Another brilliant life ช น ม น-ฮ

Recently, I learnt that in Chinese language, emotions and inner landscapes are usually described using images of nature (a literary method passed down from classical Chinese poetry). After I recognized this, it was like a whole other world opened before me. Previously long and seemingly irrelevant descriptive passages suddenly became powerful and moving. Some descriptions are just downright beautiful. There were so many good phrases in this novel -- if I'm ever free, I have to do a bit of translation.

But mainly, I was just really impressed by how dense this entire novel is! This book is chock-full of literary references; priest was referencing novels I've never even heard of. There are five interlocking cases, based off Western classics:

- The first case is based off Stendhal's The Red and the Black. A young man from a rural area attempts to rise beyond the poor family that he was born in through a mix of cruelty, hard work, talent and deception. - The second case (my favorite!) is based off Lolita. Three generations of women in the Su family trafficked young girls as sex slaves and then murdered them; the Su women were themselves trafficked as sex slaves. It's chilling and sad how the abused can become the abuser. - The third case is based off Macbeth. The patriarch of a powerful Chinese family passes away, leaving a power vacuum and resulting in a series of power struggles. - The fourth case is based off the Japanese movie, All About Lily Chou Chou, leading into a case based off Demons. A ring of abuse is revealed at a prestigious boarding school for the sons/daughters of powerful Chinese families. After unearthing the horrid abuse at the school, the main characters discover the cruelty and immorality of the fathers/families of the school's ringleaders. - The last case (the final arc) is The Count of Monte Cristo. A previously morally upright and respected professor turns into a vigilante and begins to deliver poetic justice to the criminals who slip through the cracks in the justice system. He gathers those whom the legal system have failed and turn them into vigilante killers, forming a cult who are willing to kill innocent people in order to deliver this so-called 'poetic justice'.

These five cases together tell a very long and complicated story of power, ambition, cruelty and abuse that spanned over 20 years and through three generations in various families. I'm honestly dying to see priest's notes for this book, lol.

I'm again marvelling at the way she describes the psyche, trauma, personalities and relationships. It's been a long time since I read this book and it felt like I was reading through fresh eyes again. I loved the main pair's relationship.

The pace in this novel was particularly well-done. Things just kept speeding up and plot twist after plot twist explodes one after another. At some point into the fourth case, I literally read all the way till midnight on a weekday because I couldn't put down the book. The novel also again leaves me wondering about the power-based societies that seem to be the norm in Chinese novels. Family and wealth are might and power.

Well, nothing more coherent than that but that was a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

\==================================== I loved this novel. The main characters are the couple, Feidu and Luo Wenzhou. Luo Wenzhou is a detective/police chief and Feidu is a second-generation new money playboy who is actually dealing with the trauma of an abusive past. He's a Sherlock Holmes type -- very intelligent but very avoidant of people. It was heartwarming watching him warm up to Luo Wenzhou. He starts out as rivals with Luo Wenzhou but ends up working together with him to solve the crimes.

The novel is split into five arcs and each arc focuses on a detective case. Some of the cases are modelled after Western novels with a twist -- e.g. Le Rouge et Le Noir, Lolita, Macbeth... I found the Lolita retelling the most haunting. The five arcs are all interconnected and the last case/arc reveals the masterplan behind it all.

The book talks a lot about trauma, violence and abuse and it has one of the most realistic portrayals of the abuse cycle. Feidu's PTSD is presented in a very realistic way and I loved all the insights into his psyche. I enjoyed the interlocking detective cases very much, although I was lost in the last 20% because I read this in Chinese and my memory for Chinese names and details is quite terrible, lol.

So enjoyed reading this! There's nothing funnier than Chinese novels and I am a biiiig fan of Priest -- she writes such creative stories with extremely realistic characters. One of my favorite novels this year.

2019-favs 2020-favs chinese-books

999 reviews177 followers

August 30, 2022

A highly plot-driven book with some rather complex characters. The characters are nicely developed to catch your interest by the first few chapters. Some may find the first 305 chapters slow but it was the opposite for me. From the first chapter itself I was intrigued and by the second chapter I was thoroughly enraptured. The story is constantly moving not allowing the reader a breather. The story is basically broken down to five parts and the crimes that they solve along the way. The romance in the story is just a side story almost non-existent for the majority of the story. The ML and MC get together about half way through the story and is a painstakingly slow burn which really does not affect the story at all. At points I forgot that this was labelled as a LGBTQ+ novel and not crime novel.

As a precaution I would like to tell any reader to read thoroughly each of the arcs as it many characters keep popping up at different points. We are not meeting a set of rookie detectives but rather a seasoned team. Thus for these crimes to make it to the novel there's a certain uniqueness to it.

20 reviews8 followers

January 15, 2019

One of the most enjoyable books I have read in quite a while, kudos to Priest!!

