Review: Before You Were Anne (by Emiko Jean)

My Rating: 4 stars 

This is the sequel to Emiko Jean’s bestselling mystery / thriller / suspense novel The Return of Ellie Black, which I read when it came out back in 2024 not knowing that it was the start of a series.  In that book, we were introduced to Detective Chelsey Calhoun, a small-town cop from Washington State with a passion for solving missing person cases due to her own personal experience with her sister’s disappearance many years ago.  As I mentioned in my review of that book, I absolutely loved the fact that the main protagonist Chelsey is a strong, smart, competent, no-nonsense cop who holds her own time and time again in a cut-throat profession that is not always kind to a woman of color like herself.  I mean, how often do we see an Asian female as a kick-ass lead detective (in a mainstream mystery/thriller) who is the one doing the heroic work of saving lives rather than merely being a sidekick (often to a male detective who is usually the “hero” of the story).  Given how much I loved Chelsey as a character, I was of course thrilled to be able to read more about her in Jean’s newest release, Before You Were Anne, even though I will admit that I was caught a bit off guard because I thought Ellie Black was a stand-alone novel and had no idea it was the start of a series until recently.  When it comes to series, especially ones with the same characters that continue the previous book’s storyline, I usually prefer to read the books back-to-back one right after the other rather than spread out over long periods of time because I have a bad memory and especially can’t remember details unless it’s fresh in my mind.  In this case, since I last read Ellie Black 2 years ago, I would’ve liked to re-read it before picking up the sequel, but given all the other books I have on my list to get through (this has been a phenomenal year for books, to the point that I’m still working my way through a ginormous summer and fall reading list that I’m determined to finish before the year is over), of course this was not possible.  Regardless though, I still enjoyed being reunited with Chelsey, who is now married and expecting her first child with husband Noah.  Chelsey has moved on from the small-town of Coldwell and is now a lead detective in the Seattle police department, partnering up with Detective Montoya whom she met while working the Ellie Black case.  As the Japanese daughter of white parents who adopted her when she was a baby, Chelsey’s struggles with her identity run deep, but now that she is expecting a daughter of her own, understanding her past and where she came from is even more critical for her.  So when she and Montoya are assigned a new case involving a murdered Japanese woman named Rika Takahashi (who went by the alias Anne Walker) and her missing sixteen-year-old daughter Naomi, it hits a little too close to home for Chelsey, who becomes more invested in the case than she bargained for.

I don’t want to give too much away, since it’s important to go into this one knowing as little as possible, so I’ll keep the details brief.  Overall though, I felt this sequel was very well done and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first book.  I especially appreciate the nuanced way that Jean continues to portray Chelsey – while she is still the kick-ass cop from the first book, we also get to see the vulnerable side of her, specifically in her relationship with her family, which is somewhat strained due to some things that happened in the first book as well as the circumstances around her adoption, which are finally brought to light in this book.  I also really like the way Chelsey’s partnership with Montoya was built on mutual respect and admiration for each other’s abilities, but most importantly, how they are portrayed as equals who trust each other and work well together as a cohesive unit.  This was especially refreshing because the default with stories like this that feature a male/female cop partnership usually involves some type of romantic entanglement trope or some form of insurmountable tension / conflict stemming from gender disparity.

Emiko Jean is quickly becoming a favorite author for me, as I’ve read three of her books so far and enjoyed all of them.  In exploring her backlist, it’s obvious to me that Jean has range as an author, as she writes across multiple genres – from YA to fantasy to romance and now mystery/thriller/suspense.  While I’m most interested in her mystery/thriller series, I also read her stand-alone romance Mika in Real Life, which I also loved, so I’m keen on trying her other books as well, which should hold me over until the next installment of the Chelsey Calhoun series comes out (based on how the sequel ended, I’m pretty sure there will be more books) – I just hope I won’t have to wait too long for it!

Received ARC from Simon and Schuster via NetGalley.

