Death Notice Hardcover – 5 Jun. 2018

I bought this on the strength of a review in the Sunday Times. It was difficult to get into for the first few pages, but then I couldn't put it down. The banter between Chinese police officers is clearly more formal than here in the UK...but it made for interesting reading. The storyline is a bit "Dexter(ish)" as in the tv series, a high-grade vigilante story. My only disappointment is that the next books in the series haven't been translated/are not available yet!!!

I think is always very difficult to write a book review and hence I don't write too many. Its very subjective based on the reader and what your looking for in a book and also some books are great for the story/plot, others for the "pictures" they paint and some can do both.I was looking for an insight into China by a book written by a Chinese author, which is why I read the book, so this gives a hint to my motivation.What I got was a very good plot driven book.Its certainly a page turner and I quickly became engaged with the plot and the characters involved, which suggests its not just a good story but written and translated well enough to want to invest some interest in the individuals involved.The story follows a group of individuals as they follow connected cases 18 years apart and a number of interesting victims... you can read the description for a plot summary. As you follow these police, criminals and victims you do feel that you are getting some idea of modern life in Chengdu and to that end it met what I was looking for.I guess the best testimonial to the book is the fact that when I finished it I immediately when looking for the sequel in this trilogy - which unfortunately has not been translated yet!.... and for that reason alone I think it deserves 4*

I started out enjoying this. The Chinese setting was unfamiliar of course, and it was interesting in itself. But as the story progressed not only did the plot seem increasingly unlikely, but the Chinese names began to merge together and I had to keep returning to the Dramatis Personae at the beginning to refresh my memory. I found that this is easier to do with a book than a Kindle, so it wasn't totally satisfactory.

And that's all you need to know.The ending was the nail in the coffin for me. It literally, literally, ends like how a screenplay for a TV show would play out. Even if this book was set up to have a follow up, this is not, ever, how with any dignity you end your book. And, I'm not on about what happens per se, it's the pacing that leaves the reader stuck with nothing. Nothing, I mean nothing at all to latch on to. You've just read a shallow and difficult to follow story, full of pandering and lame suspense to lead you a whole lot of... nothing.

I bought this book following a very positive review in a Sunday newspaper, but I was very disappointed . I found the story confusing, and it didn`t hold my attention. I did finish the book, but would not recommend it as a good read. This may be due to translation of course.

I only gave this a three star rating as I found this book was a bit too drawn out for my taste. It was quite well written and had a reasonable story line. I do not think that I would recommend this book.

The book is really well written and keeps you guessing to the end. Well done. Can't wait for part 2 . Well I don't need to its already released.

This had great reviews

Eine mysteriöse Figur namens Eumenides tötet Personen, die ungesühnte Verbrechen begangen haben. Die Taten seiner Opfer konnten entweder nicht nachgewiesen werden oder sind aus den Gesichtspunkten des Killers moralisch falsch. Um Eumenides zu stoppen, erweckt die chinesische Polizei eine Task-Force aus fähigen Polizisten neu. Denn der Killer hat schon vor 18 Jahren mehrmals zugeschlagen. Das besondere an Eumenides ist, dass er seine Taten mittels "Death Notice" ankündet. Trotzdem kann er der Polizei immer wieder entwischen.Die Ausgangslage ist interessant, aber nicht wirklich kreativ. Den übermächtigen Serienmörder, der der Polizei immer einen Schritt voraus ist, gab es schon mehrmals. So wie die Ausganglage schon dagewesen ist, fühlt sich auch die restliche Geschichte des Buches an. Vieles ist bekannt aus anderen Thrillern und die Handlung scheint wie ein "Best-Of" zusammengesetzt. Kurzum, es fehlt dem Buch an Eigenständigkeit. Dennoch ist es einigermassen spannend zu lesen. Zumindest ab der der zweiten Hälfte. Denn bis zur Mitte passiert eigentlich nicht viel. Leider dauert es einige Seiten, bis die Task-Force endliche ihre Form gefunden hat, alle Animositäten aus dem Weg geräumt sind und sich nur auf die Jagd nach Eumenides konzentrieren kann. Positiv hervorzuheben ist, dass die stereotypen, Charaktere keinen grossen persönlichen Ballast (Alkoholiker, schwierige Kindheit, kaputte Ehe) mitschleppen, dem zig Seiten gewidmet werden und den Leser nur langweilen.Ein durch und durch durchschnittlicher Thriller, für den Flug, den Strand oder Gutenachtlektüre, der aber nicht in Erinnerung bleiben wird. Wichtig ist noch zu bemerken, das dies der erste Band einer Trilogie um Eumenides ist. Die Geschichte ist nach der letzten Seite also noch nicht zu Ende. Dennoch hat mich das Buch als ganzes eher kalt gelassen und ich werde die Folgebände nicht erwerben.

