Black Jade: A Daiyu Wu Mystery (Daiyu Wu Mysteries)

Could a gorgeous old ballgown be used to commit murder?

Deep in the heart of Texas, Chinese immigrant Daiyu Wu discovers a mysterious ballgown in her family's laundry business. It reeks of burned garlic and there is money pinned to it to pay for the cleaning. But no one knows who left it there.

Harnessing her instincts, knowledge, and determination, Dai sets out to learn everything she can about this strange green dress. Who wore it? Who left it at the laundry?

As she unravels the mystery behind the dress, Dai discovers a lot more than she bargained for. Someone has committed a murder using arsenic. Dai believes the dress is the key and that the murderer is trying to use the laundry to hide this crucial piece of evidence, the green ballgown.

Many factors conspire against Dai, but she remains undeterred. The police don't even know about the murder. People think her blindness stops her from doing things. It's Dallas in 1930, and Chinese people like Dai are not welcomed by the white residents of the city. Pushing these factors to one side, Dai turns detective. With Prince Razor, her canine best friend, and Jacques Haskins, her human one, she knows she must take on the challenges posed by a spoiled popinjay, his jealous self-appointed girlfriend, and Dai's overprotective parents.

Time is ticking, but even though the killer is unaware that Dai is on their trail, they are destroying any evidence of their foul deed. Can she and her friends work out the mystery despite all the obstacles stacked against them?

For lovers of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Melanie Fletcher - ***** - An absolutely marvelous historical mystery. The last thing you'd expect in a mystery set in 1930's Dallas is a blind Chinese female detective, but Gloria Oliver deftly makes Miss Daiyu Wu the equal of Holmes, Poirot, and Dupin.

Kuzlin - ***** - Delightful new cozy mystery with a strong woman character. This story presented a unique plot twist - it starts with the discovery of the murder weapon, leading the main characters to discover the who and why.

ConiW - ***** - An incredible trip to the past. I was so surprised and very delighted to quickly see that this book was a mystery but also so very much more. The writing style is incredible and so detailed as to have me there in each scene with our characters; please let me say this before I embarrass myself, I truly fell head over heels for them.

Roxx Tarantini - ***** - Totally unexpected...but in the very BEST way!!! Daiyu Wu is a different sort of sleuth. Young, cerebral, unexpected, the blind Miss Wu uses her finely honed senses to help find the truth when others are content to look at the surface and call it done. In 1930s society this is hardly an acceptable pastime for a young lady; that Miss Wu is also of Chinese heritage muddies the waters further still. For "them".