Delightful Whodunit

Looking for a light local read over the holidays? Try Ovidia Yu's historical mystery novel The Frangipani Tree Mystery. Set in 1930s Singapore, the story centres on Chen Su Lin, a sprightly 16-year-old Peranakan orphan with an unusual head for solving mysteries.

Working as a housekeeper for police inspector Thomas Le Froy, she gets a chance to put her passion to practice when an Irish nanny at the British governor's mansion is found dead.

Yu writes with charm and ease, with little feminist asides to boot.