Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Corazon, Donita, and Angel are Filipina domestic workers—part of the wave of women sent to Singapore to be cleaners, maids, and caregivers.
Corazon: A veteran domestic worker, Cora had retired back to the Philippines for good, but she has returned to Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Now she’s keeping a secret from her wealthy employer, who is planning an extravagant wedding for her socialite daughter.
Donita: Barely out of her teens, this is Donita’s first time in Singapore, and she’s had the bad luck to be hired by the notoriously fussy Mrs. Fann. Brazen and exuberant, Donita’s thrown herself into a love affair with an Indian migrant worker.
Angel: Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves. She’s alarmed when her employer’s son suddenly brings in a new nurse who may be a valuable ally…or meant to replace her.
Then an explosive news story shatters Singapore’s famous tranquility—and sends a chill down the spine of every domestic worker. Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid, has been arrested for murdering her female employer. The three women don’t know the accused well, but she could be any of them; every worker knows stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn’t commit.
Shocked into action, Donita, Corazon, and Angel will use their considerable moxie and insight to piece together the mystery of what really happened on the day Flordeliza’s employer was murdered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore’s families like the women who work in their homes…ered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore’s elite like the women who work in their homes…
When a maid is accused of murdering her employer, her fellow maids are determined to find clues. In Now You See Us, author Balli Kaur Jaswal delivers an interesting tale focusing on two different classes of women in Singapore. The ma’ams are the homeowners and hire Filipina maids, among other nationalities.
The dynamic between the ma’ams and the maids is sometimes fraught with tension, depending on how well the employment agency has matched the two. As the storyline unfolds, there is a definite contrast between the relationship Cora and Ma’am Elizabeth share compared to the unpleasantness between Donita and Mrs. Fann. A third maid, Angel, has stayed in a household after the wife died and is helping the husband after a stroke.
With no alibi, Flordeliza faces life in jail or execution. While the police seem confident she murdered Mrs. Hong, her fellow domestic workers understand all too well how vulnerable they are to being exploited. Much like other scenarios where the rich set the narrative, it’s the people behind the scenes—the servants or maids in this case—who know the truth.
The author brings the three women to life, all of who are at different stages of their lives. Cora’s secrets from her past resurface, forcing her to deal with unresolved matters. Donita is yearning for something more than serving an unpleasant woman. Angel is worrying she is going to be replaced. Together, these women form an unbreakable bond.
Now You See Us delivers a powerful message about domestic workers and the fact that while they are trained to be in the background, they are always watching and aware of what is happening around them. This story took me on a deep dive into a different culture with well-developed characters and an interesting mystery.
Balli Kaur Jaswal’s latest novel is The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters (Harper Collins/William Morrow). Her previous novels include Inheritance, which won the Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelist Award, and Sugarbread, a finalist for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize and the Singapore Literature Prize. Her third novel Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows was translated into 15 languages and chosen by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club.
