YZ Chin's writing is wonderful in this novel with well built scenes and subtle but spot on darkly humorous bits. But, there seem to be a lot of threads and ideas floating around in this narrative that don't quite come together for me.

Edwina comes home from work to find that her husband, Marlin, has packed up and moved out.  Where did he go and why did he leave so abruptly?       While this may seem like a pretty straight-forward storyline, don't be fooled.  There are many threads woven in:  both characters having issues with parents (Marlin with his father's death, Edwina with her over-bearing mother); both working towards the coveted green card;  Edwina's unsatisfying tech job and her dealings with co-workers, to name a few.  But I felt that there were too many of these loose threads that ultimately never really came together.  I did enjoy the flashback chapters, but the rest just seemed muddled.  Another plus:  I did enjoy YZ Chin's writing style, and I will be looking for more of her work in the future.

Such a unique, tightly-controlled, self-aware, unpretentious, delightfully disturbing novel. Would love to interview this author. Can't wait to read what she writes next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the early ebook. Edwina comes home to her New York apartment to find that her husband, Marlin, has packed a bag and left leaving no note. Thus begins a modern detective story as the story jumps back and forth as Edwina searches the recent past for clues: She and Marlin are from Malaysia and working in tech as the deadline approaches as they either have to secure a green card or go back. Marlin is also depressed as his father has recently passed away. Marlin has also been exploring alternative beliefs that leave Edwina mystified. Edwina gathers her clues, strays from her vegetarian diet and tries to deal with all her male coworkers who don’t seem to understand the first thing about how to deal with women. This is a very playful first novel that tackles a lot of tough issues with a great dark humor.

Edge Case is a unique story, told from a unique perspective. I frequently heard myself thinking as I read that I'd never been in the company of this narrative voice before: smart, sensitive, observant, contradictory, and always a joy to follow to the next page.

This book really feels like the emotional down-spiral of Edwina. While all her relationships seem off balance and distant, her relationship with her mother is deeply fucked. Through losing Marlin she has reflected on the ways that her mother has controlled her life . I think Chin makes an attempt to mend some of these relationships but I felt there was so much left unsaid. I wanted more closure for a character that had lived those days desperate and obsessive. All in all, I can’t say this book wasn’t written well and didn’t have complex characters - it’s just heavy with little solace. Overall interesting read if you like a dark .... sad books.

Edge Case is a fascinating, darkly humorous novel of identity. Edwina and her husband Marlin struggle with the meaning of “home” and “homeland,” as they are both immigrants from Malaysia. They also struggle with their own identities in light of their marriage. Both of these areas take a toll upon them, leading to their separate needs to make life-changing decisions. A novel of many layers, Edge Case is a timely and gripping mystery.

Edge Case concerns an immigrant couple of Chinese heritage from Malaysia trying to obtain their green cards, living in New York. Edwina relates their story in therapeutic sessions, of how she comes home one day and Marlin has vanished. Both work in tech, but the pressures of insecurity about their status and life away from family and home, plus Marlin's having lost his father relatively recently, strain their relationship. The idea of this situation is a sound one, but the editing needed tightening and Edwina needed more definition.

3.5 Stars.

Edwina is the only female employee of a tech-startup. One day, she comes home to find her husband has mysteriously disappeared, and she has to figure out why.

The writing of this novel is fantastic. There are moments throughout that absolutely stuck with me. However, the story skipped around a lot and seemed disjointed until about halfway through, when it finally starts weaving together. It took a while for me to get into and I really had to push through at a few moments, but I'm glad I finished.

Overall, Chin has a powerful voice, and I would be interested to read more of her work in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ecco/HarperCollins for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, but the pacing felt very hard to settle into. Some characters were lacking in development, especially Marlin and her mother.

I did love the exploration and interrogation of the tech industry, it resonated with me as I work in a very similar field. The nuance written around gender dynamics within this field rang really true.

Overall, I don't think a mystery/thriller adjacent book is exactly my cup of tea.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the review copy!

YZ Chin's novel "Edge Case" had interesting characters and her depiction of the main character's rejecting mother and of her husband's best friend and climbing buddy were very believable. She does dialogue very well. The plot itself is a combination of drama and mystery

Her depiction of the world of the startup is also well-drawn, unfortunate as that may be (she is the only female employee and the environment is clearly a sexist one.) The only problem I had was the mystery itself. Although the book is so well done in many ways, I wanted a more exciting denouement, but I suppose the believability of the book would not lend itself to any stretches of the imagination; she does realism so well.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

"Edge Case" tells the story of an immigrant woman who's husband unexpectedly leaves her, weaving together both the stress of losing her partner and her impending visa expiration. I think YZ Chin did a great job at painting a picture of what it can be like to be an immigrant in the US - and the twin challenges of being both an immigrant and a woman working in a male dominated industry. As Edwina's search for her husband unfolded, I felt for her pain in so many ways, and was really rooting for her and Marlin. At times I did feel that Edwina and Marlin's woes became a bit repetitive, but this was ultimately an interesting read that left me wanting more.

