Black Water Sister

Written by Zen Cho

Narrated by Catherine Ho

A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy.

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there's only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she's determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god--and she's decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she'll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781980036036

Zen Cho

Zen Cho is the author of the Sorcerer to the Crown novels, Black Water Sister and various shorter fiction. Her work has won the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards, and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, as well as being shortlisted for the World Fantasy, Lambda, Locus and Astounding Awards. Born and raised in Malaysia, Zen now lives in the UK.

Reviews for Black Water Sister

[sashastorylover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book a lot! Catherine Ho is good narrator!

[Mia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked parts of the book. Especially the whole culture concerning ghosts / temples / superstitions ....Sometimes it was a bit too violent for me though. Even though it´s realistic to become really rough - the author indulged a lot in very long violent scenes. I would have preferred more content about superstitions and other gods. But still : worth reading. And the narrator is really good - great voice , and very well read ! That´s why I enjoyed it . I probably wouln´t have gone through with a normal book (paper , e-book ) , but listening while walking through the city was inspiring . Especially when you pass old buildings :) I would rate 3.5 ; cheers

[lavaturtle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book grabbed me from the first page, with the unique situation the protagonist finds herself in. I appreciated getting a glimpse of a city and culture I know basically nothing about. Jess and the various people haunting her are great characters, and I'm happy with the eventual ending. Definitely going to look for more books by this author!

[Joe Maggio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very Interesting, modern point of view on the very old subject of spirits! I enjoyed the book and the characters in it!

[Jenna · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The plot is interesting, and I liked Jess’s family. Jess, though, is very dramatic and immature. I wish there was more character development.

[Nicole Fong · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book so much it reminded me so much of penang and my late grandmother and my brief experiences with mediums and being queer. TW FOR FOLKS SEXUAL VIOLENCE. And we need Malaysian audiobook narrators, this narrator mispronounced all the Malaysian words and got the manglish tone so wrong too that I had trouble understanding words. That's my only critique for the audiobook!

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. Jess is a Harvard educated woman and she is moving to Penang with her parents. Having grown up in the United States, she does not have the in-depth understanding of the culture. She soon finds herself entangled in the lives of the Gods and Ghosts.
This was so we'll written and very fast paced. I would definitely recommend! ?

[Amanda Kramer · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Confusing. Still have no idea what ch 26 was for or why it cut off like that. Spent a lot of hours slogging through repetitive and annoying episodes because the plot and characters were engaging. Not worth it.

[Charissa Chedi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fantastic narrator! The book has a great storyline, I couldn’t stop listening.

[othemts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jessamyn Teoh, a recent college graduate who grew up in the United States after her family emigrated there from Malaysia during her early childhood, faces an uncertain future.  She is moving back to Malaysia with her parents where she has to adjust to an unfamiliar culture, find work, and maintain a long-distance relationship with her girlfriend while hiding that she's lesbian from her parents.  Things grow more complicated when Jess begins hearing the voice of her deceased grandmother Ah Ma.  Soon Jess finds herself plunged into an adventure featuring a powerful real estate developer, gangsters, and gods.  To put things right, and to find justice for Ah Ma, Jess must become a medium for a vengeful goddess known as Black Water Sister.Black Water Sister is a unique novel that blends elements of fantasy, mystery, and fish out of water story to tell a story of contemporary Malaysia.  Facets of Malaysian culture such as tradition, religion, and family are woven into the narrative.  Unfortunately for Jess (and others like her), homophobia is also a part of the Malaysian culture.  It's an interesting and well-written story that I enjoyed.

[anniik_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

TW/CW: Family death, abuse, sexual assault, violenceRATING: 3.5/5REVIEW: Black Water Sister is the story of Jess, a young Chinese-American woman who moves back to Malaysia with her family. Soon after arriving, she starts hearing the voice of her grandmother, a supernatural experience that leads her into a world of gods and spirits and the dangers that she hadn’t known existed.This is, overall, a good book. I enjoyed reading it. The writing was sound and the story mostly made sense. There were a few things I had questions about at the end, but not many.There was a lot of fighting and violence, which isn’t my thing, and which I find very difficult to read in general, but overall it was a really interesting book with interesting characters that kept me entertained.

[shrike58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is Ms. Cho's third novel and represents a very different flavor than the Regency-flavored fairy tales for adults that she has written previously. Cho has spoken before of writing stories as if what the average Malaysian thought about reality was true, that there were potentially hostile spirits that needed to be appeased, and appeasing said spirits is a major driving force of the plot. On the other hand, one has the circumstances our protagonist Jess finds herself in; a thoroughly Americanized young woman thrown back into Malaysia, and wondering what she is going to do with her life; particularly how she can explain to her parents about her real sexual orientation. From there, the feeling is equal parts gangster-family epic and suspense thriller, just crossing the line into horror; except that it's going to take transcending violence to find a solution to the conflicts of the novel. I thought this book was great and I can easily imagine it being on the World Fantasy short list for best novel. It also shows, that anytime Ms. Cho wants to tackle the literary market, that door is open for her.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unemployed recent Harvard graduate Jess hasn't come out to her parents as she returns with them to Penang where her father will work for his younger brother and she will, well what happens after she starts hearing her departed grandmother's voice and get embroiled with the local gods is the story. Displacement, family, local gods, old crimes mix inn a non-stop torrent as Jess struggles for herself among all the forces internal and external that form the current in which she is immersed.

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Black Water Sisterby Zen ChoWow! This was written so wonderfully! Jess moves back to Malaysia with her parents after she grew up in America and graduated from college. Her girlfriend, which her parents doesn't know she has, plans to move there to work later.Things get complicated right away. She starts hearing voices. She blames it on stress. The voice tells her it's her grandmother, her mom's mother. Her mom never speaks about her mom and says little about that side of the family. This grandmother also happened to die last year.It's a wild ride through ghosts, gods, vengeful spirits, family secrets, corporate greed, mediums, and social norms.It's got some brutal parts, funny parts, and educational parts! Black Water Sister is the name of a god that many fear with good reason. Jess learns this along the way.

[zoes_human · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jessamyn Teoh grew up a Malaysian immigrant in the United States and now, as an adult with a degree but no job, finds herself an immigrant in her country of birth when she returns with her parents in the aftermath of her father's illness and job loss. As her stress mounts from worry about her parents, living with extended family, and managing a long-distance relationship with her out girlfriend while being in the closet, she starts hearing her dead grandmother's voice in her head.A contemporary urban fantasy that starts out light but evolves into something more unsettling and complex. As I read, I experienced laughter, frustration, hope, fear, excitement, commiseration, horror, relief, and joy, and I leave it feeling as though Jess were my life-long friend.CONTENT ADVISORY: scenes depicting intimate partner abuse, attempted rape, homophobia, and colorismI received a complimentary advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.