Love, Life, & Beyond

Since I realised how limited my reading scope has been, I have been trying to read books from all over the world. There is such richness and diversity of ideas in these books; astonishingly, I had missed out on them for so long. 

Welcome to the fourth instalment of mystery and thriller books from all over the world. This time, we are in East and Southeast Asia. Japanese and Korean books have dominated the genre in this region for their gritty, gruesome, and gory tales. But throw a wider net and you get many nuanced stories, psychological insights, and innovative genre-bending narratives as well from countries like China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. 

Of course, there would be many more books that are yet to be translated into English that are more deserving of a larger audience, and I hope that they will be available at some point. Till then, here are some I’ve read and loved.

You can also read my other posts on mystery and suspense books from Oceania, South Asia, and North America.

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The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino, translated by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander 

Higashino has to be the top recommendation in this list. This book (as well as others by him) will have you on edge till the last sentence. The plot, with its twists and turns, doesn’t let up and gives you a thrill ride throughout. This is the first book in the Detective Galileo series, and is a must-read for fans of mystery novels.

The story follows Yasuko who lives a quiet life with her daughter and works in a Tokyo bento shop, frequented by a math teacher, Ishigami. When Yasuko’s abusive ex-husband appears at her door without warning, a series of events unfold that could ruin her life.

When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. 

Author: Keigo Higashino is a bestselling Japanese mystery master, renowned for subverting classic detective fiction. His genius lies in often revealing the criminal first, building breathtaking suspense around the how and why. His ingenious plots explore the complex nature of truth and human evil. He has won multiple major awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films and TV series.

Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei, translated by Jeremy Tiang

The book started off a little slow. Nga-Yee’s sister dies by suicide, but she suspects something more sinister than teenage depression and wants to know who made her take that drastic step.

The character of Nga-Yee, who is oblivious to technology, is an excellent sounding board to explain hacking and computer basics to the reader. As someone who is online most of the day, I was aware of some of the aspects. The parts I knew of got a bit tedious, but it was a good introduction to how the Internet works, how hackers can manipulate your devices, and the Internet’s dangers we should be wary of.

We get to know the ‘killer’ around the halfway mark, but that’s where the real fun begins! Plenty of twists. It sometimes felt as if everything fell right into place for the hacker N to prove how he was always a few steps ahead of the game. I’m not sure if that would be a hacker’s reality or just bumped up for the book.

It was an exciting read, especially in the book’s second half. It had me gripped till the final chapter. A bit of moral and ethical thoughts there as well, making you ponder about the rights and wrongs of our actions and how we choose to live our lives. 

Author: Chan Ho-Kei is a Hong Kong author and screenwriter, renowned for his complex, multi-layered crime novels. A former computer game programmer, his writing is praised for its intricate plotting, sharp social commentary, and deep exploration of Hong Kong’s identity. He gained international acclaim with The Borrowed, a novel structured as six interconnected mysteries spanning five decades of the city’s history.

Confessions by Kanae Minato, translated by Stephen Snyder

Reading the first few pages, I had my doubts about the book. The tone was very casual and simplified. A teacher is talking to her students about her decision to quit teaching and that she knows which of her students killed her daughter!

The other chapters are in the voices of the other characters, either talking about the incident or about what happened after the teacher’s revelation. Don’t be fooled by the simplistic first chapter. Each chapter reveals a new layer to the story. It’s brilliantly conceived and executed. The structure is quite unique. Even though the monologues by each character seem basic, the plot is intricate and full of twists that make you think about who’s right or wrong.

Author: Kanae Minato is a Japanese author renowned for her bestselling psychological thrillers that explore themes of vengeance, justice, and the dark undercurrents of ordinary life. A former homemaker, she began writing at 40 and achieved monumental success with her debut novel, Confessions, which won the Japanese Booksellers Award.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo 

The story sets off with a bizarre premise; someone hands a human finger to Ji Lin. Meanwhile, a househelp, Ren, is on a mission to find his master’s missing finger. While this is happening, there are cases of unexplained deaths that locals blame on a mystical tiger. The unfolding of the story is a mix of magical realism and mystery as the killer is revealed.

It is an interesting book with a mingling of genres and a look into the local Malaysian culture in the 1930s.

