I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Singaporean culture. I picked up most of it from the dialogue between the characters and there was alot of it. However, as a mystery novel the story fell short. There were large gaps in the investigation to make space for wedding preparations for Su Lin's girlfriend Parshanti as well as their interactions with other characters. I feel that the murder investigation should have never stopped once the body was found. The book shined more as historical fiction than as the historical mystery it is advertised to be. Perhaps something was lost in the translation.

The series' protagonist, twenty-six year old Su Lin, is a great character. She lives with her grandmother, uncle, aunt and niece. On the third day of the Chinese New Year, she finds that an old associate of her uncle is at the door. She refused admittance to the house because Lin's uncle was too ill to meet anyone. The associate was subsequently murdered after leaving Su Lin's home. In his pocket were some yellow rambutan skins. I thought these skins were an awesome clue. Having never heard of them before, I headed to Wikipedia for more information.

I have mixed feelings about the book. The setting was exquisite but the murder investigation seemed secondary to the setting. ( )

Ovidia Yu has created a wonderful mystery series centered on Su Lin, a Chinese-Japanese girl living in Singapore during the years before, during and just after Singapore's occupation by the Japanese. In addition to being entertaining mysteries, the books provide insight in the multi-cultural world of early Singapore. The Yellow Rambutan Mystery seems to be the conclusion of the series tying up numerous loose ends left from previous books. ( )