Original Title: 暗黑者
By Zhou Haohui （周浩晖）
First Published: 2009-07
Subject: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural
Pages::312 | Size:240×168 mm | Paperback | B&W
Description
A deadly game of cat-and-mouse from China’s most popular thriller writer.
Chengdu, China: The vibrant capital of Sichuan province is suddenly held hostage when a shocking manifesto is released by an anonymous vigilante known as Eumenides, the Greek goddess of vengeance and retribution. It is a bold declaration of war against a corrupt legal system, promising to deliver final judgement to those the law cannot reach. The public starts nominating potential targets, and before long there are hundreds of names added to the kill list.
Eumenides’ cunning game has only just begun. First, he publishes a “death notice” a public announcement that proclaims his next target, the crimes for which they will be punished, and the date of their execution. The note is both a public challenge and a deeply personal taunt to the police. Everyone knows who is going to die. And when. And the police cannot stop it.
A special task force of elite detectives and specialists is assembled to catch Eumenides before he strikes again, and also to find the connections to a notorious unsolved murder case from eighteen years ago. But each member of the team has something personal at stake, and something devastating to hide. The hunt to find Eumenides is on.
Beyond its kinetic action, ingenious plotting, and twisted allegiances, Death Notice gives readers intimate access to the streets of Chengdu and announces Zhou Haohui’s arrival in the west as a major thriller writer.
Author’s Profile
Zhou Haohui is regarded as one of the top three suspense authors in China today.
The Death Notice trilogy is China’s bestselling work of suspense fiction to date. The online series based on these novels has received more than 2.4 billion views and achieved almost legendary status among Chinese online dramas. He lives in Yangzhou, in China’s Jiangsu province.
Media Coverage
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
NPR
Sunday Times
The Straits Times
China Daily
Xinhua News
CGTN….
Reviews
“After an ending as satisfyingly twisty as a cursive ideogram, we are ditched on the mean streets of Chengdu, ready for the sequel.”
–NPR.org
“This procedural, the first novel in China’s most popular suspense trilogy, boasts the rich cultural immersion, the bird’s-eye view of procedural technique in an international police force, and the complex mysteries that have long driven the popularity of Scandinavian crime fiction.”
—Booklist, starred review
“An elaborately plotted thriller that explores the limitations of justice.”
–Kirkus
“A sadistic murderer inspired by Greek mythology goes after a series of victims he believes to be deserving of their fate, for a plot that has enjoyed comparisons to that twisted classic of retribution, Se7en.”
–10 Crime Books to Read in June, CrimeReads
“A word of warning, though: the book is a real page turner and the intricately woven plot and the suspense of the story makes it nigh on impossible to put down. Be prepared to lose hours of your day without realizing it.”
–China Daily
“The cliff-hanger ending will leave readers shocked and clamoring for the next installment. VERDICT Recommended for hard-boiled crime fiction fans and anyone who enjoys a good mystery with an international flavor.”
–Library Journal
“ A perfect cat-and-mouse thriller…The perfect balance of mystery, thriller, tension, and twists.”
–BookRiot, “Diverse Mysteries and Thrillers”
“ Death Notice has a cinematic feel and a frenetic pace…it is pulsating, rollicking entertainment from a country that doesn’t appear all that frequently in our geography of crime fiction.”
–CrimeFictionLover.com
“A splendid hall of mirrors that lures you headlong down its twisting passageways with a bounty of literary trap doors, hidden stairways, and hairpin turns. You’ll emerge breathless and eager for more.”
—Dan Fesperman, author of Safe Houses
“Death Notice is a gritty, hard-hitting page turner set on the mean streets of a China you’ve never seen before. A first rate tale of criminal intrigue right up there with the best of Michael Connelly and Jo Nesbo…but with a tang all its own. Highly recommended!” —Cristopher Reich, New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Deception