Catherine (alternativelytitledbooks) - so very behind!'s Reviews > Now You See Us

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Scene of the Crime, William Morrow, and Balli Kaur Jaswal for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 3.7!!**

A slow-burn, character driven commentary on class distinction...with just a dash of mystery thrown in!

Three maids (Corazon 'Cora", Donita, and Angel) have been stationed by Merry Maids on the luxurious island of Singapore, but they are all in vastly different situations. Cora has come out of semi-retirement in order to protect a dangerous secret, which she is determined to keep from her employer, Elizabeth....and keep Elizabeth's wealthy daughter Josephine in the dark as well. Donita is brassy, sassy, and isn't afraid to act like the impetuous 20-something that she is...but some romantic rendezvous with an Indian construction worker have not gone unnoticed by her boss, the uppity Mrs. Fann. Angel is recovering from heartbreak after losing her girlfriend, Suzan, but she doesn't have much time to dwell when a new in-home care worker threatens her position in the household.

These women are about to bond in an unexpected way, however...yet another maid, Flordeliza, has been accused of murder...and murdering her EMPLOYER, no less. The trio jump into action, convinced of her innocence, and Donita in particular swears that it could not have been Flordeliza....she SAW her the very same evening. But with their voices stifled by their ma'ams and society itself, can strength in numbers save an innocent woman from a terrible fate?

I was sold on this premise pretty quickly, and from early chapters narrated by Cora, I felt as though I was instantly a part of this intriguing (and sometimes maddening) culture in Singapore. Cora's voice is clear and wise, and it was easy to root for her early on as well. As the narrative moved to some of the other perspectives, however, I'm not sure if some of the other personalities were as intriguing or easy to relate to as hers. Angel's character development seemed to center almost solely around the fact that she had a lesbian relationship and Donita, being a bit of a wild child, also felt redundant in a lot of her sections.

I appreciated the aspect of social commentary on the wealthy vs. the maid class, and the author made some solid points...but after a while, they got a bit repetitive. For instance, the maids discover a Facebook group where many of Singapore's elite with workers in their homes tell story after story about how they are convinced their maid was stealing, cheating with the husband of the house, etc. and after a while, these just got tiresome to read. They were also always placed at the end of a chapter, so it took an already slow-moving narrative and slowed it down even further.

The mystery angle itself is also probably the least important part of the book (in some ways) so if you're eager to play detective, I'd look elsewhere. Not saying you can't put your detective cap on and have a go at it but the perp is a bit predictable and even the eventual discovery isn't really the meat and potatoes of this story. The title alone is honestly enough to give you a sense of the overarching theme of this one, however, so in some ways I didn't feel like I needed to actually READ the book to 'get the point'.

Despite a strong and promising start, this trio of empowered females lacked the oomph I was hoping to find in these pages and left me feeling unfulfilled as a reader. And in a sad parallel to the real-life circumstances that inspired this book? In both instances, there is still a LONG way yet to go.

3.5 stars