The plot was pretty complicated and was obviously very carefully thought out, the writing was amazing (notwithstanding the typos that kept popping up in the jjwxc online version), and it was actually really thought provoking for “just an online BL novel” (/s), but the most remarkable aspect of this novel for me were the characters, particularly the many side characters. Obviously the main characters are very interesting and charming in their own particular ways, but the side characters! They’re fascinating and I got invested in so many of their stories, I want to read a bajillion backstories and asides and epilogues about all of them. Even the evil ones. Okay, excepting Fei Sr. and the pedophiles, ugh.

Also, the plot and pacing were just so well done in this, I honestly haven’t had this much fun following a mystery novel in awhile. So many twists and little hidden clues! I kept having to flip back and forth to check on one thing or another, and I feel like I might enjoy it even more when I have a chance to reread it and straighten out all the facts along the way.

So yes, 10/10, will absolutely reread again.

51 reviews9 followers

December 29, 2019

Chọn cách tiếp cận khác so với những quyển trinh thám thông thường, thay vì vẽ nên những vụ án giật gân rùng rợn hay những cuộc đấu trí đầy li kì giữa kẻ phạm tội và người phá án, Đọc Thầm đi vào mô tả tâm lý nạn nhân, chính xác là gia đình và người thân của họ. Những con người thường bị xã hội lãng quên sau mỗi vụ án kết thúc, bị bỏ lại sau khi những bài giật tít nhan nhản trên báo mạng chẳng câu thêm được view nào sẽ làm gì để sống tiếp khi người họ yêu thương chẳng còn? Các vụ án không quá đặc sắc và bất ngờ, nhưng câu truyện đằng sau mới là vấn đề đáng để quan tâm. Trinh thám hay Đam mẽo, thực ra cũng chả cần gán một genre nào hết cho một tác phẩm vừa có tình yêu nam nam vừa có điều tra án mạng, đồng thời với tình thân, tình bạn, tình đồng đội và những bài học nhân sinh, chỉ cần biết "à, mình thích nó", vậy thôi. Btw, mình vẫn luôn nói với mọi người là mình không muốn lấy chồng. Tức là ở thời điểm tâm sự ấy (cả lúc đang gõ những dòng này) mình không hề có ý định sẽ lấy chồng. Nhưng tương lai thì đâu ai biết. Sau này nếu có ai như sếp Lạc lạc trôi vào cuộc đời mình chắc mình sẽ quẳng hết mịe liêm sỉ và cái hiện tại single and fabulous này ra tận thiên hà số 8 để mà vồ lấy người ấy mất :)))

640 reviews

January 5, 2023

ก่อนอื่นขอชื่นชมปกการออกแบบแจ๊คเก็ตปกสีขาวเหมือนภาพสเก็ตและเปิดออกมาเป็นภาพสี หน้าปกแบบด้านลูบแล้วให้ความรู้สึกดีมาก สาเหตุที่ซื้อเพราะปกเลยค่ะทุกคนนนนน ไม่ได้อ่านรีวิวหรืออะไรมาเลยบอกตามตรง แต่พอได้มาอ่านกลับชอบการดำเนินเนื้อเรื่องในแง่ของการสืบสวนสอบสวนมากทีเดียว นอกจากนี้ยังได้ข่าวว่า Tencent กำลังผลิต Animation ได้ดูตัวอย่างแล้วน่าดูมากค่ะ เหมาะเอาไปทำซีรีย์คนเล่นมาก

เฟ่ยตู้ นายเอกที่เป็นประธานบริษัท เบื้องหน้าดูเจ้าชู้ ไม่สนใจอะไร เหมือนสวมหน้ากากตลอดเวลา แต่มีจิตใจที่ดี ยังต้องดูต่อไปว่าเขาเป็นคนยังไงกันแน่ เพราะตัวตนยังคงปิดบังเพราะปมในใจจากการจากไปของแม่ตนเอง และที่สำคัญความฉลาดในการสืบสวนสอบสวน พ่อคุณเขามาอันดับต้นๆเลย

ลั่วเหวินโจว พระเอกของเรื่องเป็นตำรวจ ปากร้าย ดูชี้โอ่ แต่ใจดี ชอบเถาหรานเพื่อนร่วมงานเหมือนกับเฟ่ยตู้ แต่ในความรู้สึกตอนอ่านเฟ่ยตู้ไม่น่าชอบแบบจริงจัง น่าจะออกแนวชื่นชอบนิสัย และช่วยเหลือดูแลเขามากกว่า ส่วนลั่วเหวินโจวน่าจะเขม่นเฟ่ยตู้ เพราะน้องชอบพูดกวนประสาทใส่ และมองน้องเป็นศัตรูหัวใจ

เถาหราน ไม่ได้ชอบทั้งเฟ่ยตู้และลั่วเหวินโจว แต่เป็นสายกลางที่คอยห้ามสองคนไม่ให้ตีกัน เอ็นดูเฟ่ยตู้ แบบน้องชาย มีนิสัยอ่อนโยน อ่อนน้อม แต่ก็สายลุยเหมือนกันเวลาสืบคดี ถึงจะต่อสู้ไม่ได้เก่งมากก็ตาม

