The Rage of Plum Blossoms by Christine M Whitehead: book review

The Rage of Plum Blossoms (2016) is set in West Village, Manhattan, in 2010-2011.

The narrator is 42-year-old divorce lawyer Attorney Aquinnah (Quinnie) Jones. The title comes from the description of herself and her 52-year-old husband Jordan’s favourite flower: ‘I was a plum blossom – not showy.’

She was married for six years before her husband, Jordan Chang, was murdered. The police said Jordan, captain in the US Marine Corps and New York investment banker, committed suicide by jumping off their balcony. Quinnie did not believe that for a minute – and set out to solve the mystery of her husband’s death.

The medical examination showed inconclusive evidence of foul play. But there were changes in their home: ‘Two throw rugs in the kitchen had been reversed. A lamp base had a crack, its shade had a slice in it, and the metal shade holder was significantly bent. A medium-sized blue-and-white Chinese vase on the coffee table was gone altogether.’ Their dog Tink had two deep cuts on her chest and belly, and one of Jordan’s suits was missing.

Moreover, she found out from Harry Chin, her husband’s lawyer and best friend since they were two years old, that Jordan had been rich – really rich. Quinnie inherits $27 million dollars.

To solve the murder, Quinnie did her ‘best thinking’ riding around Central Park on her Friesian horse Francesca – athough there is no evidence of it! She does, however, have a cast of characters to help her solve the clues.

But Quinnie is not who she seems. She has secrets. So does her husband.

This who-dunnit is a quick read. It started well, but as the processes for unravelling the murder progresses, the step-by-step approach becomes rather like an old televison detective program – escapist plot, coincidental events, and of course lots of clues. Nevertheless, for many readers it will be a page-turner.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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