Historical fantasy
The Fox Wife
Yangsze Choo is back at Book of the Month – other BOTMs include The Night Tiger.
Get your first book for $5 with code PETALS at checkout.
Join today!Yangsze Choo is back at Book of the Month – other BOTMs include The Night Tiger.
Taking inspiration from Chinese folklore, this winter tale follows a fox seeking revenge in the dangerous world of men.
400+ pages
Multiple viewpoints
Nonlinear timeline
International
Manchuria, 1908.
In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach―until, perhaps, now.
Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change―or does it?
Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.
From the very first pages of this novel, when I met the lovely, enigmatic—and clearly dangerous—Snow, I was entranced by her and her mysterious quest. The setting is fascinating—a winter-gripped Manchuria in the beginning of the twentieth century, being carved up by the Japanese and Russians. It is not a world I had encountered before, and it is portrayed vividly, interweaving history, myth, and magic beautifully.
Snow’s adventures will keep readers glued to the page as she works as a maidservant in the home of a rich Chinese medicine-seller’s family. She exudes a magical attraction that causes the wrong people to fall in love with her, and this lands her, as you might imagine, in heaps of trouble. All the while, she is being pursued by a tenacious detective, Bao, who is hot on the trail of a mysterious murder—and who has long been fascinated by the tales of supernatural foxes. But he’s not the only person following her. Who are those two handsome, mysterious men that Snow is trying to avoid?
Yangsze Choo is a consummate storyteller. When she finally reveals the secret behind Snow’s vengeful quest, I was shocked and deeply touched. I am convinced that readers, even those coming to Choo’s work for the first time, will be fascinated and satisfied by this unusual novel, at once human and magical.
Alexandra O.
Honolulu, HI
What a well thought out story! I loved every moment of it. From the premise to the history to the fantasy of it all, and even happily surprised with suspense! The characters are lovable too ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Zaria M.
Dade City, FL
This has a slow start to it but it is such a great book!! The way everything began to piece together and make sense was literally perfect and I grew to love these characters so much 🥹⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Isabella P.
Hudson, OH
4/5 ⭐️ Somehow this book had multiple murder mysteries, mourning a child, and a lost love while also having funny, charming, and magical moments throughout the story and I loved every part of it 🩷
Kayla W.
Champaign, IL
The Fox Wife is the most surprising book I’ve read so far this year. Based on the description, I expected something much more serious, so I was pleasantly surprised that The Fox Wife was fun/hilarious
Marty G.
Kennesaw, GA
This book captivated me from the first page! The way the author describes the characters’ thoughts and feelings is really immersive and hauntingly beautiful. So much rereading potential with this book