Review: The Return of Ellie Black (by Emiko Jean)

 My Rating: 4 stars

This book came onto my radar because I had read Emiko Jean’s previous contemporary / romance novel Mika in Real Life and loved it.  If Jean’s name sounds familiar, that’s because she also wrote the popular YA series Tokyo Ever After.  Now with The Return of Ellie Black, Jean takes on the mystery / suspense / thriller genre through the case of Elizabeth Black, a missing girl who reappears out of the blue after disappearing without a trace two years ago from a town in Washington.  Ellie’s case is being handled by Detective Chelsey Calhoun, a small-town cop whose passion for solving missing person cases stems from her own sister’s disappearance 20 years ago.  Chelsey sets about investigating what happened to Ellie, but the task proves to be more difficult than anticipated due to Ellie’s refusal to cooperate.  When links to other missing girls start to surface -- some of whom, like Ellie, might still be alive – the urgency to solve the case reaches fever pitch.  But with Ellie not cooperating, will Chelsey crack the case in time to prevent other girls from being taken as well?

This is a story that surprised me in many ways.  First (and most important) is the fact that this is definitely NOT another one of those run-of-the-mill thrillers with a helpless (and usually stereotypically drawn) female protagonist at its center who is eventually saved by some guy in uniform (and maybe they live happily ever after if a romantic attraction is thrown in there somewhere).  Instead, this story deals with many real-life issues that we continue to face in our society on a daily basis -- toxic relationships, discrimination of all types (i.e. race, gender, class), misogyny, racism, dysfunctional families, police corruption, class distinctions (i.e. rich versus poor), etc. – in a way that gave the story depth (which meant that, at times, I forgot that I was reading a thriller).  The narrative alternates between the third person perspective (where we get to “hear from” various characters in the story, though mostly from Chelsey) interspersed with a first person “confession” of sorts from Ellie herself, where she recounts in detail everything that happened to her.  For me, this type of narrative (alternating between different voices) can be a bit of a hit or miss, but in this instance, it was done in a way that made sense and also didn’t feel jarring.  In terms of the plot, this one was particularly well done in the sense that I was truly kept at edge of my seat and most significantly, I actually didn’t see any of the twists and turns coming.  I mention this because I’ve read my fair share of mysteries / thrillers over the years where I’m usually able to figure everything out by the halfway point, but that was definitely not the case here – I was genuinely surprised by how things turned out, not to mention all my guesses ended up being wrong (not a bad thing at all when it comes to thrillers). 

Having said all that though, what I loved most about this book was the main protagonist (Detective Chelsey Calhoun).  It’s not lost on me how rare it is to have the main character of a mainstream mystery (thriller/suspense) novel be a strong, smart, competent, kick-ass, no nonsense cop who is both female and Asian (full Japanese, not mixed race).  And yes, it is Chelsey (as the lead detective on the case) who “saves the day” throughout the story, including at the end (I’m proud to admit that I cheered each time Chelsey triumphed, lol).  Most importantly though, Chelsey came across as a real-life person – someone who has her own vulnerabilities and insecurities (especially in her personal relationships) while also having to deal with the realities that come with being female and Asian in a cut-throat profession where she has to fight like hell to prove herself every step of the way.

Emiko Jean is an author whom I’m glad to have discovered and whose backlist I’m happy to explore.  I admire authors who are able to write across multiple genres and so far, based on what I’ve read of her work, Jean seems to have talent in this area.  I hope to read more of her work soon.

Received ARC from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley.

 

Review: Mika in Real Life (by Emiko Jean)

My Rating:  4.5 stars





What a delightful read!  In her newest book, author Emiko Jean brings us a poignant yet ultimately uplifting story about a woman who, after experiencing trauma and setbacks in her life, goes on a path of self-discovery that helps her to overcome her insecurities as well as better understand who she is "in real life."  

