This book did an excellent job at shining a light on the varied experiencies of Filipina women working as domestic servants in Singapore. The three main characters allowed for a wide range of examples. I particularly liked the nuances of Ma'am Elizabeth and Cora's relationship, such as the scene in the Italian restaurant.

I was very gripped by this book in the first half. The second half I started to lose interest somewhat, partially due to some bad triggers (I wish there was an option on StoryGraph for voyeurism/sexual surveillance, which is an important part of this novel and is hard to cover by the existing content warning list). I found some of Donita's actions a little hard to believe when it came to snooping around the Hongs' house. The ending was a little anticlimactic too when it came to the murder case - I wish we'd seen some more of how that all went in the end.

I first learned about Singapore's underclass of migrant workers at an ethnomusicology conference that discussed how important Sunday music-making was to those communities since it was a rare opportunity for freedom. This book really gave a strong sense of that, showing the multilayered community the women were part of in Singapore. A far cry from the undergraduate I once knew, fresh from Singapore, who confidently told me there are no poor people in Singapore!! I appreciated the investigation into queer angles in this book as well.

The book had so many heavy themes that I didn't find the second half enjoyable at all - I just wanted to see what happened. That's why my rating isn't as high as it could be. However, I recommend this book for its searing insights into an often-overlooked and mistreated population that has many rich stories to tell.

I always learn something when I read Jawal’s novels, and this one was no different. The dialogue can be a bit hokey at times, but overall, a good storyline that addresses heavy subject matter with tactful comedy. 

 The main themes of this book - a look at the treatment of Filipina maids in Singapore, class distinction, the use of immigrant workers as scapegoats, etc. are great. However, I felt that the story that Jaswal built around these themes just wasn't as strong. The plot was a very slow burn and it sometimes felt like the story was focused on the less interesting characters or plot points. This led to the mystery feeling a but underdeveloped, to the point that when it was solved it felt like the solution had just come out of nowhere.

That all being said, Jaswal's commentary on real-world issues, including where she drew inspiration for the book was fascinating and I would have loved to know more about that. As always, I look forward to reading more from there in the future.