A review by earl_grey_without_lemon
Death Notice by Zhou Haohui

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really like this sort of detective cat and mouse chase thriller! The back of the book says it started as an online series, and it definitely reminds me of other East Asian media pertaining to death games. I think you do have to hand wave away Pei (one of the main characters) having “guy who’s just so observant” syndrome, and the book itself is translated, so I don’t know if it reads the same in Chinese. I think the translation was pretty good, but it definitely has translator voice, in my opinion. It is extremely fast paced and moves mostly linearly with multiple perspectives and occasional time jumps, and there are some really gruesome images in there. Overall an enjoyable book that I read in two sittings and a good thriller! I’m tempted to read the next book because the mystery isn’t completely unraveled in this book (it is part of a trilogy).
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