nerdyrev's review
3.0
The editing will drive you a big buggy. The sentences are pretty rigid. The repetition will make you want to cry a bit. You will also know who the murderer is pretty quickly. With all that, The Untouched Crime by Zijin Chen was still a fun ride and an interesting look into investigations in China.
There is a murderer who has been killing people the same way- a jump rope, a cigarette in the mouth, and a sheet of paper that reads- "come and get me." These murders have been going on for 3 years and all done in the same way (although a few pages read 5 years, hence the editing comment). Try as they might, investigators cannot find who is committing these murders.
In another part of town, a noodle shop girl accidentally kills a local gangster with the help of her admirer who followed her to keep her safe. Luo Wen, also a noodle enthusiast, witnesses the whole thing and vows to keep the shop girl and her admirer safe. He covers up the crime for them and tells them what to say to the police.
What do these two, seemingly different, murders have in common? This is part of the fun of the book. When you find out, the book transfers from a who done it to a battle of wits.
I fear whenever someone sees a 3 star review the thought will be- this must not be any good. In this case, this is a good book with a series of problems, but it was still a fun ride and a solid 3 star book. It isn't mind blowing, it won't make you think about life, but it will entertain more than anything and keep you occupied for a few hours.
There are quite a few problems within this book, but I think it is because of translation to English from Chinese. I stated a few of them above, but there are also some regionalisms that get in the way in addition to the problems stated above. The sheer amount of repetition might be fit for a Chinese audience, based on Chinese movies I have seen, but it doesn't read well. For example, when Wen tells the plan to the noodle girl and her accomplice, he will state the plan, the girl will repeat it word for word with a question mark at the end- Wen- Lie to the police. Girl- You want me to lie to the police? Wen- Yes, lie to the police if you are comfortable doing so. Guy- You want us to lie to the police? That is not a direct quote, but there is a lot of dialog like that.
Even with all the problems, I kind of enjoyed the book and wanted to see how it played out. The killer isn't a Hannibal Lector genius, but he (or is it she?) is quite clever and you get into his head quite well (ok, it is a he).
I also enjoyed how people interacted with the police and how the police did their job from a Chinese perspective. I am not sure how well researched the book is, but police take people at their word and people don't lie to police. There was a type of dishonor to do the wrong thing from either side. There are also no giant shoot out scenes, as might have happened in an American book.
This is a solid 3 star book. It isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It would be great for an airplane or a waiting room or something along those lines.
*I wish to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for the advanced copy. I received the book in exchange for an honest review.
There is a murderer who has been killing people the same way- a jump rope, a cigarette in the mouth, and a sheet of paper that reads- "come and get me." These murders have been going on for 3 years and all done in the same way (although a few pages read 5 years, hence the editing comment). Try as they might, investigators cannot find who is committing these murders.
In another part of town, a noodle shop girl accidentally kills a local gangster with the help of her admirer who followed her to keep her safe. Luo Wen, also a noodle enthusiast, witnesses the whole thing and vows to keep the shop girl and her admirer safe. He covers up the crime for them and tells them what to say to the police.
What do these two, seemingly different, murders have in common? This is part of the fun of the book. When you find out, the book transfers from a who done it to a battle of wits.
I fear whenever someone sees a 3 star review the thought will be- this must not be any good. In this case, this is a good book with a series of problems, but it was still a fun ride and a solid 3 star book. It isn't mind blowing, it won't make you think about life, but it will entertain more than anything and keep you occupied for a few hours.
There are quite a few problems within this book, but I think it is because of translation to English from Chinese. I stated a few of them above, but there are also some regionalisms that get in the way in addition to the problems stated above. The sheer amount of repetition might be fit for a Chinese audience, based on Chinese movies I have seen, but it doesn't read well. For example, when Wen tells the plan to the noodle girl and her accomplice, he will state the plan, the girl will repeat it word for word with a question mark at the end- Wen- Lie to the police. Girl- You want me to lie to the police? Wen- Yes, lie to the police if you are comfortable doing so. Guy- You want us to lie to the police? That is not a direct quote, but there is a lot of dialog like that.
