Counterfeit by Kristin Chen

This is a multi-layered book that has a lot more to it than meets the eye. The uncomplicated summary is that Ava Wong, a strait-laced Chinese American lawyer, reconnects with her one time college roommate, Winnie, and becomes entangled in a scheme that involves importing counterfeit luxury handbags and passing them off as the genuine article in a unique, hands on, and dodgy way. When their operation is uncovered, Winnie disappears, leaving Ava to deal with the consequences. The book opens with Ava telling her story to a detective, so from the get go you know that they get caught. The subtext is where it gets interesting. Ava followed her family's ambitions for their children--she worked hard, got good grades, went to high powered schools, worked for a competitive law firm, and married a doctor. Then she stepped out of most of those roles to become a mother and the unraveling began. She has a child who pretty clearly needs to be evaluated for developmental delays, feels out of her depth and doesn't know how to ask for help. Winnie stepped in and there are a lot of ways to see what she provided for Ava. The book is told in a pretty linear fashion, but the undercurrents it plumbs are anything but straight forward. This seems like fluff but I found myself thinking a lot about it in the days after I finished it.