I really enjoyed Yangze Choo's previous novel, The Night Tiger, so I jumped at the chance to read The Fox Wife.

There are two perspectives: a woman seeking revenge and an older detective on a mission to find a missing person.

I think I would have liked this more if I wasn't expecting a more exciting detective story. The writing is good but the story was quiet, meandering, and long. There were a couple of times I thought about setting it aside but I pressed on because I was ever hopeful that there would be a thrilling conclusion.

What saved this book from being forgotten in a stack of books or turning into a one-star hate read were the two main characters, Snow and Bao. I really liked them and weeks after finishing they stuck with me.

The Fox Wife is character-driven and slow and if I had been expecting that I think I would have liked it more. Despite my frustration with the plot, I fell in love with Snow and Bao and so it wound up being a solid three stars for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co. for a copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.

The Fox Wife was so much more than I ever could have imagined. This book pulls from the magic of Chinese folklore and the predictability of human behavior to create a beautiful story about foxes.

The Fox Wife is told from a dual POV. One point of view is from Snow- well she has many names- but we will call her Snow. Snow is on a mission to avenge her daughter, a fox cub that was murdered for the greed of man. In her journey Snow meets the matriarch of a medicine shop who Snow attaches herself to as a servant to use this position to further her revenge but soon finds that her and the matriarch are connected by more than just coincidence. They have interconnected fates. Which Foxes take very seriously.

The Second POV is a detective called Bao. Bao was blessed by a fox as a child and is now able to hear lies. After being hired to find the identity of a girl who died in a shop’s door, Bao is put on the trail of the foxes.


The Fox Wife isn’t even all that long but because of the pace, action, and interconnected characters it feels long. But in a good way. The story, while technically taking place in a brief amount of time is so action packed that you feel the weight of the story. It really helps you understand how tired Snow must be. The author was also able to personify foxes in this really beautiful and subtle way. When I heard it was a book about a women who turns into a fox, I was thinking like animorphs or something but this was beautifully executed.

There is also a subtle romance plot that you don’t see coming but end up so heartily rooting for by the end that I was certain my heart would break if they didn’t find their way to one another.

I just can’t recommend this book enough.

This was a great book! I very much enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the author’s next work! Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

The Fox Wife is a historical fantasy about a grieving mother on a quest for vengeance and a detective obsessed with fox spirits. This book balances heavier topics such as grief and morality with the whimsy and playful nature of its fox spirit characters.

Historical events were more of the background of this story, mostly because this book is not about these events. The Fox Wife is a slower story driven by its rich, distinct characters and their emotional pasts. I found Snow to be a really compelling main character. I love how almost every detail of the story eventually becomes relevant as the full picture of Snow’s past is revealed.

There is a tiny romance subplot that I found so satisfying. It was really appropriate that it didn’t take up much of the story but still captured my heart.

Another great book by Yangsze Choo!

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

he Fox Wife was such an interesting read. I love reimaginings of folktales. Choo writes so beautifully.

4.5 stars

The Fox Wife is a historical fantasy about a grieving mother on a quest for vengeance and a detective obsessed with fox spirits. This book balances heavier topics such as grief and morality with the whimsy and playful nature of its fox spirit characters.

Historical events and the tides of revolution whisper in the background of this story. However, much like the long-lived foxes, the book is not interested in these events. The Fox Wife is a slower story motivated by its rich, distinct characters and their emotional pasts. Snow is a really compelling main character. Her behavior and narration were uncannily fox-like which made for a really fun reading experience. I was less interested in Bao’s half of the story. I didn’t find him particularly interesting, however, his investigation into a mysterious death rumored to involve fox spirits leads to intriguing reveals related to the main story. I love how almost every detail of the story eventually becomes relevant as the full picture of Snow’s past is revealed.

There is a tiny romance subplot that I found so satisfying. I found it really appropriate that it didn’t take up much of the story but still captured my heart.

The Fox Wife is a quiet, lovely exploration of the myth of the fox spirit.

