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A quick and rather straightforward #SerialKillerThriller set in a northern and rather remote Chinese town. I appreciated the society comments and differences in how the Party, the legal system and police force operates more than the actual mystery itself (though I suppose it is rather satisfying to be proven right on identifying the killer!). The romance makes feel like the start of a series and I would be interested in seeing what‘s next!

This was just a meh for me. Involves the brutal murder of a young woman in a small rural village in northern China. Inspector Lu was OK as the man on the job, but I felt as if I was watching this from outside the story, no real connection. The writing was a bit stilted to me, lots of poems/quotes added at various times breaking up the narrative, and while interesting, a lot of wandering off about Chinese history/customs, etc. I🔻

My #readingasia2021 pick for #china thanks to an invitation from Minotaur Books to read this via NetGalley, Thief of Souls is disappointing. It‘s an okay procedural, but clearly written by a white guy. He spends too much time explaining the justice system in China, the pacing is all over the place, and the big, cinematic ending falls flat because I figured out the killer long before the detective did. 7 hrs for #20in4

Apparently this is scarier that I realized. I literally had nightmares last night thanks to this and I‘m not even enjoying it all that much. 😔 I honestly can‘t remember the last time book invaded my dreams like that. Review to come when I finish it. #netgalley