The novel is a little bit complicated because the Author is not focused only in one thing but it has various acts which are going on but they are reasonable reactions as in the end we can connect all the dots with such intrigue and unbelievable twists!

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution... Set in 1931 Malaya, when Malaya (today’s Malaysia) was part of the British empire, The Night Tiger creates a world where wild beasts snatch victims in the night, numerology and homonyms impact key decisions, and dancehall girls adhere to a strict code of conduct while feigning interest in lonely men. Big MAMA at the dance hall had Jin Lin Cut her long braids off to look more like a modern -western woman. In truth if her mother or stepfather knew what her moonlighting job was - it would have bad news. It was not considered respectable in her family at all!Datlow, Ellen (2010). Tails of Wonder and Imagination. Night Shade Books. p.638. ISBN 978-1-59780-255-0.

I was totally mesmerized by this beautifully written Malaysian folklore/fantasy tale. If I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. The characters, the alluring mystery and the heart-pounding moments involving the tiger. A newspaper article warns that a tiger was on the loose. Was it a man-eater or a distraction? Did superstition play a role? Another thing that I loved about the first novel, was the beautiful description of old Malaya and its culture. Also, I remember even now how I salivated from the delicious food the author wrote about in the first book. I did not have the same sense of place when You wrote The Night Tiger over the course of four years. What was that process like and how did you stay committed to the story?The book follows two main characters: Ji Lin, a dressmaker by day and dancehall girl by night who dreams of becoming a doctor (if only her stepfather would let her); and Ren, a kindhearted houseboy so loyal to his late master that he’ll stop at nothing to reunite the man’s missing finger with his body. They also happen to be complete strangers who are somehow linked by a mysterious force—one that connects them with others (both dead and alive) who might just cause them harm. Set in Malaysia during the 1930’s, the story alternates between Ren, an eleven -year old Chinese houseboy and Ji Lin, a young woman who has been forced to give up her goal of working in the medical profession. Ren is on a mission to find his late master’s finger so he can return it to his grave. Failure to do so within 49 days will prevent his master from resting in peace. Meanwhile, Ji Lin, is working as a dressmaker, while also secretly moonlighting as a dance hall girl to pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts, before her hardened stepfather finds out. To Ren, peering out the window at the top of the stairs, the trees are a waving green ocean surrounding the Bungalow. It’s a ship in a storm, and Ren is the cabin boy peeking out of a porthole. Clutching the windowsill like a life buoy, Ren wonders what secrets lurk in the jungle surrounding them, and if his old master is in fact trapped in the form of a tiger”. I loved the atmosphere of the book, the 'magical realism' mystery of it, the lush Asian environment, the historical character of the story, the dark and brooding story, loved it. The Night Tiger offers a stunning look at culture, history, and Chinese superstition. Told in two alternating perspectives, and set in 1931 Malaya (Malaysia), this is a story of loyalty and loneliness, death and distressed souls, and man-eating weretigers.

Choo's novel is one of our most favourite of the Year, her folklore's stories are so unique and blended in different perspectives!

BookBrowse Review

Yangsze Choo writes an enthralling and exhilarating piece of well researched historical fiction set in the British colony of Malaya (Malaysia) of the 1930s. The fraught and upset British doctor is dying and worried about what will happen to his soul upon death. He had been gifted a 11 year old Chinese house boy, Ren, by a friend. Ren is a kind, loyal and compassionate boy and when his dying master on his deathbed asks that he finds his severed finger and bury it with his dead body to prevent his soul from roaming the earth forever, he complies. However, he must do this within 49 days, adding a strong sense of urgency to his time sensitive obstacle ridden quest. Ren is to find his path crosses with that of Ji-Lin, a bright and intelligent woman, whose ambitions to be a doctor have been thwarted by her step father. This is a atmospheric story of tradition, culture, masters, servants, love and the dead, incorporating the central role of Chinese mythology and folklore, colonisation, dreams and superstition. Malaysia is very much a melting pot. There are Malays, a large Chinese presence and also Hindus from Southern India. There were Arab traders, Jewish traders, Portuguese and Dutch settlers. The interesting thing is that everybody has superstitions, and in such a multi-cultural society, everybody adopts everybody else's. Starred Review. A work of incredible beauty...Astoundingly captivating and striking in its portrayal of love, betrayal, and death, The Night Tiger is a transcendent story of courage and connection. Time is running out: there are only 20 days left before Dr. Mac Farlane’s forty-nine days of the soul are over. If by then he can’t find the finger, he’ll have failed. How will his old master rest? Ren remembers Dr. MacFarlane’s last days, shivering fevers. And then the dreams, the waking nightmares in which the old man would cry for mercy, or crawl slavering on all fours. If Auntie Kwan had still been with them, she would have taken charge, but in the end there was only Ren”. A sumptuous garden maze of a novel that immerses readers in a complex, vanished world.” — Kirkus (starred review)