4.46 AVERAGE

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated

Bereits das erste Buch von Chan Ho-Kei war ein Highlight für mich und die Schwester steht diesem in nichts nach!

Auch hier wissen wir erneut nicht, worauf wir uns einlassen. Bis ganz zum Schluss ist nichts so, wie es scheint. Gemeinsam mit Chan Ho-Kei begeben wir uns auf eine Tauchgang in die Abgründe der menschlichen Seele und unserer Gesellschaft. Denn was hier in Hong Kong angesiedelt ist, kann genauso auch bei uns passieren.

Triggerwarnung: Wer sympathische Helden sucht, sollte dieses Buch nicht lesen. Keine der Figuren ist sympathisch oder bietet hohes Identifikationspotential (falls doch, wird es interessant). Aber das ist so gewollt und gewünscht. Während andere Autoren es vielleicht nicht geschafft hätten, einen Leser mit solchen Figuren zum Weiterlesen zu animieren, schafft Ho-Kei es spielerisch, genau deswegen Interesse zu wecken und die Spannung zu steigern.

Dieser Autor geht einfach gerne andere Wege. Deswegen wird man beim Lesen immer wieder überrascht. Es werden falsche Fährten gelegt und mehr als einmal wurde mir erst hinterher klar, weshalb diese Figur so, und jene so reagiert hat.

All dies macht "Die zweite Schwester" zu einem neuerlichen Lesevergnügen der besonderen Art. Ein Lesevergnügen, das bei einem oft ein unangenehmes Gefühl auslöst, erfahren wir doch auch, wie verletzlich wir sind.

Chan Ho-Kei hat sich definitiv in die Ränge eines Lieblingsautoren hochgeschrieben und ich hoffe, dass die nächsten Bücher in dieser Qualität weitergeführt werden.
dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes

I felt like the book was a bit long. I was disappointed by the plot twist. I feel like there were opportunities for more build up. The explanation for everyone’s motive was kind of lackluster. 

Me ha sorprendido y gustado mucho más de lo que esperaba.
mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Second Sister was a fantastic thriller! It had plenty of twists and turns that made this book hard to put down (or pause). 

I loved how clever this book was. There was so much information on cyber security and tech, and it was written in a way that it didn't seem like it was constantly info-dumping.  I also loved all of the IYKYK references to Monty Python and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

The characters were incredibly well written, even the minor characters had an intricate backstory, and I absolutely adored how snarky the hacker, N was. The audiobook narrator, Nancy Wu, did a fabulous job of bringing the story to life.
dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Decided to read this book after complementing myself to have one and other people convince me to at least have this once in a life time if you are into thriller, but finally I have the copy from my public library. 

The whole plot is mesmerizing, along with the entire unique character from one to another. I recognize the bold side of N and Nga-Yee very well, also Siu-Man, and fall in love with their personalities as I read the page turning on. It really… hit close to home. All the details and explanations by N amazed me in so many ways, that mind-boggling me to know that kind big brain exists in our world! Huh! I love him even more!

Not to forget to mention about how the moral of the story itself lead me to, all the betrayals and consciousness of human's selfishness collided as one to make the Second Sister will be one of story that be so, so dear that laid in everyone’s heart. Please do read some trigger warnings to make you comfortable and the value can be right upon you safely. 

4,75 of 5 ⭐️
adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

FIVE OUT OF FIVE!! TEN OUT OF FIVE!!!

This book is so so so good, got my out of a reading slump. It's quite a thick book but it's one of those which I can't put down but also I feel sad because I will never be able to experience it for the first time again. Reflective story about cyberbullying, cyber culture and what "justice" really means. 

2/2 good books. Chan Ho-kei has officially joined the ranks of my favourite authors. 

Teenage Siu-Man is groped on the subway and the incident leads to the perpetrator being convicted and imprisoned. Online bullying of Siu-Man follows that ends in her throwing herself out of the window to her death. The story really begins when her sister hires a hacker to track down the bullies. It is my second Chan Ho-Kei book after ‘The Borrowed’. It starts so well, so much so that I felt this might turn out to be one of my favorite reads of the year, but then it gets bogged down in the cyber description and the hacker’s constant revelations of his technique for generating clues. It is a pity that so much time is given to world of the internet and so little to the thriller it might have been. An OK read!


A ver, libro sólido. No me voló la cabeza ni mucho menos, pero tiene un paquete de personajes excelentemente construidos. Reales. Para mí eso fue el fuerte de esta historia. Nga-Yee y N me resultaron completos.

Otra vez nos metemos en la cabeza del asesino pero no sabemos bien que tiene que ver dentro de la historia, hasta el final. Su punto de vista no me convenció para nada. Y aunque entendamos al final la razón por la que leemos tanto a este personaje, en mi opinión, fue una historia paralela innecesaria, aportó material de relleno y no mucho más. Podríamos haber entendido sus intereses y su personalidad en muchas menos páginas.

La trama en sí no me pareció la más compleja ni la mejor pensada de todas, pero es suficiente para entretener y querer seguir leyendo. Eso sí, me pareció que sobraban bastantes páginas y se podría haber acotado la historia mucho más. A lo último, la trama da unos giros interesantes. Me gustaron. No sé si fueron sorpresivos. En algún punto fueron inteligentes.

Y bueno, un libro que empecé en diciembre de 2021 pero que termino este año. Así que cuenta como lectura de 2022. Un tecno-thriller chino que cumplió su objetivo, con personajes sólidos. Nada de otro mundo.

3/5.