Mika Suzuki's life can only be described as "a mess" — she keeps getting fired from job after job, her love life is in shambles after a bad breakup with her latest boyfriend, she has a strained relationship with her traditional Japanese parents whom she can't help but perpetually disappoint, and she lives in a messy house with a potentially cracked ceiling that belongs to her eccentric but lovable best friend Hana (who, by the way, may or may not be a hoarder).  Oh and she's also broke and, as much as she hates doing it, has to repeatedly borrow money from her parents for basic daily necessities.  It is at this time, when she is at the lowest point of her life, that she receives a surprising phone call that catches her completely off guard — the call is from Penny, the daughter she had placed for adoption sixteen years ago.  Penny wants to get to know her birth mother (which is something Mika secretly yearns for as well) and so the two of them start slow, with phone calls and video calls every couple days.  In her curiosity about Mika's life, Penny asks a lot of questions, but Mika isn't keen on letting her daughter know about the sorry state of her own miserable existence, so she decides to embellish the facts about her life just a little.  But one lie leads to another and soon, Mika has fabricated an entire life that is opposite of the one she is actually living.  When Penny tells Mika that she wants to fly to Oregon (Penny and her adoptive father Thomas live in Ohio) to meet her, Mika panics — but luckily, her devoted friends come to the rescue and help her turn the fake life she created into a reality.  Will Mika be able to sustain these lies throughout the entire visit or will things eventually blow up in her face?  More importantly, what will become of the newfound but fragile relationship with her daughter? 

I honestly didn't expect this story to grab me as much as it did.  I'm usually not tremendously keen on romances (which I erroneously thought that's what this book would be), but the more I got into the story, the more I realized that's not what the book is about at all.  Sure, there is romance (and in case it matters for some, heads up that there are a few "spicy" scenes in here, though they are very brief), but the crux of the story is actually about the complexities of parent / child relationships, especially in mixed race families, which, for me, gave the story unexpected depth and meaning.  In juxtaposing the various parent / child relationships within the narrative — between Mika and her parents Hiromi and Shige, between Mika and her biological daughter Penny, between Penny and her adopted parents Thomas and Caroline — Emiko Jean explores the complicated dynamics of parental love and how it not only can manifest itself in different ways, but also can be heavily impacted by culture and upbringing.   This made the story relatable on so many levels, but for me specifically, what resonated most was Mika's relationship with her mother Hiromi, the nuances of which, having myself grown up in an immigrant household with traditional Asian parents, I also struggled with at some point — for example:  the emotional distance caused by lack of meaningful communication between family members, the cultural expectation to keep silent about matters deemed "shameful" to the family, the pressure to be successful in both life and career in order to "repay" the sacrifices that our parents made in choosing to immigrate here, the feelings of inadequacy and never being able to live up to their expectations, etc.  There's also the exploration of how that relationship impacts Mika's relationship with Penny, and the struggle with understanding better where her mother was coming from but at the same time, wanting to forge a different path with her own  daughter.

In addition to parent / child relationships and love in its different manifestations, the story also explores topics such as adoption, race and identity, interracial relationships, cultural expectations vs societal conventions, etc.  Even with the heavy topics however, the overall tone of the book was lighthearted and hopeful, with humor playing a significant role in the narrative.  In fact, that's one of the things that stood out the most for me — how Jean was able to strike such a perfect balance throughout the story between the serious and humorous elements without verging into melodramatic (not an easy feat with these types of stories).  I also loved the way the characters were rendered, especially Mika herself, who came across so realistically for me, with her insecurities and flaws and the various struggles in life that she has to deal with.  

This book surprised me in a good way and I'm really glad I read it.  Of course I definitely recommend this one, but with the caveat that each person's experience reading it will be different.  On that note, I also wanted to share this interview that Emiko Jean did, where she talks about her inspiration for this book — it’s a very insightful read: 

https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a40799854/mika-in-real-life-captures-a-complicated-portrayal-of-a-mother-daughter-relationship/

Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.