ในส่วนของเนื้อเรื่องดำเนินได้จิกกัดสังคมดีค่ะ ทั้งในแง่ของตำรวจ ชาวบ้าน ลูกคนรวย ทนาย หรือชนชั้นที่ต้องดิ้นรนเอาชีวิตรอดในแต่ละวัน ไม่ได้หมายความว่าตัวละครพูดจิกกัดนะคะ แต่หมายถึงเนื้อเรื่องสะท้อน���ห้เห็นปัญหาสังคมอันเน่าเฟะ เนื้อเรื่องถือว่าจบในเล่ม 1 แบบไม่ค้าง แต่มีเรื่องให้ขบคิดต่อว่าใครคือใคร ไม่อยากจะเปิดเผยเนื้อเรื่องมาก อยากให้ทุกคนได้ไปอ่าน ผู้เขียนทำให้เราอยากอ่านต่อลุ้นว่าเรื่องจะดำเนินไปยังไง แล้วเฟ่ยตู้เป็นคนยังไงกันแน่ รออ่านเล่ม 2 ต่อไปค่ะ

chinese-novel mystery yaoi

44 reviews

February 16, 2019

Kết thúc hành trình đầy gian truân cùng Đọc thầm. Vô tình biết đến nhờ 1 lời review trên facebook, mình quyết định đọc cuốn này với sự tò mò và hào hứng. Dần dần theo mạch truyện diễn ra, đôi khi thấy đáng sợ, thậm chí là rùng mình với cách mà các tình tiết trong truyện móc nối với nhau tạo thành 1 bức tranh hoàn chỉnh. Cái kẻ bị rèn luyện để trở thành người nằm ngoài mức điều chỉnh của xã hội, không ai hình dung nổi công tử hào hoa cợt nhả chảnh chọe ấy đã phải trải qua những ngày thế nào trong hầm tối, đã vượt qua nỗi sợ hãi thế nào để đứng trên mép vực sâu mà không hòa vào nó... Cái kẻ sùng bái người anh em đồng đội của mình đến tột cùng, đến cái tên cũng không dám gọi ra 1 cách đường hoàng, đến lúc bị cảnh sát lôi đi vẫn cố ngoại lại để nhìn thấy hình ảnh cuối cùng của người ấy, hóa ra lại giấu trong mình tâm tư của loài sói hoang - lạnh lùng, ẩn nhẫn và tàn độc. Hắn vì mất đi anh em mà hóa ác, tâm lý trở nên vặn vẹo rồi bày ra chuỗi bi kịch cho những người vốn đã phải chịu tổn thương... Liệu có nơi nào đó trên trái đất này thực sự vận hành như thế? Liệu có bất kỳ ai trong bộ áo khoác lịch lãm của con người thực sự biến thái và tàn nhẫn đến như vậy? Không mong mỏi 1 thế giới không có tội ác, không có hận thù, chỉ mong rằng mầm thiện tâm hãy luôn còn đó trong mỗi con người, dù chỉ chút ít thôi cứu vớt họ khỏi vực đen tội lỗi...

202 reviews20 followers

November 4, 2021

this is my first ever danmei i have finished without thinking of dnf-ing it, so good news i guess.

english being my third languange is an obstacle, the fact that Priest always written her novel with difficult words and difficult aspects is different. it is making my reading journey 10000 more times harder.

i always crave for crime-thriller, murder-mystery books, and the fact that this book had it with a neatly knitted plot and beautiful description of action scenes, plus beautiful addition of phylosopical aspects, and the use of a lot of metahpors is what making this book an absolute 5 out of 5 for me.

eventhough this is very plot driven with no hint of actual character development nor the development of the relationship between the main characters, i still love it. maybe it's because this book is the first book of 5 book series though, so i dont really mind.

what could be a turn off for this book is that fei du's character is unrealistically overly analytical and the lacks of plot twists included.

nevertheless, this book is a masterpiece, as expected from Priest. can't wait for the donghua!

(and while i wait for it it's time to start book 2)

**** 7th?? 6th??? 9th??? Reread edit ***** Still so good still not boring this shit is god tier

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.

84 reviews3 followers

February 23, 2023

Book 1

You have to give it some time but I can promise you this is going to be your favorite book afterward.

404 reviews12 followers

September 29, 2023

3.50 Silent Reading Book 1 - Julien Arc This was a good start to the webnovel/series. It takes us through the investigation of a crime that will unearth how social inequalities and crooked police systems can drive people to commit heinous crimes for money, pride and ego. I was originally intrigued by this Chinese danmei novel because each crime arc is based on different classic literature novels, this first book is based on The Red and the Black by Stendhal, which in retrospect shows the underlying political and morals of the crime in book 1.