This took a little bit to get into, but once I did - I was hooked. It’s beautifully written with lush descriptions and takes place in Manchuria in 1908, where rumors of foxes who can transform into people have long been spoken of.
One such woman is seeking to avenge the death of her child, and we follow her on her journey, which is expertly interwoven with other characters’ lives.
Foxes are not the only magical elements in this story - there’s also tales of curses and a man who can hear lies. How they all come together, and the heartfelt joys and sadness throughout, is hauntingly and beautifully done.
I have another title by this author and I cannot wait to read it!

Yangsze Choo has outdone herself with this fascinating book. It's beyond her earlier (very good) books, The Night Tiger and The Ghost Bride. In the Fox Wife the reader is introduced to two separate stories. One about a female fox called, Snow, and another, about a boy called, Bao. The characters and their adventures are so eloquently described that they are very much alive in your mind.
If you love foxes, great mysteries and good detective stories then this is the book for you. Highly recommended.

Interesting premise and I enjoyed learning more about fox legends. I was definitely kept intrigued by the mystery of Bao's gift. The book did feel a bit slow at times and for the second half of the book I found myself more interested in Bao's storyline though previously I had been equally interested in both. Overall, it was an enjoyable and interesting read.

✨ Review ✨ The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo; Narrated by Yangsze Choo

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, Henry Holt and Co, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

As soon as I read the description of this, I was hooked! A historical fiction / magical realism book based in Chinese folklore around foxes - sold!

The book alternates between POVs of Snow, a fox/woman, and Bao, a private detective who can detect lies, in 1908 Manchuria. Bao's investigating a girl who died in the door of a restaurant and Snow is on the hunt for revenge against a photographer who has done her harm. Increasingly these stories converge across the book creating a really lovely narrative.

I loved the historical setting in Manchuria and shortly in Japan in a time of great modernization and change. This sense of change mixed with folklore and the foxes' efforts at survival and how they choose to live made this such an enjoyable read. Admittedly it's long and slow in places, but this made me love it all the more.

I listened to approx 20% of this book and love that it's the author herself narrating it. I think there's a lot going on which made me prefer the text version, but the audio version is great if you can handle dual POVs.

What a gorgeous book that I'm so glad I read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: historical fiction plus magical realism & folklore
Setting: 1908 Manchuria and Japan
Reminds me of: Yangsze Choo's The Night Tiger and Janie Chang's The Library of Legends
Pub Date: Feb 2024
Length: 14 hours 36 minutes

Read this if you like:
⭕️ folklore-inspired magical realism
⭕️ Chinese/Japanese historical fiction
⭕️ interaction between foxes - full of curiosity and trouble
⭕️ the merging of modernizing forces and traditional ways

Yangsze Choo has written a wonderful tale that weaves together mythology and history with a bit of magic and takes place in Manchuria during the early 1900s. The story is told from alternating perspectives. First, we meet Ah San, a young fox posing as a human woman. She is on the search for Bektu Nikan, the person responsible for the death of her child. We also meet Bao, a detective who is investigating the mysterious death of a young woman. I loved the character of Bao and enjoyed hearing stories from his childhood and it was interesting to see how this intersected with his current case.

Choo beautifully writes this novel (as her others). It was interesting to view Chinese history, culture, and storytelling throughout this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this great book.

It’s 1908, Manchuria. The royal family that has governed China for two centuries is in turmoil. Society at large is no different. There is famine, bad harvests, and rumbling of revolution. Young men from the most prosperous families are going to Japan to further their studies, and sometimes plot rebellion in their native land. If there’s ever a time to believe in fox spirits and gods to turn the tide, this is it.

In the Manchurian capital there have been disappearances and strange occurrences involving young women. There are rumors that fox spirits may be involved. Who to believe? When a young woman is found dead on the doorstep of a popular restaurant, its owner asks Bao, a retired schoolteacher turned private detective, to investigate. Bao has his own fascination with fox spirits and gods, and maybe an experience or two with them, though he’s not quite sure. Bao’s investigation leads him to a photographer who may be linked to young men from prominent families in town. Coincidentally, Ah San, a young woman from the countryside, has come to the city looking for this photographer. She believes he is responsible for the death of her child, and wants to exact revenge.

