A historical fantasy with strong supernatural elements. Set in Northern China in the early 1900s, a young woman is seeking revenge for the murder of her daughter. Travelling to find those responsible, she becomes the maid servant to an elderly lady. Her grandson is involved with a revolutionary society. A detective who hears lies is investigating some mysterious deaths. All are linked by fox spirits; the young woman, the leader of the revolutionaries and an author are the fox spirits. The elderly lady was rescued by a fox spirit when a child, the detective was healed by a fox spirit when he was a child. He and the elderly lady were playmates. The elderly lady's family are under a curse. All these elements are woven into a charming story.

I very much enjoyed the deft weaving of past and present; the impulsive fox spirit trying to be good but being led astray by her desire for revenge, the amoral fox spirit preying on the would-be revolutionaries, the author trying to save his wife from her quest for revenge. All is set right, but not without deaths. The fox spirit couple are reconciled, and the detective and the elderly lady are rekindling their young love.

Recommended.

Although usually a huge fan of folklore, anything magical and historical fiction, unfortunately due to the slow place of the book, I was unable to engage with this story and did not finish. It did show great promise and the storyline interesting which compelled me to request this book, but unfortunately not one for me at this time.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advance review copy.

3.5 stars. A delightful blend of folklore, historical fiction, and very low-key (but still satisfying) romance. There’s also a detective story element to this book but for me, that was the weakest component.

The book employs dual-POV narration, with the titular fox wife’s chapters in the first person and the human detective Bao’s chapters in the third person. Bao was a sympathetic character and his interior life interesting enough, but the fox’s perspective on life and the human world made the Snow-narrated chapters stand out.

The mystery plot integrating Bao’s and Snow’s stories did not capture my attention. Because so much of the book was centred on this detective story, it felt like a very long read to me even though it’s not an overly long book. I was not captivated by either the mystery or its resolution; I was left with a feeling of, That’s it? Snow’s and Bao’s personal journeys were much more compelling.

The first 20% of the book kept me turning the pages, and I found the last 40% increasingly gripping, but that big chunk in the middle just dragged for me and looking back, I’m not convinced much of it needed to be there. However, I really enjoyed learning more about Chinese fox mythology and early 20th century life in northern China and Japan, and I liked the author’s writing style - straightforward, incisive, and often dryly humorous. I’m glad I read this book and I will seek out other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.