This first volume introduced us to a good set of characters, the leading character Luo Wenzhou, the captain police detective and Fei Du, the rich business heir with a Holmes' flair to him. Both characters have great sizzling banter and are quite humorous when placed together in the same scene. It was quite plot-driven, with not much character development so far, which I hope to see in the following books.

danmei

94 reviews2 followers

December 7, 2022

4.5* (Books 1 & 2) i'm very scared to continue this.

damn. apart from the absolutely insane mysteries, i just love all of the characters' interactions. Lou Wenzhou and Fei Du's banter is freaking hilarious and does add some much needed levity to a story with some brutally dark cases. (i suggest checking lots of trigger warnings before diving into this one)

adult-contemporary adult-thriller asian

8 reviews2 followers

July 22, 2019

Once again, Priest’s stories really gets to me. It’s a crime/BL novel, cases are logical and suspensive. Generally, I think the story has great plot, characterization, and character development. The BL and crime solving aspects are in good balance.

The story gave me lots of thoughts.

There are 5 books to this series.

44 reviews

July 31, 2020

This is the first Priest novel I have ever read and I definitely did not regret it. I love the stories and the cases and the stories of the people tangled over it. The mystery and the suspense with that bit of romance... chef’s kith hahahaha Can’t wait to read more from this author.

favorites

49 reviews22 followers

September 3, 2021

zhoudu living in my mind rent free 🥰🥰 Modu was so so good, this was worth it. Loved it !!

57 reviews

July 27, 2023

Moral of the story: don't wear floral patterned dresses

26 reviews

October 5, 2022

Thought I‘d give Mo Du a try since it seems to be favorited by many danmei readers BUT unfortunately it seems this one just wasn‘t for me…

While the changing dynamic between Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou certainly had some very enjoyable and thrilling moments and the members of LWZ‘s investigation team (aka Tao Ran, Lang Qiao and Xiao Haiyang) slowly grew on me with every part of the novel, somehow my heart just wasn‘t really in it. 😬🤷‍♀️

Maybe it’s the criminal investigation genre or modern setting, or maybe it’s Priests writing style in combination with a plot like this, idk there was just a certain spark missing and sometimes continuing reading felt akin to trying to bite through tough leather without any or not enough rewards. Otherwise it wouldn‘t have taken me that long to read a novel of this length, like the fact it took me almost 3 months to read should speak for itself. 👀😂

chinese-books

179 reviews12 followers

August 25, 2023

Format read: Kindle Reading time: 4-5h Tags: detective fiction, crime, thriller, trauma, police, translation, friendship, found family, enemies-to-lovers, lgbt (bi, m/m) Own a copy: yes Reread likelihood: 10/10

If you liked this book, then you'll probably like: Guardian: Zhen Hun, Vol. 1 by the same author, and SCI Special Crime Investigation (Season 1)

Summary Luo Wenzhou is the director of a small investigative unit that specialises in difficult and unusual crimes. Together with his best friend and vice director, Tao Ran, Luo Wenzhou works tirelessly to bring peace to their city. Enter Fei Du, a carefree young man who has more money than common sense, and who is also a victim from Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran's first case. Seven years ago, Fei Du's mother committed suicide in mysterious circumstances, and when Luo Wenzhou closed the case, Fei Du never forgave the policeman for dismissing the possibility of murder. Today, Fei Du continues to be a thorn in Luo Wenzhou's side, but the young man proves useful when a difficult murder case arises and his friend is suspected of the crime.

Review Detective/crime fiction is one of my favourite subgenres, and I'm already a big fan of Priest's novels (Guardian (Zhen Hun) being my favourite by far, but TYK and SPL are way up there too), so it was only a question of time before I picked up Silent Reading (Mo Du).

Other reviewers have pointed out the slow pacing for most of the book, but to me this is just a trait of detective novels. The story focuses on the murder of a young man who is found strangled in the slums with no one but an ailing mother and an untrustworthy roommate as companions. Luo Wenzhou is sent to work on this case while also secretly investigating one of the police's higher ups for corruption and drug trafficking. Luo Wenzhou figures out that the two cases are related, and his investigative team works to undo the knots that make the case difficult to crack. In Priest's signature style, Silent Reading is action driven and sprinkled with comedy, which makes for a unique reading experience.

Tao Ran is an interesting sidekick to Luo Wenzhou, if a bit milquetoast to Wenzhou's more brazen personality. Fei Du, on the other hand, matches Wenzhou's intensity step for step, and their initial dislike of one another adds to the tension of the crime narrative. Wenzhou suspects that Fei Du has an inclination for crime, and Fei Du does not trust the policeman in the slightest ever since he dealt with his mother's case. The two often headbutt, with Tao Ran stuck in the middle, trying to pacify both. Even though Tao Ran also worked on Fei Du's case, the two have a close, almost brotherly relationship, while Luo Wenzhou singlehandedly suffers Fei Du's hatred and distrust. Fei Du's expectations were such that he believed Wenzhou would solve his case, but when the policeman is unable to, Fei Du's disappointment and heartbreak is too great for him to accept the result of the investigation.

[Luo Wenzhou] thought he was overflowing with talent, Number One in the world--Number Two being an English fellow named Sherlock Holmes.

Wenzhou's number one suspect in the more recent case happens to be Fei Du's close friend, Zhang Donglai, so naturally this causes more tension to build up between the two. Fei Du is an idle aristocrat who inherited his father's company at a young age; however, despite his appearance as a carefree loafer, he is gifted in crime psychology and eventually becomes an important consultant in Wenzhou's team. Not only is he determined to prove his friend's innocence, Fei Du is all to happy to show Wenzhou that he is not as mighty as he believes. This results in a battle of the minds more often than not.