Every chapter alternates in a dual narrative— Ah San’s in 1st person, and Bao’s, the detective (all-knowing narrator, 3rd person)— that coalesces in the end. Ah San, or Snow Hu, which is her real name, has astute observations about human behavior, especially male behavior. She is a very resourceful and spunky heroine. Bao is also an endearing character. Ah San and Bao give a sort of ying-yan vibe to the narrative.

The chapters end, invariably, in a cliffhanger, and one would love to keep reading the same storyline to know more, but then it’s the opposite character’s turn and by the time the narrative goes back to the earlier point, it’s hard to remember what the cliffhanger had been. In spite of this shortcoming, The Fox Wife is sumptuously atmospheric, with breezy and effortless storytelling.

Great characters and world building, elements of Chinese folklore and mythology, historical insight about the period, and an enthralling chain of mysteries with a common thread, make The Fox Wife a winner.

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to a free digital copy via Netgalley.

**4.5 stars**

This was my first book of Ms Choo’s I’ve read even though I own her first two. I was attracted by the mystical cover and the fact that I love foxes. This book did not disappoint! It’s a blend of historical fantasy and a mystery-detective fiction story. Each chapter rotates between the point of view of Bao, a private investigator who can sense a lie, and the mysterious female Fox in the title who’s hell bent on revenge. Why is she out for revenge? Why is Bao hired to look for her and how do their stories entwine? Read this wonderful blend of mystery and folklore to find out.

The only negative I have for the story is the pacing was a bit slow in a few areas and that’s why I’m not giving it 5 stars. But if you want a well written enchanting story then read this!

**thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**

This was a cool book but the experience of reading it was exhausting. I think that has more to do with what was going on in life while reading the book. Still - one I would recommend!

Yangsze Choo’s THE FOX WIFE has so many elements I love: historical fantasy based on Chinese mythology, mystery and murder and intrigue, romance and fate. Snow, a hulijing (or what is known as a fox spirit) is looking for revenge, tracking the man responsible for her child’s death with murderous intent. Meanwhile, Bo, an aging investigator, is sent on an adventure when he takes on a job looking into the death of a mysterious girl. Their paths, unexpectedly, lead to one another, with many surprises along the way: revolutionaries, family curses, blackmail, reunions, and of course, fox magic.

Choo’s storytelling is delightful, charming, and utterly satisfying. While THE FOX WIFE’s storylines are instigated by heavy themes, overall, the book read more lighthearted, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent in Choo’s magical world.

Thanks again Henry Holt Books for the beautiful gifted book, along with all the wonderful fox-themed goodies that came with it 🦊 I can’t wait to read Choo’s previous books now. THE FOX WIFE is already out!

This book was so beautifully written and it was clear that Yangsze Choo knows her stuff. What I really enjoyed was the weaving of Chinese lore and myth into a mystery story.

What didn’t work for me was the pacing and that is just a not for me book. It’s a slow, slow burn and the payoff just wasn’t my favorite. I would find myself often getting confused at parts what was happening because of the flowery language. However, this is a well crafted story and I am glad I read it.

A slow-paced but lovely historical fiction piece, The Fox Wife, is full of East Asian folklore, customs, and traditions from the early 20th century. This book is a great read for anyone looking for more Chinese mythological stories and for historical fiction readers that like a bit of fantasy in their books.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was incredible. Yangsze Choo has really cemented herself as a favorite author for me. I love how she weaves folklore into real world settings; she does it so seamlessly. The fox folklore was so interesting to me and I was enthralled from the first page. The reveals in the story were really beautifully done and I really grew to love each and every character that we got to know. I hope to reread this soon. This is also one of my favorite covers of the year.

If you thought Ghost Bride was good, you've seen nothing yet. Yangsze Choo blows it out of the water. Her writing is mythical, magical, strong, and can't be beat.