I read this crime novel while I was on a business trip in Beijing and I appreciated a lot the big echo between my mind status set by the reading and my body status. This novel is big news. I cannot but looking forward to the No. 2 as I really need the follow up, thank you

Zhou Haohui, author of Death Notice, is referred to in the biography at the end of the novel as "one of the top three suspense authors in China today." The statement leaves me puzzled. Perhaps something's been lost in the translation from the Chinese to English, but it's hard to believe that this novel is one of the best that a country of 1.4 billion people could produce. Oh, it's intricately plotted, and suspenseful. The author is clearly a professional writer. But the characters are wooden, their motivation sometimes hard to grasp, and the story is simply hard to believe in the final analysis.The writer is said to be one of China's top three suspense authorsDeath Notice might be characterized as a police procedural. But the intense distrust among the police officers who are the principals in this tale just doesn't come across as credible. And the serial killer who is the bad guy here is impossibly competent. I can't imagine how any killer, no matter how brilliant, could possibly pull off the series of crimes Zhou Haohui describes.Too bad. I was hoping for much better from one of "China's top three suspense authors."

An exciting book which you'll find very hard to put down. Full of teaiats and turns and I look forward to reading more from this author as (hopefully) more of his books get translated in time. Well worth the purchase. A gripping read from start to finish.

I enjoyed this exciting novel and was surprised that the Chinese names were easy to remember. The story kept me intrigued throughout, but I was unaware when I began it that it is part one of a series.

As detective / crime stories go this one is a gem. One scheme after another challenges the imagination to conjure what will happen next.Looking forward to rest of the trilogy.

A plot that twists and turns in ways no one would expect nor anticipate. A real thriller. Hard to put down.

The novel is suspenseful though the plot is somewhat preposterous.

i like the plot. you will find the logic from Chinese is different witg western people. You can learn how Chinese people thinking fromthia book.

Very fun read

This is a seat of your pants crime thriller set in contemporary China and hard to put down. A very good read- written in the style of Lee Childs.

Good setup! Hope the second part comes out soon!

Mr. Zhou's book has the insider's view of law enforcement like Ms. Kathy Reichs coupled with the mental gymnastics of Mr. Jones Nesbo. The characters are compelling and the action is swift without being sloppy. Mr. Zhou lives up to his name.The only downside is a few instances where the translation was not consistent (for example, a dress shirt was later described as a T-shirt). It gives the appearance that Mr. Haluza (or other members of the editing staff) did not read the entirety of the novel for consistency. Perhaps the next two installments will be clear of these errors.All in all, a hen hao shu by an author that I hope will be as renowned in Meiguo as he is in Zhongguo. Xiexie, Zhou Haohui!

Excellent thriller mystery, thoughtful but with lots of action too, convincing characters in a setting of modern China. Just enough familiarity for the westerner to be entertained and intrigued by how China is different from the west, even as the story is a very western style and theme thriller mystery. Looking forward to more in the series.

Couldn't finish the book.