Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok – Audio

Book Blurb:

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes. Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love. But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined.

My Review: 4 stars

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Searching for Sylvie Lee was a mystery that focused on complicated immigrant family relationships as much as it does the mystery. One of the author’s prior books, Girl in Translation, was a fabulous look into the Chinese immigrant experience. I highly recommend that one as well.

This story has a lot of darkness that shadowed over the storyline. Two sisters, both deeply unhappy, show a brave face to the world and their proud Chinese parents. The twist in the story (not a spoiler) is that one was sent to Amsterdam to be raised by cousins. Why Sylvie was sent there, why she came back and why she went missing are all questions that formulate the storyline. Having just been to Amsterdam, the places and descriptions were spot on, which makes sense because the author lives in the Netherlands. I loved the shout out to Winkel 43 for the apple pie. I never, ever knew pie could taste that divine. 

Most of the characters seem somewhat unreliable and I was always aware that lies were being spewed by many. Amy, Sylvie’s sister, seemed far too naive to be realistic. Of course, the author left many red herrings for the reader to grasp onto, which made the suspense level rise. The ending wrapped up nicely, however all the unanswered questions came fast and furiously at the end. It was a lot of information coming at once, but it did conclude realistically.

Kwan is a strong writer and I’m looking forward to what’s next. This would make a great book club discussion book.