Even with all the problems, I kind of enjoyed the book and wanted to see how it played out. The killer isn't a Hannibal Lector genius, but he (or is it she?) is quite clever and you get into his head quite well (ok, it is a he).
I also enjoyed how people interacted with the police and how the police did their job from a Chinese perspective. I am not sure how well researched the book is, but police take people at their word and people don't lie to police. There was a type of dishonor to do the wrong thing from either side. There are also no giant shoot out scenes, as might have happened in an American book.
This is a solid 3 star book. It isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It would be great for an airplane or a waiting room or something along those lines.
*I wish to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for the advanced copy. I received the book in exchange for an honest review.
dreamer101's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mcbeezie's review
3.0
I liked the discussion of forensics and criminal behavior in this book. It sometimes got bogged down in detail without as much action as I like, but overall the story was good and intriguing. It did seem to end a bit abruptly with everyone confessing in the last few pages. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
lievemealone's review against another edition
3.0
More of a 3.5
The plot was excellent overall, the killer's identity is revealed fairly early on and it quickly becomes a cat and mouse game between the killer and the police. It was really compelling, but I have some quibbles with the writing and the ways some plot points just kinda disappeared and for pretty much the second half of the book. Would still strongly recommend it
The plot was excellent overall, the killer's identity is revealed fairly early on and it quickly becomes a cat and mouse game between the killer and the police. It was really compelling, but I have some quibbles with the writing and the ways some plot points just kinda disappeared and for pretty much the second half of the book. Would still strongly recommend it
svw89's review
1.0
I received a free digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I feel bad for rating this so low, but I have to be honest, and honestly I did not enjoy this at all. It started off so well, I was reading the first couple of pages and I was sure I was going to end up really liking this. Yes, the writing wasn't pretty or descriptive but when reading a crime novel, that doesn't bother me so much as it's the case and the working out who the culprit is and the eventual reveal, that is important and keeps me reading.
The case started off well. A fifth body in two years (or was it three? It changed during the books, at the beginning the first killing was two years ago, a couple of chapters later it was three!) has been found with the exact same evidence as the previous four: jump rope murder weapon near the body complete with fingerprints, a Liqun cigarette in the victim's mouth, and a piece of paper with the words “come and get me”. The serial killer has always managed to avoid being caught.
Then some chapters follow, introducing some more characters who will be involved in the investigation in some way, and all equally boring with little to no character development. At times I really wondered what was the point, especially with Zhu Huiru and Guo Yu, who I just found equally pathetic.
Soon we find out why Zhu Huiru and Guo Yu have been introduced. Zhu Huiru stabs Xu Tianding, a local thug who is determined that she should not tell him 'no' again, killing him at the same time as Guo Yu bashes Xu Tianding on the back of the head. Luo stumbles across them and for some reason, decides to help these two strangers cover up the murder using all his knowledge as an ex-forensic expert or something similar.
What follows is a lot of repetition. Luo going to visit Huiru and Guo Yu at the noodle shop, telling them what they need to say to the police, how they need to act etc. This seems to happen every day and it's the same thing over and over. It got very boring, very quickly.
This book is very dialogue heavy, so if you like a lot of dialogue and not a lot of description, this might work out a little better for you. Unfortunately, I also didn't find the dialogue to be that great. It didn't feel natural and I felt that it was used for great big info dumps and step-by-step guides to everything. The stuff that wasn't dialogue wasn't to my tastes. It tended to be very short sentences. He dragged himself to the bus stop. The bus trip lasted over half an hour. He got off at a stop next to a row of stands selling street food.. I appreciate some things may be lost in translation, but it shouldn't effect it that much, so I can't blame this on the translation (which I'm sure was very good!).