I liked the main character’s point of view; it was refreshing to read a foreigner’s perspective. Edwina allows you to see pieces of her Malaysian roots, through references of her parent’s expectations, and their expectations as a couple this allows the author to paint the picture of pressure and stress. Overall, the writing is slightly scattered. While reading it I had this overwhelming urge to jump into the pages and give the protagonist a shake down and pep talk. Edwina’s journey allows you to see her realize that she did not know her husband at all. A good soul-searching journey with a nice ending.

Unfortunately this was a DNF around 30% for me :(

I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled with two main things. First, the framing: is this all narration to a therapist? In one session? In many? Virtually? In person? So many things unclear that made it hard to understand the stakes. Next, the narration and prose were pretty flat, and combined with the mushy frame device, I could not push through.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

Chin’s deft hand at the occasion to tell got me reading further, “My friend Katie SooHoo said bouncers started letting her into clubs with her real ID two or three months before her twenty-first birthday. Your situation is isometric. You’re basically a therapist at this point. All you lack is paperwork. You did say my story sounds fascinating, so here it is, everything leading up to the disaster”

Through most of this story a young woman, Edwina is searching for her husband Marlin who has disappeared from their New York City apartment. She come home one day after working at a tech startup company to find Marlin has packed a suitcase and left. She contacts his best friend Eamon but doesn’t find any clue as to his whereabouts. The story has the opportunity to delve into the struggles of young Malaysian immigrants struggling to work here in the United States and secure a green card. What transpires his a fractured storyline involving Edwina (you never get a real sense of what she is like and she just isn’t a sympathetic character), Marlin (who you never really know at all) and a few other characters such as Eamon, Marlin’s friend and as well as an offbeat, quirky coworker trying to put the moves on Edwina.
The story line is there it just is so disjointed it’s hard to get a fix on the characters. What compelled Marlin to leave? What happens to the issue of Edwina securing her green card? What is this odd backstory about Marlin’s mother? What’s the deal with the coworker coming on to a married woman holding the green card issue as enticement.?
I think the story had the beginnings of a good story but just wasn’t as successful as it could have been.

Edge Case is a surprisingly different kind of read involving a Malay husband and wife who move to NYC to work in high-powered tech companies. Along with being immigrants, hoping for their green cards, their marriage sinks into despair. Edwina's husband leaves her, and she searches for him, trying to understand why he left her.
The author gives readers enough twists and turns to make the book an interesting read. I found that Edwina's flashbacks to how she and Marlin met and married gave the story a more touching and intimate feel.

"Edge Case" by YZ Chin was a captivating read. This book took me on a wild journey and the characters were really developed. I enjoyed the plot and the characters most of all. Thank you Net Galley for this book.

This book was absolutely fascinating and reeled me in right away with the intrigue of a disappearing husband. The juxtaposition of the main characters being an immigrant couple from Malaysia just made the story more relatable to me.

That said, while I enjoyed the storyline and plot as a whole, I personally found the pacing a bit off; the middle felt slow going and then all at once the main character remembers a few things near the end that were fairly important to the plot. Still, I enjoyed the book immensely. I wasn't expecting it to be one of those books that is more observational about the human condition based on the synopsis, but I thought it was well-done and poignant.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Edge Case is first and foremost a book about immigrants. As a first generation American I'm a bit more like Edwina's friend Katie, I suppose, but Edwina's story still really resonated with me.

Edwina and Marlin are married, and they're both Malaysian Chinese immigrants living in New York. Both of them work in the tech industry, though Edwina's background is in English Lit and her job is as a tester, ferreting out errors in code. Both of them are in search of the elusive green card, not wanting to become illegal immigrants and not wanting to go back to a country where neither of them really fit any longer. In the Trump era the fears are only heightened, permeating their every moment.

Edwina comes home from work one day to find her husband gone, his suitcase gone with him, and this book is about her search for him and for answers as she introspects and recollects both about herself and about why Marlin would have left.

Perhaps the strangest and most intriguing part of the book is the way it's narrated - in first person, to "you," a therapist Edwina seems to have found on an app. Edwina unburdens herself - her fears, her many insecurities, her strained relationships with an overbearing (possibly abusive) mother and a husband who seems to have suffered a psychotic break following the death of his father.

I suspect this is one of those books that will end up on best seller and recommendation lists, despite and maybe because of its oddness. Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for the ARC!