[Fei Du] was like a person living sealed in a castle, surrounded on all sides by an iron fastness with only one clear window, from behind which he quietly observed the people outside. Only by remaining very composed could you make him cautiously open the window a crack.

While the detective-consultant duo do not see eye to eye for most of the novel, they slowly start to warm up to each other the more they learn about each other's thoughts and reasons for what happened seven years ago. Though they are not exactly friends by the end of book 1, they are at least more tolerant towards one another.

All in all, if you start this book with the idea that you'll be thrown into a danmei from the get-go, that's not going to happen. It is first and foremost a crime novel, and if you're not particularly inclined to like or read crime stories, this one may seem slow compared to other types of danmei. That being said, the crime aspect is very clever and well developed with many twists and turns (complete with a police car chase scene!) Silent Reading is a compelling read for fans of modern police procedurals.

chinese-lit contemporary danmei

110 reviews6 followers

August 6, 2020

Since it is a crime novel it can get very dark in some places. Trigger warning for murder, sexual assault, pedophillia, human trafficking, animal cruelty, torture, child abuse, electroshock therapy.. and one very out of place rape joke.

“When a person’s been burned to ashes and become about the same as a piece of apatite, there’s nothing there worth revering. So why do we treat it like a big deal?” Luo Wenzhou crossed his arms and said from behind Fei Du, “Why are there holidays to mark the beginning and end of each year? Why do you have to make a public confession and stroll around in the streets together before getting in bed with someone? Why, to live together legally, in addition to needing a certificate, do you need to invite your friends and family to a useless ceremony? Because life and death, dark and light, partings and meetings, all have the meanings people have endowed them with. You can’t see them or touch them, you don’t know what use they have, but the difference between you and me and a lump of chemicals lies in those bits of meaning.”

Fei Du paused.

Luo Wenzhou reached around from behind him and took his wrist, guiding him to put the clean bowl back into its original place.

“If you don’t understand, I can tell you later slowly. You called me, and that’s a ‘ceremony,’ too. I gave you the chance to repent. Now it’s too late for returns.—Come on, let’s go back to the City Bureau.”

FUCK ive noticed that priest rly is good at hurt/comfort. just like in sha po lang.. we have a main character who is strong in his own way but seriously scarred from this past and is heavily influenced or burdened by their trauma. and we have a male lead who upon realizing what the MC is hiding underneath the surface pledges themselves to them and does their utmost to help them overcome their own shit. there rly is just something so satisfying to read about someone overcoming their past and traumas and freeing themselves from their burdens and letting themselves move on. there is also something pleasing about a devoted love interest who genuinely and without ulterior motives wants to help with nothing in return. i think the reason priests works resonate so deeply with ppl is because of that.

priest really writes so well and they tend to always have a firm understanding of what they hope to achieve when writing a story. the characters are well written. this isn’t a novel where only the MC & ML are smart and everyone else is brainless. everyone has their own personality and their own motivations. it’s fully fleshed out. the crime plots are seriously well done. there is a strong element of suspense going along with most of them and the whole novel in general. and most of them u aren’t able to guess the outcome from the beginning. each arc is a different case and each is named after a different character from a different book (ex. macbeth from macbeth, humbert from lolita etc) the arcs have similarities to the novel they are named after and it’s very interesting. especially since if you have read the novel it’s named after you can try to guess how this is going to go. but personally even tho i had read some of the novels i still couldn’t guess what the case was going to e about and who the actual bad guy was. i find priests writing very clever. they don’t just say things almost everything has an actual meaning in the end.

definitely 5/5 stars. really recommend.

i wrote too much. i refuse to reread what i wrote in this review and edit it bc i’m tired and it’s boring so sorry if my train of thought is all over the place

favorites

731 reviews21 followers

September 22, 2021

I'm not sure where the first book ends, since I'm reading translations by E. Danglars and they split up their translations into 5 books, but the first two arcs of the story wrapped up right around chapter 60 (there are 180 chapters total), so this seemed like a fitting conclusion to the first book.

**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**

First of all, the writing and translation are both done very well. Priest evokes plenty of imagery in her writing, and it comes across beautifully in the translation as well. I usually skip right past descriptions of the setting but found myself reading some of them here, which is unusual.

This is my third Priest story (the two others I've read are TYK and SPL), but Mo Du might already be my favorite 1/3 of the way in. The characters are fleshed out really well, not just the main characters, but also the side characters as well. I can't wait for her to dig further into Fei Du's past and the circumstances around his mother's death. I have a feeling it's not as simple as a suicide.

The relationship between the two main characters is slowly warming up. Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du started out as rivals for Tao Ran's affections, though why they're both trying to woo a straight guy makes no sense to me, and because of that never got along for the past 7 years. However, once Tao Ran's establishes once and for all that he's straight, they give up and slowly start noticing each other instead. Fei Du also learns that Wenzhou has a softer heart towards him than he thought and has secretly taken care of him in the past, using Tao Ran as a proxy, so we are on our way to the beginnings of something. There's some flirting but it's still limited. I'm excited to see this start ramping up soon!

