A little book waffle, because I read the BEST THRILLER EVER! This book is bloody incredible. SECOND SISTER by Chan Ho-Kei.
Wow! What a book.
I’ve gotten into thrillers recently. This book is a crime-thriller, set in Hong Kong and originally written in Chinese. It was so twisty and well-written, I just couldn’t put it down. This is SECOND SISTER by Chan Ho-Kei.🙀
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Basically, a young woman lives her entire life for her younger sister. One day she comes home to her Hong Kong apartment, and her younger sister steps off the balcony.
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Unable to accept her sister’s suicide, she enlists a fascinating and terrifying detective / hacker whose ethics are quite questionable.
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I loved the fast-paced plot and unexpected twists (I literally couldn’t put it down!), but I particularly loved the themes. It looks at the darker side of the internet, at how easy it is to steal or mess with someone’s personal information, how simple it might be to radicalise / influence someone.
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I personally have a complicated relationship with the internet … I love what it has given me (friends, opportunities, creative outlets, access to media and entertainment from all over the world!), but am also scared of how people act online, as if being anonymous behind a computer screen enables them to say things to other humans they would never say in real life. I’ve always found that aspect of internet culture deeply disturbing, and so I loved this book’s measured discussion on it. Sometimes, you think the book is condemning the internet, but then it explores the good side, too, and as one character says, the internet is just a tool. Humans, really, are the problem, not the internet.
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Here is a quote I really liked:
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‘The internet is a great place for us to share our knowledge and increase communication. But human beings naturally love expressing their opinions more than they want to understand other people. We always talk too much and listen too little, which is why the world is so noisy. Only when we understand this will we finally see progress in the world. That’s when humanity will be ready to use the internet as a tool.’
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I highly recommend this novel if you love crime fiction or thrillers, mystery novels, translated fiction, or just a bloody great read! 😻
THANK YOU FOR READING
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PJ Nwosu writes dark mystery novels set in epic fantasy worlds.
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