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CRÈME DE LA CRIME: PI Romy & The Have-Haves
Romy smiled disarmingly at the Datin. But with her Versace shades still firmly on and her Cassey Gan mask drawn equally firmly across her face, it was akin to trying to make eye contact with a ninja…
PI Romy is a small-time detective, working the angles to cari makan in a KL on the brink of dystopia because of Covid.
Plagued by the demons of his own past, he stolidly bumbles along through life in his socially awkward way, beguiled yet bemused by the antics of his atas clients, whom he describes to himself as ‘double confirm weird laidat.’
Distinctively Malaysian in essence and locale, the PI Romy detective stories are a nostalgic and irreverent glimpse into the cultural melting pot of 20th century Malaysia in a 21st century setting.
PI Romy is a small-time detective, working the angles to cari makan in a KL on the brink of dystopia because of Covid.
Plagued by the demons of his own past, he stolidly bumbles along through life in his socially awkward way, beguiled yet bemused by the antics of his atas clients, whom he describes to himself as ‘double confirm weird laidat.’
Distinctively Malaysian in essence and locale, the PI Romy detective stories are a nostalgic and irreverent glimpse into the cultural melting pot of 20th century Malaysia in a 21st century setting.
240 pages, Paperback
Published December 24, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 18, 2022
"If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?" The attendant assumed a conversational tone.
Romy thought for a moment before answering slowly, "Correct."
First and foremost, thank you so much @untitledbc and @bukufixi for choosing me to read and review this book for the bookstagram tour! It's such a delightful experience.
Crème De La Crime is a compilation of muder-mystery short-stories about a private investigator named PI Romy with his clients, whose are the have-haves (rich) people. When busying himself with his clients, he's also haunted by his past as an army.
PI Romy, well... for me, he's an interesting character. He got that "ada aku kesah?" attitude despite being an intelligent and witty character. I really like his character so much.
I found myself really enjoyed reading this book since it's such a light read and the storylines are so *chef's kiss*. It made me laugh because of PI Romy's sarcastic characteristic and in the same time, I need to guess who's the real culprit for each story so when PI Romy revealed the culprits, I'm just like... "Darn it! My guess is wrong!"
The background situation of CoViD-19's era make this book became more realistic too, of how some people's struggling with their economy in this new norm.
My favourite chapters in this book would definitely be 'PI Romy Lets The Cat Out Of Bag and PI Romy and The Road Less Taken' since the plot twists are umph! Mamma Mia😤🤌🏻✨! Not gonna lie, Crème De La Crime is undoubtedly be my new favourite book compilation of murder-mystery short stories!
Oh yeah! I almost forgot about the cute illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai! It's so cute until my eyes glued to the illustration pages. Go check his art page at @senirayyan !
Will I recommend this book? Yes, of course! Especially to all murder-mystery lovers out there!
Rate: 4🌟
—Feyssa, Your-Not-So-Have-Haves-Girl.
Romy thought for a moment before answering slowly, "Correct."
First and foremost, thank you so much @untitledbc and @bukufixi for choosing me to read and review this book for the bookstagram tour! It's such a delightful experience.
Crème De La Crime is a compilation of muder-mystery short-stories about a private investigator named PI Romy with his clients, whose are the have-haves (rich) people. When busying himself with his clients, he's also haunted by his past as an army.
PI Romy, well... for me, he's an interesting character. He got that "ada aku kesah?" attitude despite being an intelligent and witty character. I really like his character so much.
I found myself really enjoyed reading this book since it's such a light read and the storylines are so *chef's kiss*. It made me laugh because of PI Romy's sarcastic characteristic and in the same time, I need to guess who's the real culprit for each story so when PI Romy revealed the culprits, I'm just like... "Darn it! My guess is wrong!"
The background situation of CoViD-19's era make this book became more realistic too, of how some people's struggling with their economy in this new norm.
