I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very moving. Told through the eyes of two sisters, one of whom has disappeared, and their mother. More of a novel than a thriller I found the story compelling and didn’t see the final twist coming. It was also interesting finding out some of the differences between life in a different country.
The characters were complex and well drawn - easy to get involved with.

Sylvie Lee has disappeared. To her sister Amy she is utterly dazzling. Amy, 9 years younger, travels from New York to the Netherlands in search of her. The narrative alternates between Sylvie, Amy and their Chinese-American mother.

Parr thriller, part literary character study. I was torn between enjoying the language and wishing the pace would quicken.

An excellent novel that really draws you in. I was immersed in the storyline and couldn't stop reading well past my bedtime. Highly recommended.

I was a little conflicted by Searching for Sylvie Lee. This is a novel caught somewhere between a literary character study and a thriller, never quite managing to meld the two genres.

It is obvious where the author's strengths lie. Jean Kwok’s characterisation is brilliant. I love how she manages to capture an essence of each language and its quirks in her writing: you always have a distinct sense of which language (Chinese, English, Dutch) a character is speaking. By highlighting the differences between each narrator’s voice (despite the fact that they are three women in the same family), Kwok artfully explores the effect diaspora can have on this essential element of your identity. It’s one of the most impressive and natural evocations of language I've seen in a novel.

But while the temporal shifts between each character’s narrative work really well, sometimes the plot is a little weak. There are many threads to the mystery, but they don't quite pull together into one convincing tapestry. And although the measured pace is perfect for a character study, it lacks the urgency of a truly gripping thriller.

On the whole, I think the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, but Searching for Sylvie Lee wasn't quite as satisfying a read as I hoped it might be.

This book isn’t for me I’m afraid. When I started it I had a good feeling but then when it came to the section narrated by Ma it lost me. I stuck with it hoping I would get used to it but I didn’t. The stilted way it was written completely distracted me from the content. Sadly I gave up with it.