Book Review of The Good The Bad and The Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Name of Book: The Good The Bad and The Aunties

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto 

ISBN: 978-0-593-54622-2

Publisher: Berkley 

Part of a Series:  The Aunties

Type of book: Modern times, cozy mystery, the aunties, Chinese-Jakarta culture, Lunar New Years, family, relationships, travel, sleuthing, "business" 

Year it was published: 2024 

Summary:

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

 

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all.  Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…

Characters:

Main characters definitely included Meddy and her infamous aunties. I will best describe the characters as both one dimensional as well as very lovable. The aunties as well as Meddy's husband Nathan display one single personality trait and if there is growth, I didn't really sense it. Meddy is best described as loyal and someone who is controlled by fear of her mother and aunties. She also will do whatever she can for her family. Nathan, Meddy's husband is vey easygoing and has unconditional love for her. Big Aunt is a talented chef who is fearsome and wears the leadership mantle easily. Second Aunt is into health and is big on tai chi and she is also best described as charming? Meddy's mother is perhaps the stereotypical Asian mom who often sends out confusing signals for her daughter. At the same time she is very loyal to Meddy. Fourth Aunt is quite a firecracker and believes in living a hedonistic like style (She's my favorite auntie!) The secondary characters include Abi, a "businessman" who fears Big Aunt and who always held a torch for Second Aunt. There is also Julia Child Handoko, a "businesswoman" who is extremely fearsome and who is able to read people correctly. 

Theme:

Family is everything

Plot:

The story is written in first person narrative from Meddy's point of view. It begins with Meddy and Nathan's honeymoon and how Meddy has to keep it quiet from her mother and aunties because they over worry. Then later on they meet in Jakarta for Lunar New Years and its only then the stuff hits the fan so to speak. The story and plot are definitely clever and original and I also loved learning about Chinese-Jakarta culture, in particular the naming customs and family. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she's not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids.

Opinion:

I imagine if I had read the previous two books, DIAL A FOR AUNTIES as well as FOUR AUNTIES AND A WEDDING, I would definitely have loved this novel far more than just reading it as a stand-alone. The novel definitely fits a cozy mystery genre and it seemed to be action packed with little character development, or so I think. I also definitely think that this is not a stand-alone story because there is continuation of previous two in using a time line and there are references to previous events that happened in prequels. Having said that, it was definitely interesting to read and learn about Chinese-Jakarta culture, especially about families and how Lunar Year was celebrated. I also found parts of it funny,(in terms of "business people" and mafia leaders)  and yes my favorite auntie has to be the Fourth One. While things did get pretty tense and were pretty funny in some parts, the cheerful perky tone never let up. Although I hadn't read the first two books, I would recommend beginning with them before reading the third one. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)