My favourite chapters in this book would definitely be 'PI Romy Lets The Cat Out Of Bag and PI Romy and The Road Less Taken' since the plot twists are umph! Mamma Mia😤🤌🏻✨! Not gonna lie, Crème De La Crime is undoubtedly be my new favourite book compilation of murder-mystery short stories!
Oh yeah! I almost forgot about the cute illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai! It's so cute until my eyes glued to the illustration pages. Go check his art page at @senirayyan !
Will I recommend this book? Yes, of course! Especially to all murder-mystery lovers out there!
Rate: 4🌟
—Feyssa, Your-Not-So-Have-Haves-Girl.
January 20, 2022
“Papa, that’s a fine-looking log.”
“It’s a crocodile, Aiman.”
‘Crème de la Crime: PI Romy & The Have-Haves’ by Ellina Abdul Majid, consists of 9 short stories about a private investigator helping his clients.
It was a light and easy read which dragged me out of my reading slump which I’m thankful for.
I really enjoyed the author’s style of writing and the Malaysian elements that was creatively curated in this book, such as “Spanish flies”. The illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai is simple and adorable, especially the cats!
Although it was a short book, every word written pulls me in deeper with its suspense and humour. My favourite chapters would be the ‘PI Romy & Cirque Du Solek’ and ‘PI Romy Sees The Big Picture’. There were some plot twists I wasn’t expecting and I enjoyed them. The characters were interesting, especially the main, PI Romy. The conversations he holds and his thought processes. He seemed like a fun person and I’m sure he loves his son a lot, always thinking about him, which is lovely.
I liked how the author ended the story with a poem alongside its backstory.
I think it was the perfect ending.
Thank you! 🦔🌻
“It’s a crocodile, Aiman.”
‘Crème de la Crime: PI Romy & The Have-Haves’ by Ellina Abdul Majid, consists of 9 short stories about a private investigator helping his clients.
It was a light and easy read which dragged me out of my reading slump which I’m thankful for.
I really enjoyed the author’s style of writing and the Malaysian elements that was creatively curated in this book, such as “Spanish flies”. The illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai is simple and adorable, especially the cats!
Although it was a short book, every word written pulls me in deeper with its suspense and humour. My favourite chapters would be the ‘PI Romy & Cirque Du Solek’ and ‘PI Romy Sees The Big Picture’. There were some plot twists I wasn’t expecting and I enjoyed them. The characters were interesting, especially the main, PI Romy. The conversations he holds and his thought processes. He seemed like a fun person and I’m sure he loves his son a lot, always thinking about him, which is lovely.
I liked how the author ended the story with a poem alongside its backstory.
I think it was the perfect ending.
Thank you! 🦔🌻
January 17, 2022
✨Crème De La Crime✨
4⭐️
Thank you to the courtesy of UntitledBC & Buku Fixi for the bookstagram tour & book. This is my first fixi nivel I've ever own. I've read fixi novels before but they belongs to my friends or juniors in high school. I am very thrilled to read this because it is a crime genre.
"In the end, all we have is each other"
What I love
❤️ This book have 9 short stories with different murder cases accompanied with cute illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai. The settings of the book is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during Covid 🤣
❤️The author, Ellina Abdul Majid did a great job writing this book because the plot for every book is so interesting with a twist in it. It is such a light read filled with Malaysian vibes. It also have mixture of Malay and English in the book which makes it more interesting and fun.
❤️ The cute illustration by Rayyan Irfan Chai helps a lot in making the book interesting. The drawing itself are so unique and I love it so much. It also did an amazing job to portray the stories accordingly.
❤️ The Have-Haves are the rich people, so you can see all sort of brands mention here and the riches personality varies from one another 🤣
Overall, I love this and I could binge reading it in one day but I purposely skip the last chapter just to do an Instagram live. ❤️❤️
4⭐️
Thank you to the courtesy of UntitledBC & Buku Fixi for the bookstagram tour & book. This is my first fixi nivel I've ever own. I've read fixi novels before but they belongs to my friends or juniors in high school. I am very thrilled to read this because it is a crime genre.