In terms of story, each case that Luo Wenzhou encounters in his capacity as the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau in Yan City is a different story arc. So far we've had two cases, both of which were pretty complicated and fascinating to read about. The first one involved police corruption and the murder of a poor delivery worker by someone from his hometown who was on the rise in society with a respectable job and a girlfriend from a rich family and wanted to eliminate everyone who knew about his sordid past.

The second case, which was my favorite, was about a string of murders of young girls. Disturbingly, one of the main perpetrators was a pretty little girl herself who lured the girls away by lulling them into a sense of trust and drugging them, before handing them over to pedophiliacs and finally working with her partner to kill the girls and hide the bodies... And shockingly, these murders have been going on for the last 20+ years without the police ever catching on except for a couple of girls 20 years ago.

So far I've thoroughly enjoyed both cases Priest has introduced, and I'm excited to see where she takes the story (and Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou's relationship!) next.

chinese

315 reviews4 followers

February 20, 2022

Je pensais pas autant apprécier ce premier tome. Mon seul regret est que je suis pas encore émotionnellement attachée aux personnages mais c'est parce que je suis actuellement pas dans un état d'esprit qui fait que je m'investis à 100% dans ma lecture mais ça reste une lecture incroyable pour plusieurs raisons : - le plot : c'est un roman policier, et ça tient ses promesses, à aucun moment on ne devine que les résultats des différentes affaires, il y a de nombreux rebondissements, etc. - les main characters : j'ai l'habitude de lire des livres où on se concentre sur un main character et son love interest et où, même si le love interest est beaucoup mis en avant, on reste focus sur le main character. Ici, les 2 personnages principaux qui constitueront la future romance sont autant mis en avant l'un que l'autre. Au début je pensais que Fei Du serait le main character puisqu'il est le premier à apparaître dans le livre, puis j'ai pensé que ce serait finalement Wenzhou puisque c'est lui le policier mais au final ils sont tous les deux les main characters. Ils ont autant de "screentime" (pour emprunter ce terme à la télévision) l'un que l'autre, autant d'importance l'un que l'autre, etc. C'est vraiment très agréable comme dynamique. Leur dynamique de "couple" est également agréable puisqu'il s'agit de "ennemies to lovers" même si le ennemies ici désigne juste du teasing et pas de réels ennemis. J'ai néanmoins hâte de voir comment la romance va se développer. - les personnages secondaires : ils ont tous un rôle à jouer, ils sont tous importants, ils ont leur propre personnalité, etc. Leurs backstorys sont intégrées naturellement à l'histoire, rien n'est laissé au hasard, chaque background a un lien avec l'histoire mais pour autant on ne s'étale pas trop. En conclusion c'est un excellent premier livre, et j'ai hâte de lire les prochains.

423 reviews16 followers

April 8, 2023

เรื่องนี้เปิดมาเล่มแรกก็เป็นคดีหนักเลย (หรือว่านี่ถือว่าเบาของเรื่องนี้?) คือเป็นคดีฆาตกรรมแต่เกี่ยวข้องกับยาเสพติดด้วย ซื้อเล่ม 2 มาแล้ว เดี๋ยวถ้าเล่ม 2 มีวี่แววว่าจะเป็นคดีที่ลากยาวไปถึงขบวนการค้ายาเสพติดอีก ก็คงจะไม่ซื้อต่อแล้ว เพราะส่วนตัวไม่ชอบอ่านนิยายเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนี้

เรื่องนี้ตัวเอกคือ "ลั่วเหวินโจว" กับ "เฟ่ยตู้" ลั่วเหวินโจวเป็นตำรวจ อายุมากกว่าเฟ่ยตู้หลายปีอยู่ ตอนเป็นตำรวจใหม่ๆ เคยไปทำคดี ที่แม่ของเฟ่ยตู้เสียชีวิต เฟ่ยตู้ไม่ชอบลั่วเหวินโจวตั้งแต่ตอนนั้น เพราะลั่วเหวินโจวมั่นเกินเหตุ ปกติก็เป็นคนมั่นใจอยู่แล้ว แล้วเพิ่งจบใหม่ด้วย จิตวิทยาอะไรก็ไม่ได้ใช้ แต่เฟ่ยตู้กลับชอบตำรวจอีกคนที่ไปทำคดีกับลั่วเหวินโจว ก็คือ "เถาหราน" พอโตมาก็เล��ตามจีบเถาหรานมาตลอด แต่ลั่วเหวินโจวเอง ก็แอบชอบเถาหรานอยู่เหมือนกัน (ชอบแต่ไม่ได้ออกตัวจีบเต็มๆ)

