A cyberpunk sci fi mystery. The story follows Lin Vu, a gangster/private investigator who lies in a Chinese-occupied Hanoi in 26 Streets. She was born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, and an outsider everywhere. She finds a place for herself working for the underworld of Hanoi’s crime boos Bao Nguyen who has brutally trained her to become a fighter. When a strange new addiction takes root known as Fat Victory- a dangerously addictive immersive simulation of the US-Vietnam War, an Englishman comes to solve his friend’s murder and hires Lin to help him. Soon she finds herself in the middle of a bigger conspiracy, filled with difficult choices, Lin has to pick between family, country, or gang. This was definitely an odd read for me, I was drawn in by the premise but the end result was a bit meh for me. The protagonist is a tough character, who drinks and does drugs, has a heart of gold (sort of), and definitely isn’t a “good” person. She was a unique one to follow, but the overall mystery fell flat for me. I just couldn’t find myself invested in the story despite it being a unique one. While this didn’t work out for me, definitely give it a go if you’re a fan of sci-fi or cyberpunk mysteries.

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*