"In the end, all we have is each other"
What I love
❤️ This book have 9 short stories with different murder cases accompanied with cute illustrations by Rayyan Irfan Chai. The settings of the book is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during Covid 🤣
❤️The author, Ellina Abdul Majid did a great job writing this book because the plot for every book is so interesting with a twist in it. It is such a light read filled with Malaysian vibes. It also have mixture of Malay and English in the book which makes it more interesting and fun.
❤️ The cute illustration by Rayyan Irfan Chai helps a lot in making the book interesting. The drawing itself are so unique and I love it so much. It also did an amazing job to portray the stories accordingly.
❤️ The Have-Haves are the rich people, so you can see all sort of brands mention here and the riches personality varies from one another 🤣
Overall, I love this and I could binge reading it in one day but I purposely skip the last chapter just to do an Instagram live. ❤️❤️
January 11, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed the quirkiness and familiarity of these very Malaysian characters. PI Romy is such a delight and to navigate each case had me laughing out loud along the way. A must read!
July 22, 2022
very humorous and very malaysian
January 19, 2022
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝟰 ⭐
“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙠 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙩, 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”
*
𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙳𝙴 𝙻𝙰 𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙼𝙴: 𝙿𝙸 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚢 & 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎-𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜 is a collection of nine short stories about a private detective and his clients. I ended up reading this book in one sitting throughout the entire book.
*
One thing I'd like to mention out is that all nine stories aren't simply about murder and investigation; the author has included real-life situations like Covid-19. As a result, the story becomes livelier. The scenes in which the main character sighs or seems frustrated over the Covid-19 restrictions 😷
On a side note, I'd really like to remark just how I appreciate the diversity in this book. As a Malaysian, I appreciate that almost every race is represented in the book 🇲🇾
*
My personal favorite pieces from this collection have been Pi Romy lets the cat out of the bag and Pi Romy goes behind the scenes. The moments with the sidekick characters were entertaining. In addition, the drawings brought a sense of joy to the story ✨
“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝘿𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙠 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙩, 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”
*
𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙳𝙴 𝙻𝙰 𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙼𝙴: 𝙿𝙸 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚢 & 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎-𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜 is a collection of nine short stories about a private detective and his clients. I ended up reading this book in one sitting throughout the entire book.
*
One thing I'd like to mention out is that all nine stories aren't simply about murder and investigation; the author has included real-life situations like Covid-19. As a result, the story becomes livelier. The scenes in which the main character sighs or seems frustrated over the Covid-19 restrictions 😷
On a side note, I'd really like to remark just how I appreciate the diversity in this book. As a Malaysian, I appreciate that almost every race is represented in the book 🇲🇾
*
My personal favorite pieces from this collection have been Pi Romy lets the cat out of the bag and Pi Romy goes behind the scenes. The moments with the sidekick characters were entertaining. In addition, the drawings brought a sense of joy to the story ✨
January 31, 2022
I throughly enjoyed this book. I read one story a day. In total there are nine stories. Each of it is unique in its way. Some parts were filled with sarcasm; whereas some with humour. My favourite chapter was PI Romy goes behind the scenes. That chapter had me at the edge of my seat. Oh and I loved the illustrations too, by Rayyanirfanchai . They were simple and cute! 😍
Overall, this book is a must read by fellow Malaysians (and of course the rest) as it perfectly captures the livelihood of people during Covid times. Especially amidst the political turmoils we faced (and unfortunately still ongoing) during those unprecedented times.🥲
‘There was something reassuringly normal about having a teh tarik. Like, at the end of the day, everything would somehow be okeh.’ ~ My absolute fav line from book. (The tea lover in me is beaming with joy😊)
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Untitled and Bukufixi for sending me this book in an exchange for honest review and also for including me in the book tour.
Overall, this book is a must read by fellow Malaysians (and of course the rest) as it perfectly captures the livelihood of people during Covid times. Especially amidst the political turmoils we faced (and unfortunately still ongoing) during those unprecedented times.🥲
‘There was something reassuringly normal about having a teh tarik. Like, at the end of the day, everything would somehow be okeh.’ ~ My absolute fav line from book. (The tea lover in me is beaming with joy😊)
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Untitled and Bukufixi for sending me this book in an exchange for honest review and also for including me in the book tour.
