I would highly recommend this to any fan of the science fiction genre who also likes mystery novels. What this book does it does well, and that is being a tribute to both Sherlock Holmes and the modern resurgence of feminist sci-fi. Allow me to explain.
This story is told from the perspective of The Shadow's Child, the organic brain of a spaceship capable of traveling through an alternate dimension. The Shadow's Child also likes making tea. The story starts when our Sherlock Holmes, who goes in the story by the pseudonym Long Chau, asks the spaceship to brew a cup of very special tea. From this point a tale of intrigue and murder unfolds, inside the cold vastness that is the unreality of the alternate dimension.
What I particularly liked was how the author played the Sherlock Holmes mythos straight. Long Chau was neither British nor a man, but in most other ways she followed Sherlock Holmes' personality and habits true. Where Holmes was a drug addict, so to was Long Chau. Where Holmes has a seedy reputation in world, so too does Long Chau. The plot of this novel itself reminds me of the first Sherlock Holmes mystery, 'A Study in Scarlet,' which I read just a few months ago.
The Watson of this novel is The Shadow's Child, a traumatized human brain inside a metallic shell who dreads going into the alternate dimension, which is a setting for a large portion of this book's plot. This character was quite wonderful, not least because she reminded me of Breq from the book 'Ancillary Justice,' for both are ships with a very human perspective.
But as always I like to include some constructive criticism in my reviews. I enjoyed this novella quite thoroughly, and perhaps that was my problem: I wanted more out of this amazing setting than a novella can give. It felt like we were just skimming the surface of a greater story, a galaxy spanning civilization which has the cultural hallmarks of some of Earth's Asian civilizations, such as tea ceremonies, the frequent use of jade as a cultural touchstone and the importance of family. I wanted to know where the rest of Earth's civilizations were! Are they out there somewhere too, or has Vietnam conquered the galaxy?! Whatever the answer, I do intend to read on in the series to find out.

This was one of the more innovative homages to Sherlock Holmes that I've encountered. Here, Sherlock Holmes is a woman, apparently of Vietnamese descent (or at least living in a Vietnamese-inspired galactic empire called the Scattered Pearls Belt), and Dr. Watson is a spaceship who brews mind-altering teas.

I enjoyed this novella, and intend to read more in the Xuya Universe. The world building was fascinating and I loved the Vietnamese influence.

The Shadow's Child, the brain of a mindship, is shellshocked and brewing teas for safer space travel when a consulting detective shows up at her door...

This was a Netgalley find and one of the few Netgalley finds that didn't immediately feel like a homnework assignment from a hated teacher.

Set in an asteroid belt with a Vietnamese-influenced culture, The Tea Master and the Detective has its roots loosely planted in A Study In Scarlet. Long Chau hires The Shadow's Child to brew her tea and take her into the deep spaces to find a corpse in order to study its composition. (Sidebar - From what I gather, the deep spaces are like hyperspace, a medium to speed up space travel. Special teas are needed to keep travelers sane during their journeys.) The body isn't quiet what they expect and the mystery unfolds.

While the story shows its Sherlockian roots in places, that in no way diminishes the enjoyment. I really liked the asteroid belt settings, the deep spaces, hell, the worldbuilding in general. The worldbuilding is seamlessly done. I had a pretty good idea of the history of the world, the technology, and the culture, all without being beaten over the head with info dumps.

Recasting Watson as a ship's organic mind with a traumatic past was a novel approach and in keeping with the rest of the setting. I can honestly say The Shadow's Child is the most well-rounded ship's computer I've ever read about. You don't see the Enterprise's computer having dinner with the computers of other ships! Honestly, Long Chau's deductions and attitude are Sherlockian but she has a lot more depth than I originally thought. I loved the interplay between Long Chau and The Shadow's Child right away. Before I was even finished, I was dreaming of future stories featuring the pair.

Over the years, I've read a lot of detective stories based in other genres and most leave me yearning for gumshoes beating down doors or mannerly locked room mysteries. This one was the opposite of that. Five out of five stars.