Those Opulent Days

(Paperback)

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One will lose his mind. One will pay. One will agonise. And one will die.

Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond have been best friends since childhood. Now, as young men running their families formidable businesses, they make up Saigons most powerful group of friends in 1928 Vietnams elite society.

Until one of them is murdered.

In a lavish mansion on a hill in Dalat, all four men have gathered for an evening of indulgence, but one of them wont survive the night. Toggling between this fatal night and the six days leading up to it, told from the perspectives of the four men, their mothers, their servants, and their lovers, an intricate web of terror, loyalty, and well-kept secrets begins to unravel.

As the story creeps closer to the murder, and as each character becomes a suspect, the true villain begins to emerge: colonialism, the French occupation of Vietnam, and the massive economic differences that catapult the wealthy into the stratosphere while the poor starve on the streets.

Those Opulent Daysis at once both a historical novel of vivid intensity and a pitch-perfect murder mystery with a cast of characters you wont soon forget.

PRAISE FORTHOSE OPULENT DAYS
Intricately plotted and full of dark secrets, Jacquie PhamsThose Opulent Daysis for lovers of smart and sophisticated crime fiction. Mirandi Riwoe, author of Sunbirds

Pham delivers a lush tale weaved with deceit, friendship, and privilege. The opulent language will entice you in, the mystery will keep you there. What a debut! Sharlene Allsop, author ofThe Great Undoing

1920s Vietnam is lushly and lovingly described, and its characters vividly realized. Rather than being a mystery, the novel has far more in common with noir: It examines the dark griminess that is part and parcel of the spectrum of humanity. LA Times

Pham debuts with a memorable and disturbing historical set in French-occupied VietnamPhams prose is lyrical, and her evocation of the period immersivethis is a tense and unique dispatch from a key period in Vietnamese history. Publishers Weekly

This historical crime thriller is rich with heart and mystery, perfect for readers who crave thrillers with more depth. Books+Publishing

As a murder mystery it is faultless Artshub

a page-turning murder mysteryJane Pek, author of The Verifiers

Reviews

A fascinating portrait of French colonial Vietnam, replete with simmering class tensions and murderous consequences. Pham succeeds at evoking an era both grim and glamorous in the service of a mystery that informs as much as it entertains. -- Andromeda Romano-Lax, author ofThe Deepest Lake
A compelling and complex portrait of human relationships, desires and failings. Jacquie Pham beautifully evokes the lushness and corruption of colonial Vietnam, while delivering a page-turning murder mystery. -- Jane Pek, author ofThe Verifiers
A masterful portrait of the enduring power of friendship and the weight of familythe ones we are born into and the ones we create on our own. Harrowing, suspenseful and beautifully written, Jacquie Phams debut novel, Those Opulent Days, introduces a stunning new voice in crime fiction. -- Danielle Girard,USA Todaybestselling author ofUp Close
Eerie, atmospheric, and shot through with peril, Those Opulent Days captures six heady, violent days in French-colonial Vietnam that will forever alter the lives of this unforgettable cast of characters. Both a riveting mystery and a moving historical drama, this is a glittering debut. -- Kirstin Chen,New York Timesbestselling author ofCounterfeit

Author Bio

Jacquie Phamis a Vietnamese-Australian writer of adult fiction. Growing up in Vietnam during the New Korean wave around 2007, Jacquie started writing short stories about Korean boy bands. She then moved to Australia to attend the University of Sydneynot wanting to let 13-year-old Jacquie down, she has decided to pursue a career as an author. She currently lives in Sydney with two very goofy dogs. Dont tell them, but Jacquie also loves cats.