Title: The Leftover Woman

Author: Jean Kwok

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Publisher: Viper

Publication Date: 2nd November 2023

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

‘I will find my daughter. No matter the cost…’

Jasmine Yang thought her daughter was dead at birth. But five years after she was taken from her arms, she learns that her controlling husband sent the baby to America to be adopted, a casualty of China’s one-child-policy. Fleeing her rural Chinese village, Jasmine arrives in New York City with nothing except a desperate need to find her daughter. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her child.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Whitney seems to have it all: a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardise not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.

Two women in a divided city, separated by wealth and culture, yet bound together by their love for the same child. And when they finally meet, their lives will never be the same again…

Review:

The Leftover Woman is essentially a story of two compelling women, both very different and yet connected unknowingly by a mother’s love. It is a story full of emotion and immersive intensity that makes it impossible to stop reading, delving into numerous themes such as trauma, cultural identity, agency, motherhood, nature versus nurture and above all, love – and the lengths to which one will go because of it. Kwok covers these complex topics with sensitivity and nuance in a way that makes for a gripping yet elegant read from start to finish.

What I liked most about The Leftover Woman was the fact that there were a couple of twists that genuinely took me by surprise in a way that made me reconsider and reevaluate much of what I had read earlier. This is what makes a twist, in my view, really work and it certainly did here. This is a relatively slim novel yet manages to pack a real emotional punch. Tense, poignant, heartbreaking and layered, I would highly recommend adding The Leftover Woman to your TBR list.

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Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

Buy the book:

Waterstones | Blackwell’s | Amazon