เฟ่ยตู้เป็นลูกเศรษฐี เปิดเรื่องมาคือได้คุมธุรกิจของครอบครัวแล้ว เพราะพ่อเป็นผักอยู่ นอนไม่รู้สึกตัว เฟ่ยตู้มาหาเถาหรานที่ทำงานบ่อยๆ ก็เลยได้เจอลั่วเหวินโจวบ่อยด้วย แต่เป็นประเภทไม่ชอบขี้หน้ากัน เจอกันต้องจิกกัด เฟ่ยตู้จะมาดเนี้ยบ ใส่สูท ฉีดน้ำหอม รถหรู

พอเกิดคดีฆาตกรรม บังเอิญเฟ่ยตู้ได้เห็นหลักฐานบางอย่าง แล้วก็เข้ามาเกี่ยวข้องกับการสืบคดีด้วย บางตอนอ่านไปรู้สึกแปลกๆ เพราะลั่วเหวินโจวซึ่งเป็นตำรวจถามความเห็นเฟ่ยตู้หลายครั้งอยู่ งงว่าตกลงนี่คดีใคร ใครเป็นตำรวจ ใครเป็นนักธุรกิจ 🤣 เอาเป็นว่าถ้าไม่มีเฟ่ยตู้ คดีในเล่มหนึ่งคงยังไม่คลี่คลาย และคดีนี้น่าจะยังต่อเนื่องไปอีก นี่คงเป็นแค่จับได้ปลาตัวเล็กๆ

จริงๆ ไม่ค่อยประทับใจเล่มแรกนี่เท่าไหร่ ตัวเอกสองคนดันมาชอบ ผู้ชายคนเดียวกัน ถึงจะไม่ได้แย่งกันแต่มันก็รู้สึกแปลกๆ 😗 ยังดีที่ (อย่างน้อยในเล่มนี้) เถาหรานไม่ได้ชอบทั้งสองคน เพราะเถาหรานชอบผู้หญิง อยากแต่งงานมีครอบครัว

ท้ายเล่มสองคนนี้ค่อนข้างจะมองอีกฝ่ายนึงดีขึ้นแล้ว แต่สงสัยว่าพ่อของลั่วเหวินโจวคือใคร เห็นพูดผ่านๆ 2-3 ครั้ง ว่ายังไม่เกษียณ ทำให้คนอื่นยังเกรงใจไม่กล้าทำอะไรลั่วเหวินโจว แล้วคิดว่าคดีที่แม่ของเฟ่ยตู้ตาย สุดท้ายน่าจะพลิก และอาจจะเกี่ยวข้อง กับพ่อของเฟ่ยตู้ด้วย 🤨

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.

chinese-yy

7 reviews1 follower

February 6, 2020

Review on the novel Mo Du/Silent reading 📝

Author: Priest (author of Sha Po Lang, Guardian, legend of fei)

I have read all the translated chapters! 62/180

My rating so far: 5/5 (can't give it more?! cause)

Genre: crime thriller, mystery, action, age-diff romance, comedy, BL

Where to read: https://t.co/xMUb8GETke

Rest on: https://t.co/AZwxsVQG7B

The story revolves around Luo Wenzhou, a police man (age almost 30), he is a little thuggish and hilarious tbh XD

And Fei Du (aged 21 at the beginning of the story), an extremely director (thanks to his dad's money) who is a low-key playboy, always sweet-talks everyone.

Relationship status of both at the beginning of novel:

1. Enemies turned allies to solve cases 2. Always end up fighting, insulting eachother, picking up on eachother 3. Lowkey sexual tension is visible 4. Love rivals (only in name, nothing serious) 5. Lowkey nice to eachother

NOVEL PACE AND TRANSLATION:

translation is very well done, feel free to read them, I have no complaints in regard of Translation.

Novel pace and story?

AWESOME. BRILLIANT. MARVELOUS 💯

As it is crime thriller series, let me tell you, 90% of this novel is just about that. Solving muder mysteries.

First volume of the novel has an interesting murder mystery and it lasted around 32 chapters.

It was good.

The second volume of the novel has a tremendous muder mystery and one of the best I have known, this is really 100/100.

What I mean to say is, as the novel progresses, the story gets better and better. It is getting more and more interesting. You won't be able to stop reading (I read volume 2 straight for 8 hours last night)

It kept me on my toes all the time.

I freaking love this novel!!

