A review by mayareadsitall
The Borrowed by Chan Ho-Kei

4.0

I'm a bit in two minds about this book. Growing up watching Hong Kong’s movies and TVB dramas, this book felt very nostalgic to me and I really want to give a higher score. However, the first half of the book read kind of flat to me. The cases were interesting, albeit with a bit of contrived solutions. But ultimately, my dissatisfaction came from the two main characters (Sonny and Kwan Chun Dok), who felt rather one-dimensional for me. Kwan Chun Dok, who has impeccable deduction skills, never failed to solve any cases and Sonny was a bit more of a bumbling mentee. There's some growth in Sonny's character but this happened in a "tell not show" kind of way.

I then took a break from reading the book after finishing the first 3 stories and just picked it up again recently because I wanted to start my winter reading. And the book suddenly came alive. I really enjoyed reading story number 4 which reminds me a lot of Hong Kong gangster movies. Ngl, I imagined Andy Lau, Tony Leung, and Chow Yun Fat in that shootout scene. I also found the remaining stories to be pretty engaging, with the backdrop of the social climate under British influence to be particularly fascinating. The final twist was great and I loved how it brought the story into a full circle, made Kwan Chun Dok feel more human, and show us how thin is the line that separates the good from the evil.

Overall, I think those who like plot-driven rather than character-driven crime stories will most likely enjoy this book thoroughly!