The Leftover Woman

An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women in New York City—from the New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and Girl in Translation.

I was in the Beautiful Country. I needed to let go of my past if I were to have any hope of walking into the future I longed for, a future with my daughter in it.

Jasmine Yang arrives in New York City from her rural Chinese village without money or family support, fleeing a controlling husband, on a desperate search for the daughter who was taken from her at birth—another female casualty of China’s controversial One Child Policy.

Meanwhile, publishing executive Rebecca Whitney seems to have it a prestigious family name and the wealth that comes with it, a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband, and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. She’s even hired a Chinese nanny to help her balance the demands of being a working wife and mother. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardize not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble.

The Leftover Woman finds these two unforgettable women on a shocking collision course. Set against the backdrop of a city divided, Jean Kwok has crafted both a gripping suspense novel and a profound exploration of identity and belonging, motherhood and family. This is a twisting and surprisingly poignant tale that exposes the many ways we fail to understand each other when separated by race, wealth, culture, and language—and how these misunderstandings can have potentially deadly results.