645 reviews55 followers

July 17, 2023

#ลั่วเหวินโจว ตำรวจสืบสวนหน่วยอาชญากรรมถูกหัวหน้าผกก.จางส่งมาสอดส่องคดี 520 ที่เกิดการเสียชีวิตของหนุ่มวัยรุ่นในเขตตะวันตกย่านคนยากจนของเมืองฮวาในคืนวันที่ 20เดือน 5 เพราะเกิดกระแสโซเชียลจากจีนมุงว่าอาจจะเป็นการฆาตกรรม ในขณะที่ต.ร.ท้องถิ่นพยายามทำให้เป็นเหตุทะเลาะวิวาทและฆ่ากันตายจากเรื่องส่วนตัว ทั้งเล่มคือการสอบสวนตั้งแต่ชายหนุ่มคนนี้เป็นใคร ไปที่ไหนมาบ้าง ไปเกี่ยวข้องกับย่านบันเทิงของลูกหลานคนรวยเพราะอะไร โดยฝ่ายตำรวจนครนำทีมโดยพี่ลั่วและคู่หูตำรวจตงฉินร่างบอบบางอย่าง #เถาหราน สืบไปสืบมากลายเป็นว่าผู้ตายเคยพบปะและมีเรื่องชกต่อยกับหลานชายเพลย์บอยไฮโซของผผก.จางซึ่งเป็นเพื่อนกับ #เฟ่ยตู้ ซีอีโอหนุ่มน้อยหน้าสวยไฟแรงที่พี่ลั่วและเถาหรานรู้จักมา 7 ปีเพราะเป็นลูกชายของเหยื่อที่แจ้งความว่ามารดาตัวเองถูกฆาตกรรม ตรงปมเบื้องหลังของเฟ่ยตู้ยังไม่เคลียร์คัทว่าพี่ลั่วที่เพิ่งเป็นตำรวจใหม่ๆก่อวีรกรรมอะไรเอาไว้ถึงได้เป็นคู่กัดกับน้องมาตลอด ตรงข้ามกับเถาหรานที่คอยช่วยดูแลน้องเฟ่ยในวัยมัธยมจนน้องปีนเกลียวตั้งอกตั้งใจส่งขนมจีบอย่างเปิดเผยจนถึงวันที่พี่เค้ามีนัดดูตัว พี่ลั่วเค้าชอบแหย่น้องเพราะตัวเองก็เป็นเกย์ฝ่ายรุกและจีบคู่หูชายเพื่อนสนิทชายแท้ไม่ได้เช่นเดียวกัน คู่นี้เค้าคิดตามกันทัน พี่ลั่วคิดจากมุมมองของตำรวจ น้องเฟ่ยสังเกตและคิดจากมุมมองของอาชญากร มีหลายช่วงตอนที่ต่างคนต่างสืบ น้องเฟ่ยมีส่วนช่วยในคดีนี้ค่อนข้างมากตั้งแต่ช่วยส่งหลักฐานเงียบๆ ผูกมิตรและช่วยกล่อมแม่ของเหยื่อที่คิดจะฆ่าตัวตายจนได้ข้อมูลของฆาตกรเพิ่มขึ้น ขับรถหลงทางจนได้ช่วยพี่ลั่วหลบ หนีจากแก๊งค้ายาเสพติดได้สำเร็จ เรื่องนี้เป็นคดีซ้อนคดีที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการค้ายาเสพติดของตำรวจท้องถิ่น ชีวิตโสเภณีจำเป็น ความแตกต่างของชนชั้นสูงและชนชั้นแรงงานในเมืองใหญ่ ไปอ่านเจอรีวิวมาแล้วถึงได้รู้ว่าเค้าวางธีมเล่มนี้ตามวรรณกรรมคลาสสิค "สีแดงกับสีดำ" ที่มีเอ่ยถึงในเล่มเพราะเกี่ยวข้องกับชีวิตของเหยื่อและฆาตกรตัวจริง จบคดีในเล่มได้อย่างรวบรัดลงตัวไม่ยืดเยื้อ อ่านแล้วอยากตามไปดูซีรี่ส์ว่าสนุกแค่ไหน

chinese-novel yy

58 reviews1 follower

August 6, 2020

This book is an absolute page turner. From the very first chapter, the story sets the pace at an incredible speed, full of twists and turns that are really unexpected. At the same time, Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du’s relationship progresses slowly in a way that doesn’t seem at all forced or overly romantic. Rather, through solving the crimes together, their partnership really sets the tone for a wonderful romance. While the first arc Julien gives off the impression of a tricky homicide by a crazy murderer, the second arc Lolita has a much creepier and mysterious mood that is simultaneously horrifying and disgusting. The suspense is done well, and the plot continues to unfold to a much bigger underlying conspiracy. I also love the added touch of paralleling the crimes to classic literature texts.

120 reviews3 followers

May 12, 2021

3.5* I thought about abandoning this for countless times in its first 200 pages, but I'm glad i stuck with it until the end, because things finally started to get interesting. I'd say the first criminal case was rather boring and predictable, but judging from the thickness of the book (1500 pages in total!), i'll accept it as an introduction and take back my criticism. With the second case, we finally started seeing some interaction between the main characters, while digging up their past bit by bit. Although i prefer character-driven stories rather than heavily plot-driven ones like this, i'll definitely read the other books and complete the series, as I can't get enough of that slow burn (the slowest!!!) romance and really want to learn about the rest of the story.

78 reviews2 followers

September 10, 2021

Mo Du is one of my favourite novels, its incredible. Priest's incredible! The characters and the story plot are all amazing, and crime genre is also one of my favorite that's why I'm also drawn to it! Mo Du's plot was so good and well written that i never once felt bored reading it. Every case in each book was so intense and suspenseful that it really had me staying up late at night every day. I especially love the story behind how every case were integrated with each other. Read Mo Du y'all! (read the carrd and trigger warning first tho)