Second Sister

Starred review from December 9, 2019
Nga-Yee Au, the heroine of this clever, twisty novel set in Hong Kong from Chan (The Borrowed), who has devoted herself to taking care of her 15-year-old sister, Siu-Man, after the death of their widowed mother, is devastated to learn that Siu-Man has jumped to her death from their apartment window. After Siu-Man’s death, Nga-Yee learns that, over a period of months leading to the suicide, Siu-Man was the victim of a subway groper, Shiu Tak-Ping, who was convicted of sexual abuse and sent to prison. Siu-Man was subsequently subject to cyberbullying and harassment from someone claiming to be Tak-Ping’s nephew, who insisted that his uncle was framed. Nga-Yee is determined to hold the nephew accountable for Siu-Man’s death, and after the PI she hires learns that Tak-Ping has no nephew, he directs her to an eccentric investigator, who just calls himself N, to track down the impersonator. The reveals are both logical and surprising, and Chan populates the plot with realistic characterizations. Fans of hacker thrillers such as Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander books will be amply rewarded. Agent: Markus Hoffmann, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc.

December 15, 2019
A young Chinese woman suspects her younger sister's suicide is not what it seems in this somber tale of investigation and discovery. Siu-Man, the schoolgirl victim, had been the subject of online bullying after reporting a man for groping her on public transportation, a charge that resulted in the man's going to jail. Siu-Man's older sister and guardian, Nga-Yee, can't accept that her sister killed herself and hires a cyberhacker to see if the chat board posts against Siu-Man can be tracked down. The premise is a pretty slim reed, really more of an excuse to examine the simultaneously liberating and corrupting potential of the internet, the anonymity it affords people to say what they want, and the temptation that comes with it to indulge in gossip, invective, and maliciousness. Inevitably, the investigation leads beyond users to the tech companies content to exploit those temptations. The story is also a portrait of life on the economic fringes of Hong Kong, a city so expensive the inhabitants cling to the tiny government-issued housing as their only slim foothold. The sense of fatigue with which Nga-Yee comes home from a day's work near the beginning of the novel hovers over the rest of it. Unfortunately, these threads are more interesting than the unfolding of Siu-Man's fate. This is a novel in which the motivating mystery feels swamped by the commentary surrounding it.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2020

Software engineer Chan (The Borrowed) returns with a new complex and well-crafted mystery of a Hong Kong librarian searching for the truth about her teenage sister's death. Most chapters begin with short text message exchanges between unidentified antagonists, adding tension and intrigue to the plot. Main character Nga-Yee is a hard-working, family-oriented young Chinese woman who has experienced great loss, of both family and financial stability, and is now alone in the world. The authorities say her sister's death was by suicide, but Nga-Yee engages the reluctant help of a mysterious, taciturn cyber expert who goes simply by the letter "N"; his involvement leads to the discovery of an increasingly complicated snarl of seemingly unconnected threads that eventually reveal an unexpected puppetmaster. The story addresses timely and dark themes of society today, including teenage sexual harassment, internet bullying, organized crime, and the machinations of the digital underground. VERDICT Chan's appealing style will hold readers' interest, especially those who enjoy their suspense set in international locales.--Crystal Renfro, Kennesaw State Univ., Marietta, GA

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2019
After seeing her 15-year-old sister's broken body on the Hong Kong sidewalk below their apartment, Nga-Yee vows to deliver justice to the cyberbully she blames for Siu-Man's suicide. Siu-Man's torment began several months ago when she was groped on a crowded subway train, and a witness identified Shiu Tak-Ping as the perpetrator. After Shiu's incarceration, a social-media rant appeared, stoking sympathy for Shiu, accusing Siu-Man of lying about the attack, and igniting vicious cyberattacks toward Siu-Man. Undeterred by the anonymous poster's attempts to cover his tracks, Nga-Yee's quest for justice takes a turn toward revenge after she convinces Hong Kong's most adept hacker, N., to take her case. Their search, punctuated by hacking details and sharp-witted verbal sparring, unveils a dangerous swirl of petty feuds, cybertheft, and the existence of a predator stalking Hong Kong's vulnerable teens. An intense but rewarding blend of technology, deduction, and flawed relationships; fans of Chan's well-written English-language debut, The Borrowed (2016), will find even more to like here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)