Lies & Weddings by Kevin Kwan

I'm not sure when I last delved into a romantic comedy novel. Reading Kevin Kwan for the first time has been a delight. The storyline is straightforward, and the short chapters make it easy to follow.

Some of the contemporaries' novels depict Asian-American mothers in a way that includes mocking and racist tones, yet they accurately capture scenes from the modern world. What I like the most is the friendship between the main characters proving that good deeds are all that matter.

It's about Augie, Bea and Rufus Leung Gresham, the British-Chinese who made up the noblest family in the country and were raised alongside their best friend, Eden Tong, a girl next door. No one had any inkling that behind stories of glamorous Gresham rose a mountain of debt. Arabella Gresham, their mother's extravagant ambitions of expenses only made things worse. The only way to solve the problem is to exploit her children to marry for money. Filled with a luxurious lifestyle that I never knew existed, and humorously tragic situations when things don't go according to plan. Money cannot buy love, but money increases the chances of finding true love. The ending was kinda of pretentious but it was a fun read.

The Secret by Andrew Child

Well, another story about a hero who puts himself in danger to save America. Jack Reacher is smart, strong, proficient in hand-to-hand combat and also has strong deduction skills and is known as an exceptional investigator. It began with secret government research that happened in India in 1969 that involved a program to make antidotes against chemical and biological weapons. The incident had caused a thousand death toll of innocent people. Of course, the American government could be embarrassed if the revelations were out.

Yet there are numbers of retired scientists who had worked in 1969 had been murdered. To stop the chaos, Reacher digs up another evidence of brewing up the sabotage. It is a standard cliche in the world of one's action-hero figure but a fun read. The Secret is the twenty-eighth book in the Jack Reacher series btw.

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

This book is one of my favourite reads of the year. It follows the story of Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a young girl researching a school project on a missing girl, Andie Bell, who disappeared five years ago. Her blood was found in the trunk of her deserted vehicle, leading to enough evidence to incriminate her boyfriend, Sal Singh. However, Sal was discovered dead from suicide.

Despite Andie's body never being found, Pippa remains hopeful that her investigation will reveal evidence proving Sal's innocence. She is convinced that the police made a mistake by prematurely closing the case. Her interviews with family and close friends revealed widespread speculation about the truth behind Andie Bell.

I was drawn to the concept of the protagonist being an amateur sleuth who keeps stumbling upon new information related to the two major tragedies that shaped her life.