Author: Yangsze Choo is a Malaysian novelist celebrated for her lush, atmospheric historical fiction steeped in Asian folklore and mystery. Her novels showcase her talent for weaving captivating family secrets and magical realism into evocative narratives. 

Inspector Singh Investigates A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint

In this first book of the series, Inspector Singh gets called in from Singapore to Malaysia to help defend a Singaporean celeb accused of murdering her husband. After many twists and turns, he manages to do his job. On his quest, we are given a good picture of the local surroundings, the diverse people who live there, the culture, and how it all differs from the same in Singapore.

There are some side-topics thrown in as well highlighting issues relevant to the region. It’s a good read without being stressful or edge-of-the-seat. 

Author: Shamini Flint (born 1969) is a Malaysian author based in Singapore, known for her crime fiction and children’s books. She is best known for her “Inspector Singh Investigates” series of crime novels, which feature a portly Sikh detective solving crimes around the world. In addition to her writing career, Flint has worked as a corporate lawyer and a child rights activist.

Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong

What’s a story set in China without some politics? But this book goes further and gives you politics and poetry along with a murder mystery. Inspector Chen is assigned the task of finding the murderer of a young woman who was a ‘model party worker’. But when all the roads lead to the party itself, Chen gets sidelined. He and his assistant, Yu, must find a way to get justice. But are all means of justice equal?

Justice was like colored balls in a magician’s hand, changing color and shape all the time, beneath the light of politics.

Through Chen, who is also a poet, we are introduced to some beautiful verses of Chinese poetry throughout the book. The story is set in the 1990s, so we are given some political context of the past policies that have led to the current situations. The murder-solving is almost a side plot to convey the socio-political landscape of the times. It is an interesting book that gives the reader a detailed look into life and culture under a socialist dictatorship.

Author: Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai, China. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels. He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China. He currently lives in America.

A Perfect Crime by A Yi, translated by Anna Holmwood 

The crime is committed pretty early on in the book and we know who did it. We go through the inner voice of the murderer—his life, his reasons, his thoughts. It is chilling the way he describes his lack of emotions, although he would’ve felt repulsion somewhere deep inside of him since the act made him vomit. We get a glimpse of the conditions of the society he is in and his family situation, and how they change and react to the crime. It is not a murder mystery but more of a psychological analysis of a killer.

Author: A Yi is a Chinese writer living in Beijing. He worked as a police officer before becoming editor-in-chief of Chutzpah. He is the author of two collections of short stories and has published fiction in Granta and the Guardian. 

The Plotters by Un-Su Kim, translated by Sora Kim-Russell

This is not your regular cat and mouse game. We see the world through the eyes of an assassin. But what happens when someone comes for him? He needs to figure out who is plotting his death and all the people pulling strings behind the scene.

It’s not an action-packed story but rather a rumination of a career that thrives because of the social and political scenario of the place. We follow Reseng as he goes about his job and is caught between staying loyal to his old boss or forming new alliances. While he is figuring that out, he needs to figure out who’s out to get him. There are some deep thoughts to ponder over for the reader as well: This world isn’t a mess because people are evil. It’s because everyone has their own stories and excuses for doing bad things.

Author: Un-Su Kim (born 1972) is a South Korean author best known for his crime fiction novels. His writing is known for its sharp humor, vivid descriptions, and satirical commentary on contemporary Korean society. Kim has won several literary awards for his work, including the Munhakdongne Novel Prize and the Korea Crime Fiction Award.

The Mimosa Tree Mystery (Crown Colony Series) by Ovidia Yu

I read this book without reading the previous ones in the series and could follow the storyline, as the narration fills the gap regarding the story so far.

The story takes place in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Su Lin, a Chinese girl, has been asked by the Japanese to solve the murder of her neighbour, Mirza, who was helping the Japanese crack some codes. She has been chosen for the task because of her previous crime-solving experience with the British inspector before Japanese rule, her language skills, and her knowledge of local people and customs.

The story vividly describes the lives of locals under occupation and what they did to survive. The mystery is solved as Su Lin learns new information about her family. It is a good mix of history and crime-solving, along with a dose of family drama.

Author: Ovidia Yu (born 1961) is an award-winning writer from Singapore who has published plays, short stories, and a children’s book. Her short story A Dream of China won first prize in the Asiaweek competition and inspired her to pursue a career as a writer. She has also won the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Foundation Culture Award (1996), the National Arts Council (NAC) Young Artist Award (1996) and the Singapore Youth Award (1997). 

