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The Fox Wife

an enchanting historical mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Tiger and a previous Reese’s Book Club pick

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The Fox Wife

By: Yangsze Choo
Narrated by: Yangsze Choo
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An enchanting and unforgettable historical mystery from the acclaimed author of The Night Tiger

Some people think foxes go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908: A young woman is found frozen in the snow.

Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes, believed to lure people into peril by transforming into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman's identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they've remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, the family of a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure all ailments - except the curse that afflicts them. All their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three.

When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. But is their new servant a simple young woman from the north, or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about dead bodies found in the snow, a mother seeking revenge, and old folk tales that may very well be true.

PRAISE FOR YANGSZE CHOO

'You won't be able to put this one down' Reese Witherspoon

'Captivating from the very beginning' 5* Reader Review

'An exuberant medley of magic, romance and weirdness' The Times

'Simply beautiful' 5* Reader Review

'[A] highly imaginative and a spellbinding read' Woman's Weekly

(P)2024 Macmillan Audio©2024 Yangsze Choo Asian & Pacific Islander Creators Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Magic Magical Realism Mystery Fox Feel-Good
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Critic Reviews

The reader is taken on a journey from the underbelly of a Chinese town to the mountains of Japan. Among the more memorable characters along the way is a male fox spirit called Shiro. He is seductive, deadly and, like the book itself, quite irresistible to mere humans
Like the foxes who populate its pages, The Fox Wife is vivid, enigmatic, and enchanting. Choo's fresh new fable conjures a world where danger and intrigue are forever entwined with sublime and sensory delights
Rich and beguiling
A stunning story filled with wonder, mystery and folklore. I was utterly captivated by Yangsze Choo's exquisite prose and fascinating characters from the first page till the last. A remarkable tale, one that will stay with me
Witty and suspenseful
Poetic and evocative
Enchanting
Magical, wonderous, transporting and illuminating, The Fox Wife reminds me that reading can be pure joy . . . I was captivated from the very first word of this novel until its very last. Yangsze Choo is a writer of immense talent
Masterfully plotted and superbly surprising, The Fox Wife will entice you into a world of magic and heartbreak, a beautiful tapestry woven from love and revenge and forgiveness. But beware: once you start, you may not be able to put it down! (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of INDEPENDENCE and THE LAST QUEEN)
The Fox Wife is a rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history, delivered with Choo's inimitable grace and precision. It's not a book so much as a beguilement; it enchanted me entirely (Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of STARLING HOUSE)
Choo's writing is lush and the slow revelations of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat
Snow's difficulties as both a fox and a young woman in a man's world are clearly drawn, as is the pathos of Bao's situation as a gentle soul who's always been in search of something or someone. An intriguing vulpine mystery worth the suspension of disbelief
A beguiling tale of a bygone era
Stunning . . . Choo's exquisite prose is perfectly matched to an enthralling story that is filled with magic, beauty, cruelty, and the slow unwinding of a double-layered mystery, but also comes star-dusted with an unexpected exuberance and flashes of dark humour
With deftness of pen and a keen eye for evocative detail, Choo crafts an intoxicating tale
Like all the best supernatural stories, The Fox Wife reveals something profound about humanity: the ease with which we get drawn into chasing what we think we want, rather than what will actually nourish us. And the cruelty with which the powerful treat those under their power
Utterly captivating . . . . So lively and sharp-edged
A delicate and suspenseful detective tale, it's perfect to savor on a wintry weekend
All stars
Most relevant
Usually I avoid books narrated by the author but it really works here. Foxes cross over as humans with unpredictable results. Wonderful MC. A great read.

Beautifully evoked

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Beautifully narrated. I enjoyed this book so much. On the list of my favourites. A treasure!

Interesting and entertaining book

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the story is magical and the narrator is excellent. have listened to it twice and will definately listen again.

an enchanting escape

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A large part of story was confusing. Too many characters intersecting but eventually resolved into a touching romance.

Not just wiley creatures

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Beautifully narrated and wonderfully written. I loved how folklore tales were mixed in as facts for this story, and the elegant way some details were covered while others were left unsaid. Pacing was perfect. I appreciated that the main character in this story of love and revenge, although being typically beautiful, was not 18 or 20. Wish I could read this for the first time again.

Compelling story well researched

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