I found it very hard to keep track of who was who at times because of the lack of character development. A lot of the characters were very similar, and those who were slightly different, I really did not care for at all because there was very little to them, and what little there was wasn't enough to make me care about them at all. I need to know more about characters, I like to know their motivations, little things about them that make them human, stuff like that so that I can see if I can work out who the killer is and then either be shocked at the reveal or feel clever that I managed to work it out which partly leads on to my last point...
I worked out who the serial killer really early on, before I was a quarter of the way through, and that took a lot of the excitement out of the book and then I had to try and get myself to care about Huiru, Gou Yu and Luo and the situation they'd got themselves into. And I couldn't. I almost gave up a number of times but I forced myself to carry on and finish. There were a few promising moments late on, but then I found myself being let down again.
I wish I could rate this higher but unfortunately I can't. I hope people get more enjoyment out of it than me. Maybe it's just not for me.
I feel bad for rating this so low, but I have to be honest, and honestly I did not enjoy this at all. It started off so well, I was reading the first couple of pages and I was sure I was going to end up really liking this. Yes, the writing wasn't pretty or descriptive but when reading a crime novel, that doesn't bother me so much as it's the case and the working out who the culprit is and the eventual reveal, that is important and keeps me reading.
The case started off well. A fifth body in two years (or was it three? It changed during the books, at the beginning the first killing was two years ago, a couple of chapters later it was three!) has been found with the exact same evidence as the previous four: jump rope murder weapon near the body complete with fingerprints, a Liqun cigarette in the victim's mouth, and a piece of paper with the words “come and get me”. The serial killer has always managed to avoid being caught.
Then some chapters follow, introducing some more characters who will be involved in the investigation in some way, and all equally boring with little to no character development. At times I really wondered what was the point, especially with Zhu Huiru and Guo Yu, who I just found equally pathetic.
Soon we find out why Zhu Huiru and Guo Yu have been introduced. Zhu Huiru stabs Xu Tianding, a local thug who is determined that she should not tell him 'no' again, killing him at the same time as Guo Yu bashes Xu Tianding on the back of the head. Luo stumbles across them and for some reason, decides to help these two strangers cover up the murder using all his knowledge as an ex-forensic expert or something similar.
What follows is a lot of repetition. Luo going to visit Huiru and Guo Yu at the noodle shop, telling them what they need to say to the police, how they need to act etc. This seems to happen every day and it's the same thing over and over. It got very boring, very quickly.
This book is very dialogue heavy, so if you like a lot of dialogue and not a lot of description, this might work out a little better for you. Unfortunately, I also didn't find the dialogue to be that great. It didn't feel natural and I felt that it was used for great big info dumps and step-by-step guides to everything. The stuff that wasn't dialogue wasn't to my tastes. It tended to be very short sentences. He dragged himself to the bus stop. The bus trip lasted over half an hour. He got off at a stop next to a row of stands selling street food.. I appreciate some things may be lost in translation, but it shouldn't effect it that much, so I can't blame this on the translation (which I'm sure was very good!).
I found it very hard to keep track of who was who at times because of the lack of character development. A lot of the characters were very similar, and those who were slightly different, I really did not care for at all because there was very little to them, and what little there was wasn't enough to make me care about them at all. I need to know more about characters, I like to know their motivations, little things about them that make them human, stuff like that so that I can see if I can work out who the killer is and then either be shocked at the reveal or feel clever that I managed to work it out which partly leads on to my last point...
I worked out who the serial killer really early on, before I was a quarter of the way through, and that took a lot of the excitement out of the book and then I had to try and get myself to care about Huiru, Gou Yu and Luo and the situation they'd got themselves into. And I couldn't. I almost gave up a number of times but I forced myself to carry on and finish. There were a few promising moments late on, but then I found myself being let down again.
I wish I could rate this higher but unfortunately I can't. I hope people get more enjoyment out of it than me. Maybe it's just not for me.
sunnnyy's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5