Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Searching for Sylvie Lee

Searching for Sylvie Lee is the story of the Lee family, Chinese immigrants to the US, whose high flying daughter Sylvie goes missing in the Netherlands when she goes to visit the dying grandmother who raised her. With the Dutch police not showing much interest younger sister Amy begins to investigate. Along the way she discovers Sylvie’s life wasn’t as perfect as it appeared, unearths a whole lot of family secrets, and finds strength and capabilities she didn’t know she had. This felt a bit flat for me and I often struggled to distinguish Sylvie’s and Amy’s storylines. Ma was the only character whose voice stood out. Still I was invested in finding out exactly happened.

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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jamesflint's review against another edition

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2.0

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breanamichele's review

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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angelaf's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a wonderful surprise! Searching for Sylvie Lee kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I wanted to know what happened to Sylvie and why, in addition to loving the exploration of our inner selves vs how we appear to others. The alternating voices ensure that hints to solving the mystery are revealed just a few at a time. I listened to the audiobook and loved how the different characters are voiced. Read if you enjoy: multiple narrators, non-traditional mysteries, unreliable narrators, strong settings

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emilyhawk's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The mystery that unfolded throughout this book was downright gripping. It was eerie, and the author did an excellent job of revealing information in little drips and scraps to maintain suspense. The setting in Amsterdam added to this vibe and was described really well. I was hooked, and I was wholly committed to seeing this book through.

Yet, the characterization was a major flaw for me here - despite being committed to the story, I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable or interesting. Amy, our main narrator, felt underdeveloped and her personality quirks seemed incongruent. Sylvie, our main emotional interest, was an enigma and her primary romantic interest -- which undergirded the whole plot -- was a bit unsettling and inappropriate for me. Ma, the third narrator, was even less developed and only appeared in brief flashes of anguish which didn't really add to the story -- I was eager to get back to Amy and Sylvie's accounts whenever Ma's chapter came into play. So while I enjoyed the ride of the narrative as a whole, I was left a bit underwhelmed by the many figures who took me on that ride.

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