Ovidia Yu Books In Order

Publication Order of Crown Colony / Su Lin Books

Publication Order of Singaporean Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Playwright Omnibus Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Ovidia Yu, born in the year 1961 in Singapore to a middle class family. Her mom was a teacher and her dad was a doctor. Yu went to Methodist Girls’ School, where her mom taught, and started to love writing and reading at an early age. She quickly became interested in the characters that she read about and continued their stories in sequels that she would write. She began writing short stories of her own by the time she was just ten years old.

Despite the interest she has in liberal arts, her parents and friends at school pressured her into becoming a doctor. She went to National University of Singapore, pursuing a medical degree, but quickly dropped out after finding out it was not the path she actually wanted to go. After she dropped out, she pursued literature instead. She got a master’s degree, later a PhD from Cambridge University.

Before Yu was a full time writer, she wrote manuals for machinery as well as scripts for corporate training videos to make a living.

She is one of the best-known and most acclaimed writers in all of Singapore. Yu is considered to be one of Singapore’s first feminist writers, and still writes thought-provoking novels and plays. She also enjoys writing strong females, and thinks that writing these strong characters as female is going to better communicate her message across both nationalities and cultures. She has had over thirty plays produced, and has had many mysteries that have been published in both India and Singapore.

Yu’s work is from the genres of cozy mystery and historical mystery. She writes the “Crown Colony” series, and the “Singaporean Mystery” series, as well as a novella and stand alone novel.

Yu is also a playwright, and one of her plays, called “Hitting (on) Women”, explores her experiences as a gay woman. She uses this part of her life to fuel parts of her writing.

Yu suffers from epilepsy and takes many notes around with her to counter any lapses in memory she may have. These notes are used for her writing, as she gets quite a few of her ideas for her plays and stories by observing people while they go about their everyday lives. While not writing, she volunteers at the ASPCA on a weekly basis and practices yoga daily.

“Aunty Lee’s Delights” is the first novel in the “Singaporean Mystery” series, which was released in the year 2013. Rosie “Aunty” Lee is a feisty amateur sleuth, and proprietor of Singapore’s best-loved home-cooking restaurant.

After Rosie Lee lost her husband, she could have become one of Singapore’s “tai tai”, an idle rich woman. Instead she builds a culinary empire from Aunty Lee’s Delights, her restaurant, where spicy Singaporean meals are served graciously to tourists and locals alike. A body is found in one of Singapore’s tourist havens and one of Aunty’s guests fails to show up to a dinner party, Aunty Lee is certain that the two events are most likely connected to each other.

The murder and disappearance throws Mark (Aunty’s henpecked stepson), Selina (his social climber wife), a gay couple whose love remains illegal in Singapore, and an elderly Australian tourist couple whose visit could have a deeper purpose together. Investigating this case are Raja (Police Commissioner) and Salim (Staff Sergeant), who soon find that Aunty’s sharp nose for intrigue is able to sniff clues out that elude law enforcers.

“Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials” is the second novel in the “Singaporean Mystery” series, which was released in the year 2014. Few people know more about the goings on in Singapore than Aunty Lee herself. A scandal over illegal organ donation that involves prominent citizens hits the news, she has already got a list of suspects made up. There is no time to devote to snooping, however, because Aunty Lee’s Delights is catering a brunch for some local socialites Mabel and Henry at their palatial house.

Rumor is that the Sung’s fortune is in trouble, and Aunty wonders if this could be true. Quickly after getting to the Sung’s her curiosity turns into suspicion. Why is a storage house she finds locked up? What could the couple be arguing about behind closed doors? Where is the guest of honor, seeing as how they never showed up?

Mabel Sung and Leonard, her son, are found dead. The authorities are blaming it on Aunty Lee’s special stewed chicken with buah keluak, which is a local black nut that is poisonous if it is cooked improperly. Aunty Lee has never once carelessly prepared a dish. She is certain that the deaths are murder, and somehow, they are linked to the organ donor scandal.

To save both her reputation and business, she has to prove it. As well as unmask a dangerous killer whose next victim could very well be Aunty Lee herself.

“Aunty Lee’s Chilled Revenge” is the third novel in the “Singaporean Mystery” series, which was released in the year 2016. Aunty Lee, who is slightly hobbled by a twisted ankle, reluctantly agrees to take a break from running her famous cafe, and turns operations to Cherril, her friend and new business partner.

The cafe is a meeting place for an animal rescue society that Cherril used to support. They had to dissolve three years ago after some British expat killed the puppy she had adopted, which sparked a firestorm of scandal. Allison Fitzgerald, the expat, left Singapore in disgrace, but has come back with a lawsuit as well as an ax to grind.

At the cafe during one afternoon, Cherril gets word that Allison has been found dead inside her hotel with foul play being suspected. A veterinarian, also involved in the scandal, is found dead too, suspicion quickly falls on the animal activists. What began with an internet witch hunt just ended in murder and in this tightly knit, law-and-order society such as Singapore, everybody is on edge.

Before anybody else ends up hurt, and to save her business, Aunty Lee has to get to the bottom of what actually happened three years ago. She also has to find out who she can trust inside this tangled web of lies and scandal.

One Response to “Ovidia Yu”

1. Betty Chamberlin: 7 months ago

   Will there be another Sui Lin book soon? I love this compelling series!

   Reply