Review: The Tea Master and the Detective

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novella is my first foray into the work of Aliette de Bodard, who I've followed a while on social media because of her love of pen and ink writing and drawing. This was a delightful entrée into her work.

The Tea Master and the Detective is the story of the traumatized brain of a mindship, The Sparrow's Child, and Long Chau, an Asian woman with a shadowy past, and their investigation into the death of a young Vietnamese woman. As the story evolves, it becomes evident that female duo and their investigation of a murder is a clever take on Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Long Chau is investigating the effects of deep spaces on corpses. The Sparrow's Child, recovering from a devastating deep space event that killed or severely injured her crew, spends her days as a tea master, brewing specialized blends of teas. Each of her blends is tailor-made for an individual. It is in her capacity as tea master that she meets Long Chau, who like Holmes, has... issues with substance use. Over the course of the novella, they each learn to truly see and trust one another, as they investigate the death of a young shipworker.

De Bodard's beautiful writing style was a delight to read. I know she has written quite a few works set in the Xuya Universe. I would love to see more of these two characters, who were intriguing.


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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