China White

The Styvie Savard #1

by Sarah Richards

Styvie Savard was a damn good cop - before she made a mistake that cost her everything. Now she lives in her car, works a dead-end job, and scrapes by on the fumes of a dwindling savings account. Life couldn’t get much worse, until it does. One morning on the way to work, Styvie hits a 16-year-old, Dharma, with her car. When the injured girl flees the scene, Styvie finds that she can’t leave well enough alone.

Propelled by ghosts from her own complicated past, Styvie is determined to find the girl and make things right. In her pursuit, Styvie confronts Dharma’s brother, Jeremy, a violent addict working as a distributor in a fentanyl drug ring; and Dharma’s husband, Glen, who heads a pseudo-Eastern-religious cult.

Styvie becomes obsessed with freeing the teenaged Dharma from Glen’s clutches and bringing Jeremy down. In doing so, she forms a tenuous and clandestine arrangement with her ex-boyfriend, Detective Constable Dennison Lee. Going undercover reignites her love for law enforcement and polishes her rusty sleuthing skills. At first it seems as if she could slide right back into her old life, but when Styvie develops an unshakable bond with Dharma, the lines between right and wrong blur.

In the end, Styvie must make a chase down her old badge and recoup her losses or follow her instinct and save Dharma from a future she doesn’t deserve.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Canada

Audible Audio

Published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I DNF'd a book, but here we are.
This audio was a bit off from the start.
The narrator sounds like she is in her late teens or early 20's at most.
Problem with that is the MC is supposed to be in their 30's or 40's.
Made it weird and difficult to get invested.
The story isn't that great, and I really didn't understand the motivation for almost everything the MC did in this book.
I made it to 61% and gave up.

[Dave Wickenden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Styvie Savard lives in her car on the streets of Vancouver, after losing her job as a cop. When she hits a young teenager who runs from the scene, she is determined to help the girl. Using her past detective skills, she dredges the drug culture of lower Vancouver, but finds the girl is part of something much more dangerous.

This award-winning thriller is extremely fast-paced and with tons of suspense and action. The story I enjoyed. The only drawback was the choice of narrators.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was free on Audible. I live in Québec and previously lived in Vancouver for many years, so it was a treat to have a blend of the two. I delighted in having Styvie drive on my old street one minute, and burst into sacres the next.

That being said, I felt the characters were all inconsistent. Styvie felt like an old and bitter ex-cop sometimes, and totally naive young adult other times. Her investigative style lacked all subtlety and at one point she was doing such a bad job of asking questions undercover that I actually asked out loud, "is she ASKING to get shot?" The other characters were inconsistent as well.

The story was still compelling enough that I kept going and was curious about what would happen next, so it made good background noise while crafting.

The narrator did a good job, aside from the mispronunciation of several place names (Burrard, Chilliwack...heck even Vancouver should be pronounced more like Vangcouver if you've been there for any amount of time. The locals will deny it, but it's true.) I acknowledge that it isn't easy to find someone perfectly bilingual with a sound knowledge of Vancouver.

Anyway, overall, it didn't really do it for me.

[Lisa Macklem · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure what was worse - the story or the narration. The writing is full of pregnant, obvious metaphors. Nouns are smothered. The plot is badly paced and predictable. It's one thing to have a damaged protagonist and quite another for her to be so stupid you hope she will get shot and put all of us out of our misery. Narrators that mispronounce words time and time again, should be corrected by some form of editing/direction/oversight - and possibly look for less challenging material - though it's hard to believe anything could be less challenging than this. Boy. Was this a slog....

[Joanne Spence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure if it was the narrator or the actual story, but this was a difficult listen for me. I have never wanted so much for a story to be finished. So many predictable occurrences in the storyline really did not help.

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, just not for me

[Saharnaz1 Sh1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was eye opening, especially for someone living in Vancouver, it was an important read. It's imperative to know about what's going on in the city you live in, and the amount of darkness that lurks under the skin of this wealthy city shocked me. Made me want to help. That's what a good book does. The only problem I had with the book was that it had cheapened itself by using very unnecessary erotic scenes.

[Marty Solotki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a lot of potential but gets bogged down a few too many times. Our tragic hero is a little too tragic at times, and comes off more as a foolish child than a grown woman struggling with the pressure of her life choices. The ending is touching, but some key moments get rushed or forgotten to get us to said ending.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

China White is an excellent debut novel. It's full of action, keeps you on edge, and is very well written. Plus, it's great Canadian content, taking a deep dive into the grittier side of Vancouver. I also really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Looking forward to Sarah's next novel!

[Enya.reads.books · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’ai beaucoup aimé, mais la fin s’essouffle un peu.
Dharma change un peu trop drastiquement, et il y a d’autres cooccurrences pour « balle » que « dans la tête ».
Je recommande tout de même ! Une écoute très agréable, et Juliette Gosselin, la narratrice, est excellente ! :)

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

**2.5-3**

The book was interesting, but man, the main character was awful. Like, at no point ever within this story did I think that Styvie was ever a "damn good" cop. I did want to know what happened so I finished the book, but it definitely could have used some revising.

[alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending thought *3.5

[Jen Farrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator took away from the book for me.

