What the critics say

About 'The Feng Shui Detective' and Vittachi's other novels

'Highly entertaining.'

Time Out

'An entertaining debut, with a zany but affectionate multicultural mix.'
Kirkus Reviews

'Makes you laugh out loud and often.'

The Age, Melbourne

'Unsurpassable mixture of humor, wisdom and whodunnit.'

The Crime Forum, Germany

'A very funny book. Dangerously so at times.'

That's Beijing

'Heading for cult status.'

Herald Sun, Sydney

'A bestselling English-language author based in Hong Kong, Vittachi stands to become a lot better known in the U.S... Vittachi's unique worldview infuses his writing with vitality and gives his characters a charming believability.'

Publishers Weekly

'Fun, fast and furious.'

HK Magazine

'A successful crossover book with cult potential.'
Der Standard, Vienna

'One of the most droll, attractive and unusual of modern amateur detectives.'

The Bulletin

'Move over, Sherlock.'

Straits Times, Singapore

'Wacky and hilarious whodunit -- you just have to dig in and hold on for the wild ride.'

Asian Review of Books

'Should bear a large red label warning against its being read while consuming beverages, lest unwary readers wind up spitting tea through their nose as I did.'

That's Beijing

'Original, funny and unpredictable.'

NDR Info Hamburg

'[The stories are] well nigh perfect in their Holmesian precision and elegance, but much funnier... Vittachi excels at capturing the variants of English generated by a global economy.... When a crime book makes you laugh out loud and often, it's time to pass the good news on. Blow Chandler.'

The Age, Melbourne

'Has comedy, pace and at the same time a certain philosophical calm.'

Der Tagesspiegel Berlin

'Laugh-out-loud funny... the descriptions are colorful, the use of language is superb, and the mystery is well-plotted.'

The Mystery Company Newsletter (US)

'Clever and comic.'

Sydney Morning Herald

'The comedy brims not only from his satirical observations on them but from a stream of jokes and episodes of high slapstick. This is a series and a hero – smart, out of the ordinary, buoyantly comic – that one hopes have a long way to run.'

The Bulletin (Newsweek Australia)

'An international bestseller whose unlikely sleuths appear to be heading for cult status.'

Herald Sun, Melbourne

'I hope Vittachi has more of this delightful pair of detectives in the pipeline.'

Newcastle Herald, Australia

'Does for the flow of ch'i what Sherlock Holmes did for cocaine.'

South China Morning Post

'A funny, cross-cultural take on the detective fiction genre.'

Sydney Morning Herald

'Thoroughly appealing... Reading this charming, funny, feel-good story is bound to result in a huge boost of good karma.'

Booklist (US)

'Totally engrossing and very, very funny.'

Radio 3AK Melbourne

"Hilarious and ingenious. The character sketches were wonderful... really funny."

Robert Temple, author of Netherworld

'An inspired idea.'

The Age

'His ear for dialogue is almost perfect ... I really enjoyed this book."

South China Morning Post

'Wonderful, hysterical. The humour was constantly there.'

Jan Goldsmith, 3CR Melbourne

'Set to become a cult success.'

Illawarra Mercury, Aus

'The clever planting of clues and the neat solution of the puzzle is only one of the many strands of enjoyment in this book. The author's love of the English language is another – from the punning titles he gives the stories to his ear for an accent, to the confusion wrought throughout by idiomatic English – is a constant source of amusement for the reader.'

Crime Factory

'If Hollywood wakes up...'

The Australian

'Vittachi has a flair for mixing the dramatic with the comedic.'

The West Australian

'Hong Kong's favorite funny man delivers again, with humorously accurate representations of both locals and expats, and a storyline that will keep you on your heels.'

HK Magazine

'A combination of crafty plotting, quirky humor and Asian philosophy. Very enjoyable indeed.'

Daily News Tweed Heads

'The man who made Lee Kuan Yew laugh.'

The New Paper, Singapore

'To many, he is Asia's funniest, most pungent columnist and author. To others, he is a subversive threat who must be watched like a hawk.'

Herald Sun, Melbourne

'A disarmingly dry sense of humor.... An unusual and often very funny book.'

Canberra Times

'Excellent comic timing, a gift for writing dialogue and a sound grasp of the fundamentals of Chinese geomancy'

ThingsAsian.com

'The story is populated by a stream of eccentric characters and amusing examples of Singapore's polyglot, multiethnic culture.... a tasty smorgasbord of modern Asian life.'

Japan Times

'Very clever and amusing story here. He pokes gentle fun at almost everyone. Americans, Australians, English and Chinese alike. I truly hope this pair of mismatched detectives will appear again very soon. And who knows, you may just learn a little bit about Feng Shui!'

New Mystery Reader (US)