FICTION

The Night Tiger

Flatiron: Macmillan. Feb. 2019. 384p. ISBN 9781250175458. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250175441. F
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In the lush rural lands of 1930s British colonial Malaysia, Dr. MacFarlane's dying wish weighs heavily on 11-year-old Ren, who is tasked with finding and burying the doctor's amputated finger so his body may be whole again before the 49 days of the wandering soul are over. MacFarlane was convinced his soul would roam the jungles as a mythological tiger if Ren did not complete his mission. Meanwhile, Ji Lin is working a second job in a dance hall to help her mother pay back a gambling debt. In a tussle with an overly forward customer, she finds a specimen bottle with a preserved finger. Uneasy, Ji Lin enlists the help of her stepbrother to return the finger to the original owner, but the specter of death seems to follow them.
VERDICT Choo (The Ghost Bride) presents complex characters and multilayered stories in a vivid setting that coalesce into a richly evocative and mesmerizing tale in which myths and folklore intertwine in daily life. For fans of Kate Mosse or Isabel Allende. [See Prepub Alert, 8/27/18.]
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