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually give twos. Unless it is truly terrible, I'll try to be kind and do a three. I can't do that here. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read (or, in this case, listened to) but it didn't quite make it to mediocre. The insufferable characters, the improbable plot and the weirdly florid writing made this a less than compelling experience.
I wanted to like the protagonist, but she was just so stupid. I felt sorry for her at times, but... it was one terrible, ill-conceived decision after another. The ending was so phenomenally stupid that it firmly sealed my 2 rating.
Spoilers, the disgraced ex-cop protagonist runs away with the 16 year-old pregnant street kid/delusional cult member. They hole up in the dead cult leader's cabin, assisted by another underage cultist until the girl had her baby. A few months later, the girl (who, unsurprisingly didn't bond with the child) disappeared/took off without warning, leaving the ex-cop with the baby. In an off-the-grid cabin in the woods. With the actual cops still searching for all of them. Possibly to go start her own cult. (I mean, hopefully to go live her life, but that's really not how it read. The protagonist was determined to see her as a helpless victim, abd although she was certainly victimized, she was also morally ambiguous and demonstrably devious. Yeah, that was another thing. Cult kid was completely insufferable. Occasionally her behavior was believable, but still, ugh.)
Aaargh.
Ok, and this was after a completely horrific scene where the girl molests the ex-cop. I'm not going to elaborate. It was stomach churning.

This was not an enjoyable read.

[Kim Labreche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great listen.  It was great at unfolding the complexities of the characters. People are never only one choice or action.  However, the idea of spending time isolated is a great addition to make things relatable to these pandemic days, the fact that nothing was seen in much character growth or why they would continue isolating.  The ending leaves the future completely wide open for a sequel but hanging with questions like 'why.  Please have a sequel quickly or rearrange the ending

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was so much fun to have all the Vancouver landmarks in this story. And for a debut novel it was captivating enough.

Unfortunately it was rather forgettable and did not need a new metaphor in every single sentence. Full of unlikeable characters and only two female characters who constantly need the men to save them.

In the end they do rely on just each other but not without pointing out how they are only there because of how many times the manipulative male antagonist saved them.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the description of familiar places in Vancouver and Montreal, and I appreciated the sparse placement of french Canadian slang. But I couldn't keep track of who held what in the many fast paced scenes. This must have been a challenging book to narrate, and Juliette Gosselin stepped up better than anyone could.

[Alero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot didn't follow a conventional structure so it was a bit difficult to understand at times. The characters were inconsistent and development always occurred very suddenly through dialogue, which made it hard to take them seriously or root for them. However, loved that it was set in Canada and the descriptions were often well done (albeit overdone, but still alright)

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, compelling, action-packed book. China White is a fresh take on Vancouver, drugs, cults, crime, and homelessness. I love that Styvie is a complex and flawed character, and I became totally immersed in her world. I can't wait for the next book in the series. The narrator had the perfect accent and made for an enjoyable listen.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced and well written! Loved the all Canadian content, particularly the many scenes around Vancouver city. I thought the Narration enhanced the listen and gave it an authentic feel to match the French phrases throughout the book. Touching prologue closes out with one more surprise. Looking forward to more Styvie, and more books in this series.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quick read. Was free on audible and I’ve been reading a lot about fentanyl and opioid crisis so thought I’d give it a try. It wasn’t what I was expecting but there are always a few food lessons to take away if you look hard enough. Didn’t like the ending. The characters were annoying, aside from Dharma who I enjoyed.

[MaryEllen Ruddell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally a good story but the suspense was lacking. Needed punchier sentences and the story took some twists that didn't really add up to suspense.

[Annette · Rating 1 out of 5]

journalistic style writing that leaves nothing to the imagination.

[Fannie Lemay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Easy reading (listening in my case).I loved the fact that it is set in Ontario with references to Montreal where I live.

[Brenda McCorquodale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceeded my expectations, it was cool to have a novel set in Vancouver.

[Victoria Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good but kinda a slower read. theres a lot of shocking moments which i liked. its not really emotional or anything idk it was a decent book. 3.5 stars

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most interesting thing about this novel was that it was set in Canada, which I visited for the first time this year. I love reading a book where I know some of the landmarks.

The actual storyline of "China Whire" puzzled me. Styvie, a disgraced cop who was sent to jail for stealing some of the money in a drug bust, gets involved in the drug scene again after accidentally hitting Ashley, a pregnant 16-year-old who darted in front of her car. Ashley, aka Dharma, has also stolen a large quantity of drug money while feeding her brother’s habit and being the wife to a much older man who leads a cult set up to launder the drug money. If I went to jail for stealing drug money, the last thing I would want to do is become involved in the drug world again.

But Styvie is not known for her brilliance. At one point, she is so aggressive while she is pretending to be interested in Ashley's cult that no real cult would have believed a word out of her mouth. She also briefly hooks up with Dennison, her ex-boyfriend/boss who didn't say a word in her defense when she was arrested and sent to jail. Eventually, Dennison pleads with Styvie to live together again, but Styvie chooses living in her car and fleeing with Ashley to a secluded cabin to hide from the police until Ashley's baby is born. Styvie has no medical experience, but she agrees to deliver Ashley's baby. Then Ashley takes off, leaving Styvie to raise her nameless baby.

Nothing in this novel seemed believable to me.

[Marc Provencher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bon, je viens de terminer l'écoute de ce roman jeunesse. Les plus : de l'action, une bonne enquête, des passage presque choquants. Les moins: des personnages instables, quelques longueurs, une fin qui s'éternise. Bref, c'était bon mais je n'ai pas eu de Wow. C'est le premier d'une série, que je ne poursuivrai pas. Je lui donne un 3/5. La narratrice cependant est excellente!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am marking this book as finished although in all honesty this is more of a DNF. This book lost me pretty well from the beginning. I trudged through it to “finish” but half of it i was barely paying attention. This could have been so much better.

[Katherine B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh the similes in this book made it almost painful to read. They got worse as I got further into the book. Considered DNF but leaving it unfinished felt like quitting a race one step from the finish line 😬