Edwina's husband suddenly and mysteriously leaves her. What she thought was a solid marriage suddenly is not and she is in many ways unmoored and adrift from other parts of her life she thought were certain too. She had come to the US dreaming of a new start, free of a mother who has never accepted her the way she is. But in the midst of a week that almost seems like a fever dream she comes to realize that her efforts to blend in have led her to lose sight of who she really is. Her mother with her strange stories of past lives is more a part of her life than ever. Her job and its requirements are increasingly bizarre. She ends up doing things she never would have dreamed of doing a week before. Her search for her husband is in reality a search for herself.

Edwina is a funny likeable charachter and narrator. I found myself rooting for her every step of the way. Far from action packed, this is a novel which is a page turner simply because you want to go along for the ride. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and think at the end of the day it will be on many lists of the year's best books.

This novel definitely had it's smart and funny moments, but overall I didn't get it. There were themes in the story, such as being one of the few women in tech, which shone through, but the structure was a bit disorienting. Finally, at the end I understood, despite wondering what was really happening for much of the story. There are elements of this story that others may enjoy more than I did, but this one wasn't really for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

For her first novel, author YZ Chin has written a unique book about immigrants in America, one woman’s search for her husband as well as trying to find herself. The book is written from the perspective of Edwina, the wife of Marlin, both of whom are immigrants from Malaysia who are here on work permits and trying to navigate the complexities of life in the US.
The uniqueness of the book starts from the beginning as this story is told as if we are Edwina’s therapist and she reveals much about the couples lives, work and the issues they encounter. We also find out that even though they are from Malaysia they have certain differences. Edwina is light-skinned, a vegetarian, heavy, has a rather difficult relationship with her mother and lacks much self-esteem. Marlin is dark-skinned, lean, a vegan, a computer coder and worships his recently deceased father. They work at different tech companies and both need to be sponsored in order to get their green card.
Despite coming from the same country the differences are quite obvious and drive much of this novel. Edwina feels that all is going well with her marriage until one day she comes home and Marlin has left. Their suitcase is gone, as well as the couples cat/dog (a toy they made for themselves, not a real animal, but nonetheless something that had become a family pet). What had happened? Was he kidnapped, had he wandered off, and where had he gone?
And so it is Edwina’s attempt to find Marlin, and all the while using us as her therapist to review her life, their life together and her experiences in New York. She tells us that something has changed in Marlin since they returned to the US after his father’s death, and tries to explore the full nature of these changes, whether she has done something to cause the changes and at the same time try to overcome the negative relationship she has with her mother. To put it mildly, Edwina has had to overcome a lot with her mother, who believes and tells Edwina stories as to why she is heavy, a vegetarian, has a mole on her face and much more. Even Marlin starts accusing her of having lovers, as it appears that he, too, has lost touch with reality prior to his disappearance.
While searching for Marlin, Edwina begins to eat meat, change her own lifestyle and begins to come to grips with her own life, as well as why Marlin has left. She finds him, but that is only part of the story. Edge Case is not a typical lost person novel, but rather is a story that makes us all reflect upon the deeper things that drive our lives, our loves and our own self-worth.
This review was previously published at www.mysteryandsuspense.com

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.

Edge Case tells the story of Edwina and Marlin, Chinese immigrants from Malaysia living in New York City working in the tech industry. We spend the book alternating between Edwina before and after her husband, Marlin, disappears and her searching for him weeks before their visas are set to expire. As someone who works in tech, I really appreciated the satirical takes on tech bro workplace culture and found myself both cringing and laughing empathetically at the office scenes. It highlighted the micro aggressions and trauma that many immigrants go through, and vividly illustrated the feeling of uprootedness one can feel when leaving their home behind. I really enjoyed this, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

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 felt that this book was pretty good, but it left me with a lot of questions. The main one being, "What compelled the husband to leave?"

That said, while I enjoyed the concept of the storyline, I felt like the execution was a bit off. The pacing seemed a little off to me, because the middle felt slow... and then near the end the main character remembers things that are viable to the main plot? That was confusing, and I felt like the her remembering should've been in the middle of the book.

Still, I enjoyed the plot overall.

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”