Publisher: Head of Zeus
English Edition Translated by Zac Haluza
Publication Date – 14 June 2018
This is a book I read earlier in the year, but I did not get a chance to write a review for it until now. Death Notice is an intricate murder mystery thriller from bestselling Chinese author Zhou Haohui, originally written back in 2014. The first English translation was released in June of 2018.
Goodreads Synopsis:
An elite police squad hunts a manipulative mastermind out to publically execute criminals the law cannot reach. A wild thriller and deadly game of cat-and-mouse from one of China’s most popular authors. For fans of Jo Nesbo, Se7en, and Hong Kong police cinema.
The brutal murder of respected police officer Sergeant Zheng Haoming sends shockwaves through Chengdu, a modern metropolis in the heart of China’s stunning Sichuan Province. He had been obsessed by an unsolved, eighteen-year-old murder case, until an entity calling themselves Eumenides (after the Greek goddess of vengeance and retribution) releases a terrifying manifesto. Is the manifesto a sick joke, or something more sinister? Soon, the public starts ‘nominating’ worthy targets for Eumenides to kill, and two days later, Sergeant Zheng is dead.
Eumenides’ cunning game is only getting started. The police receive a “death notice,” a chilling note announcing the the killer’s next target, the crimes they have committed, and the date of their execution. The note is both a challenge and a taunt to the police. When the first victim dies in public, under their complete protection, the police are left stunned. More death notices are coming. The chase is on.
Death Notice is an explosive, page-turning thriller filtered through a vibrant cultural lens. Zhou Haohui expertly adds an exhilarating new perspective to the twists and tropes of the genre all fans love, making for a uniquely propulsive and entertaining read.
I found Death Notice to be an extremely enjoyable piece of crime fiction that I was able to power through in a short amount of time. The overall mystery of this book is quite complex, as the investigative team has to investigate this modern set of killings as well as the original murders which occurred some 18 years previously. There are a lot of fantastic twists and turns throughout the book as various reveals about the characters in the book are brought to light. I loved seeing how all the pieces of this mystery came together, and thoroughly enjoyed the overall conclusion about who was behind it, their motivation and their legacy.
While the overall mystery is really clever, I loved the intricate ways in which the antagonist was able to manipulate the police in order to kill the targets they were protecting. Not only does the killer come up with some elaborate plans to take out his intended victims, he is often able to get the police to do his bidding. There are some great scenes showcasing this throughout the book, as well as some great reveals about the police characters and why they are able to be manipulated.
The setting of this book is also pretty intriguing, especially as it is not a setting Western crime readers would likely be familiar with. The book is set in the Chinese city of Chengdu, and I am willing to bet many Western readers have never even heard of that city before. This provides the reader a unique setting where they do not know the rules or how the police investigate crimes. The author’s interpretation of Chinese criminal investigation is quite fascinating and readers can enjoy the similarities or differences between this and Western crime fiction. I also liked how the book was set back in 2002, in the early days of public internet technology. It was interesting to see how different this recent time period was technology–wise, and it offered some intriguing elements to the story.
Overall, Death Notice is an outstanding piece of crime fiction, with an intricate story and a compelling setting. This is an easy book for Western audiences to enjoy, and readers should find this piece of Chinese crime fiction quite intriguing. I hope that we will get more translations of Zhou Haohui’s work in the future, especially ones that continue the captivating story started in this incredible book.
My Rating:
The Unseen Library 