Crimetime: Inspector SJ Tuason Case Files

by Maria L.M. Fres-Felix

“Beneath the glitz and glamor of Kyusi, the country’s City of Stars, there lurks insidious violence. In four thought-provoking and thrilling stories, dauntless lady crime fighter SJ Tuason combines brain with brawn as she seeks to solve the cases of an ex-financial scammer murdered in a public park; a Queen Amidala cosplayer left dead among talahib; faceless corpses in abandoned places; a young matinee idol killed in the slums; and the long-unsolved death of her father.

But given outmoded equipment and the overpowering patriarchy, will the victims ever get justice?”

Genres: Short Stories

140 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rare collection of crime stories written in and about the Philippines, a hugely crime ridden nation. Breezy, with plenty of local color touches, of course, the four short stories center on a female police officer who heads investigations in to murders in Manila. It appears that the book was written in American English, rather than in Tagalog and translated. The author could use an American editor to fix up some usual preposition challenges and more proper English phrasing. An ebook editor also would have caught the formatting problems, a duplicated paragraph in the first story and scrambled sentences in a couple of places. These may have been Amazon Kindle delivery problems.
I will probably read more of these stories as they become available. This only took an hour to read.

[rho.da · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more cops like Inspector SJ Tuason. And another SJ Tuason book please.

[Kayleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the of premise having a unique female protagonist, this book seemed promising. Overall, however, I felt like the length of the book kind of betrayed that promise. I felt that there could have been more, that something fell a little bit short. Or maybe I was just expecting something I got from Philippine crime fiction I have read, like Smaller and Smaller Circles, and Trese (which, even if it falls whole and hard in the genre of fantasy, still is a crime series for me).

That being said, I hope the author follows up with another piece featuring this heroine.

[Lourdes Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is how it feels to actually read a book set in a place you know so well, in an environment so close to your own. Kyusi is my hometown and this novel showed a very honest picture of everyday life. The protagonist is new though. A chocoholic policewoman who listens to.Bon Jovi while carving elephants.

Some conversations appear awkward but that's Filipino english speaking. If more taglish lines were thrown it, it would have been a bit more authentic.

Loved SJ Tuason and will definitely look forward to more of her adventures!