May 15, 2025
I had fun reading this, truly. Chuckled here and there when I got transported back to good old MCO days by some of the jabs peppering the tales. Glad I'm old enough to get most of the pop references too!
January 13, 2022
A wonderful read! Witty and compelling, it is a fresh take on a very current Kuala Lumpur and the different layers of society that inhabits it. Highly recommended read!
April 2, 2022
Fun, funny and thrilling
March 21, 2024
A good start, mediocre middle, an underwhelming ending
April 8, 2022
Wish I could love this more, but sadly I couldn't.
Crème de la Crime follows the story a local private detective, who goes by the name PI Romy. The book is told in nine chapters, each chapter covering different cases solved by PI Romy.
I admit that I was intrigued when I first started reading this book. The premise of the crimes mostly have much potential, but the way PI Romy solved the cases often feels a bit anti-climatic to me. In most of the cases he solved, it seems that he’s solving it all on his own, not including the readers into the investigation.
I did enjoy the case where PI Romy went through an casting session, and one by one the crew starts dying mysteriously, but again, the way it concludes is a bit of a disappointment.
Although I can say this book is very Malaysian (probably the best part of the book), I can’t find myself to like PI Romy’s character himself. He’s a morally grey character, but not in the way I’m able to appreciate it.
I also don’t like the fact that the word ‘jakun’ is being used as an insult. It’s a racial slur that people often misuse, not bothering to care the fact that Jakun is actually the name of a local ethnic group of Orang Asli (indigenous people). I’m unsure if it’s meant to be a satire, since a lot of ignorant people still use it as a slur/insult, but it still bothers me.
I do however enjoy the illustrations throughout the stories, although it’s a bit bizarre for a 9-year old to be drawing gruesome murder scenes 😳 And there are parts where I find myself agreeing to PI Romy’s thoughts, such as how ridiculous and obnoxious politicians and rich people can be.
Overall, reading Crème de la Crime certainly opened my eyes to a few things. Even though I was not able to enjoy this book to the most, feel free to pick up this book if you’re into mystery with a not-so-noble main character ✨
Thank you Untitled. Book Club & Buku Fixi for collaborating and sending me this book to be reviewed!
Crème de la Crime follows the story a local private detective, who goes by the name PI Romy. The book is told in nine chapters, each chapter covering different cases solved by PI Romy.
I admit that I was intrigued when I first started reading this book. The premise of the crimes mostly have much potential, but the way PI Romy solved the cases often feels a bit anti-climatic to me. In most of the cases he solved, it seems that he’s solving it all on his own, not including the readers into the investigation.
I did enjoy the case where PI Romy went through an casting session, and one by one the crew starts dying mysteriously, but again, the way it concludes is a bit of a disappointment.
Although I can say this book is very Malaysian (probably the best part of the book), I can’t find myself to like PI Romy’s character himself. He’s a morally grey character, but not in the way I’m able to appreciate it.
I also don’t like the fact that the word ‘jakun’ is being used as an insult. It’s a racial slur that people often misuse, not bothering to care the fact that Jakun is actually the name of a local ethnic group of Orang Asli (indigenous people). I’m unsure if it’s meant to be a satire, since a lot of ignorant people still use it as a slur/insult, but it still bothers me.
I do however enjoy the illustrations throughout the stories, although it’s a bit bizarre for a 9-year old to be drawing gruesome murder scenes 😳 And there are parts where I find myself agreeing to PI Romy’s thoughts, such as how ridiculous and obnoxious politicians and rich people can be.
Overall, reading Crème de la Crime certainly opened my eyes to a few things. Even though I was not able to enjoy this book to the most, feel free to pick up this book if you’re into mystery with a not-so-noble main character ✨
Thank you Untitled. Book Club & Buku Fixi for collaborating and sending me this book to be reviewed!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews