the Armenian Genocide deniers who were protesting a planned memorial. Nora had a stalker, and then… disappeared.
This book was full of unexpected twists and had moments of real humour… I enjoyed it- easy to read, a real page turner, and it ended in a way that didn’t annoy me… worth a read!
June 8, 2018
It's a travesty that so many of us are still unaware of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Turks over a century ago. Steph Cha's latest mystery, featuring Korean American private eye, Juniper Song, puts a spotlight on this historical tragedy. Song is called to solve the mystery of a missing Armenian woman who was outspoken about the genocide.
Initially I found the story interesting because of its focus on the history and politics of the genocide. But then I found the pace too slow until halfway through when it finally starts rolling to a fine conclusion.
I enjoy Cha's mysteries because of the LA settings and the main character. Juniper Song is independent and complicated, like a good private eye protagonist should be.
Initially I found the story interesting because of its focus on the history and politics of the genocide. But then I found the pace too slow until halfway through when it finally starts rolling to a fine conclusion.
I enjoy Cha's mysteries because of the LA settings and the main character. Juniper Song is independent and complicated, like a good private eye protagonist should be.
November 7, 2023
Juniper Song is on the case!
There's a missing Armenian gal, but that wasn't why she was hired initially.
Two Armenian doctors are having a baby via surrogate, where the surrogate is the wife's cousin and she has a little more than a month to go...Ruby is the doctor mom, Lusig is the pregnant cousin who's going nuts with how rigid and protective Ruby is.
The missing Armenian gal? Lusig's best friend. AWOL for a month or more.
And then there's the Turkish community, some of whom are against commemoration of the Armenian genocide at the hands of Turkey.
How's this all tie together?
There's a missing Armenian gal, but that wasn't why she was hired initially.
Two Armenian doctors are having a baby via surrogate, where the surrogate is the wife's cousin and she has a little more than a month to go...Ruby is the doctor mom, Lusig is the pregnant cousin who's going nuts with how rigid and protective Ruby is.
The missing Armenian gal? Lusig's best friend. AWOL for a month or more.
And then there's the Turkish community, some of whom are against commemoration of the Armenian genocide at the hands of Turkey.
How's this all tie together?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2017
Another excellent installment, although I wanted a lot more Lori than we got. This one didn't have nearly as much of Song's everyday life fit in around the case as the others did, and while that might have been a result of the choices she made in the last book, I still miss it.
However, Lusig was awesome, and the plot was gripping! I am impressed with how Steph Cha manages to raise the stakes for Song at the end of each book, as well as Song's peculiar brand of practicality, frustrated idealism, and absolute world-weary, I-have-no-fucks-left-to-give-ness.
However, Lusig was awesome, and the plot was gripping! I am impressed with how Steph Cha manages to raise the stakes for Song at the end of each book, as well as Song's peculiar brand of practicality, frustrated idealism, and absolute world-weary, I-have-no-fucks-left-to-give-ness.
January 10, 2023
A very interesting read. I learnt a lot about the Armenian genocide and about Korean culture. However, I still feel there is a lot of mystery. Did Van really die? Is Rubina really this doting wife and where is Nora? All is all it's a decent thriller to read but leaves you thinking what's going to happen next? Song really tried to find Nora. In some parts I thought no! Don't move in or tell criminals she has evidence so her naivety got the best of her. All in all, She put her heart and soul into the job...
February 12, 2022
(2 1/2). This, to me, was a prime example of one of the new styles of mystery/thriller. Very little going on but set up for the first half of the book, a little action and a little excitement the next third or so, and then all hell breaks loose (some hell in this particular instance) the last part of the story. It just doesn’t work that well here. Our protagonist is reasonable, but I guess this style of story is an acquired taste, and I have not yet acquired it. Medium stuff.
October 10, 2020
Juniper gets herself involved in a case to find a missing woman. Nothing is ever easy for her and she discovers secrets of the family that hired her to investigate the woman’s disappearance. This leads her to many directions and pleading for her life. She does meet a guy that she is interested in and makes a new friend.
March 28, 2022
I was sorry when I couldn't find a copy of the 2nd book (Beware, Beware) in the author's Juniper Song mystery series and had to jump ahead to this 3rd one, but I was impressed by how much the writer's skill had improved since the 1st (Follow Her Home). In both books, I enjoyed the Los Angeles local color.
September 24, 2020
This series just keeps getting better and better.
"Lusig," Rubina interjected. "Stop being a snot."
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"Why is it so cool to be a lone wolf, and so lame to be lonely?"
"Lusig," Rubina interjected. "Stop being a snot."
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"Why is it so cool to be a lone wolf, and so lame to be lonely?"
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