I was provided Black Water Sister by Zen Cho as an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.
Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So, when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there’s only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it.
Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.
I adored this Contemporary Fantasy set in Malaysia that deals with some hard-hitting themes such as abuse, homophobia, racism and rape. I found the characterisation amazing and fell in love with Jessamyn, the narrative was the perfect pace and kept me engaged throughout. There was also a great level of world building which allowed me to perfectly imagine the world and see myself in it.
All in all a great read and I will be searching out more of Zen Cho’s works. A well deserved 4 stars.
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