The Good Son by You-jeong Jeong, translated by Chi-Young Kim

The scariest stories are not about made-up monsters but things that hide in plain sight. When Yu-jin wakes up covered in blood and finds his mother murdered, he needs to piece together the events of the night before. He needs to keep curious people at bay before he can figure out what happened and what he needs to do.

He finds his mother’s journal and realises a big part that was missing from his life finally makes sense. His anger and resentment grow as he recollects events from the past. The way the story ends is chilling.

The story-telling could be better. The journal entries seemed more like explanations rather than journal writing. The revelations seem too convenient and timely. However, the story progression kept me hooked.

Author: You-jeong Jeong was born in South Korea. She initially trained and worked as a nurse and is now South Korea’s leading writer of psychological crime and thriller fiction. You-jeong is the author of four novels including Seven Years of Darkness, which was named one of the top ten crime novels of 2015 by the German newspaper Die Zeit.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto

A cosy mystery with an endearing, albeit annoying, grandma at the core of it. Vera lives in Chinatown and runs the World Famous Teahouse. She keeps herself fit and busy while she waits for her son to call or visit. Then her life gets more exciting as a man is found dead at her doorstep. Police chalk it up to an accidental overdose, but Vera knows there’s something suspicious. When new people come to check out the murder scene, she knows the murderer is among them. But she gets attached to them and they to her, so will she still turn them in? It’s a light, fun read filled with a diverse cast of people. 

Author: Jesse Sutanto is an Indonesian author of Chinese descent known for her entertaining novels. She gained widespread acclaim with her Auntie series, a hilarious rom-com mystery that won the 2022 Comedy Women in Print Prize. Her work often features strong Indonesian and Chinese-Indonesian characters, seamlessly mixing heartfelt family dynamics with murderous plots and sharp humour. 

The Bone Ritual by Julian Lees 

Set in Jakarta, Inspector Ruud is called to investigate a murder of a woman whose left hand has been chopped off and a mahjong tile placed in her throat. His childhood friend, Imke, is also visiting from Holland with her aunt and dog. When she also goes missing, Ruud needs to speed up his inquiry before it’s too late.

It is a disturbing tale with some moments of light-heartedness. There was a lot of name dropping (products, places, and people) which felt contrived but it didn’t distract from the story. Also, the jump that Ruud makes in his initial reasoning for the motive for murder seemed far-fetched with the little information they had at the point. Could be that he’s drawing on his work experience, but it felt an easy fit to the puzzle.

All-in-all, a good look into the culture and bustle of Indonesia with a thrilling murder mystery thrown in.

Author: Julian Lees was born and raised in Hong Kong, attended boarding school in England and currently lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with his wife and children. His novels are set in a world where East meets West, a cross-cultural world which he captures bewitchingly and dramatically in his fiction.

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

I was surprised to find a Filipino mystery book through book recommendations. This book is set in Manila and is about a series of gory murders happening in the poor side of town called Payatas. The victims are all young boys found buried under trash heaps. Two Jesuit priests, Saenz and Jerome, help the police with their expertise in forensics. It is tightly written and doesn’t dwell on countless details and sentiments. The church is a large part of local culture but the author doesn’t hold back in calling out its shortcomings through the insider, Father Saenz. The police force also has its characters, from power hungry rookies to principled veterans. I liked the story telling and how all the characters were portrayed without leaning on stereotypes. 

Author: F.H. Batacan was a fellow at the 1996 Dumaguete National Writers’ Workshop. She worked in the Philippine intelligence community and then became a broadcast journalist. Smaller and Smaller Circles, won the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Grand Prize for the English Novel, the 2002 Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and the Madrigal-Gonzales Best First Book Award in 2003. In 2008, she won 1st prize in the English short story category of the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion

I had planned to read just a chapter before bed but ended up finishing the whole book in a single sitting. It starts off with a few drawings posted on a blog that has a dark story hidden behind it. Subsequent chapters have other drawings that reveal more layers of the story. A murderous story unfolds around a handful of drawings. It’s an innovative way to present a murder mystery.

Author: Uketsu is an enigmatic Youtuber and author of horror and mystery stories. He appears in videos wearing a white mask and black body stocking, with his voice digitally distorted. As mysterious as his stories!

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