Title: The Good, The Bad, and the Aunties
Series: Aunties, #3
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publisher: Berkeley
Publication date: March 26, 2024
Length: 378 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all.  Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties is the 3rd and final book in author Jesse Q. Sutanto’s comedy series about Meddy Chan and the meddling, hilarious Chinese-Indonesian matriarchs of her huge, interfering family.

Book #3 sees Meddy happily enjoying her honeymoon with her beloved husband Nathan, after the disastrous adventures of the previous two books (including corpses, stolen goods, and potential Mafia hitmen). After a few blissful weeks in Europe, Meddy and Nathan head to Indonesia to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family… and of course, this is when it all hits the fan.

There’s a chaotic storyline about a long-lost lover of Second Aunt’s, now a respectable businessman (and definitely not a crime lord… according to him), whose generous red envelopes go astray — ultimately entangling Meddy, Nathan, and the aunties in a convoluted scheme to get back what was inadvertently lost.

Along the way, the Chan family engages in drugging innocent bystanders, invading (possible) cartel leaders’ homes, minor kidnapping, and other nefarious deeds… but always with the best of intentions. And hey, at least this time there are no bodies hidden in coolers!

The Aunties books are silly, entertaining, and not at all to be taken seriously. The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties is a satisfying wrap-up. Sure, it’s all entirely ridiculous and improbable, but readers who go along for the ride will have a great time.