Reviews

The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder

kfogg's review against another edition

5.0

Wow - what an epic and educating novel. Set over two time periods and although you can sort of work out where most of it is going this does not detract from the story one little bit. Lots of research must have gone into this and I also read more of the Nanking atrocities once I’d finished. Another excellent book from Mo Hayder.

parikshit's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

chrisramos_readingrecord_2024's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense

3.0

jonezeemcgee's review against another edition

4.0

3.75

This is probably the single most disturbing read I have ever encountered. I don't know how to rate this at the moment, so I'll have to come back to it.

I have lots of thoughts.

hotpotakis's review against another edition

4.0

Dark dark mystery and horror. So many pieces of a puzzle that in the end you are left unsure if you would rather it was left in bits so you wouldn't have been able to comprehend. A favorite but one I'll only read once maybe because it seriously gave me nightmares.

cjeanne99's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Another dual timeline book with two narrators. Not sure what value Gray’s modern day narration added to the story. We could have gotten the reference

matmyers's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

arielledelphine's review against another edition

challenging sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sophiesallade's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Favorite mystery/horror l've read in a long time. 

This book speaks on cruelty in a more visceral way than most anything l've read in the past, it's cruelness felt deep in your gut, and all based on a real world event. 

This novel is put together in such an interesting and complex way, two different gruesome realities brought together in one book. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. 

This is the type of horror that reiterates, it's not the monsters or ghosts of horror movies that are scary, it's real fucking people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Abortion, and War

maaartje's review against another edition

3.5

Hele spannende thriller waarvan het plot zó tegenvalt dat je na afloop met een wat katerig gevoel blijft zitten.