Zijin Chen

Zhang Dongsheng, a teacher, arranges what he thinks is the perfect murder. Acting like a dutiful son-in-law, he takes his wife's parents to a nature park at a time when it's mostly deserted and pushes them off the mountain to their deaths. He'll claim it's an accident caused by his father-in-law's health condition, and since there are no witnesses, no one will be the wiser.

However, there are witnesses: three children who accidentally catch the whole thing on video. Thirteen-year-old Chaoyang and his new friends, two runaway orphans named Ding Hao and Pupu, initially think they should turn the footage in to the police. However, if they do that then Ding Hao and Pupu will be forced to go back to the orphanage where they were mistreated and nine-year-old Pupu was sexually abused. Chaoyang had briefly been letting the two orphans stay at his house while his mother was away at work, but the situation can't continue, so the kids hatch a plan to blackmail Zhang Dongsheng, who they believe must be rich because of the kind of car he drives (his wife and in-laws were rich, not him). They'll use the money they get from him to pay for food and a place to stay.

As the situation becomes more complicated, both Zhang Dongsheng and the kids have things to hide.

The cover calls this "an edge-of-your-seat bestselling Chinese suspense thriller," so I was expecting an exciting read. Instead, the bulk of it dragged. The main characters' problems kept piling up (the final body count surprised me), but it somehow never felt tense and suspenseful. The writing/translation was spare and not particularly impressive, and the characters never felt real. Chaoyang's situation was very melodramatic - although his father was well-off, he and his mother lived in poverty because his father had divorced his mother and remarried someone who wanted to pretend her husband's earlier family never existed. Chaoyang learned that his half-sister didn't even know she had an older brother, and Chaoyang's father's new wife tended to come across like a shrieking villain from a soap opera. Her method of getting revenge against Chaoyang and his mother at one point involved hiring someone to toss a bucket of human waste at them.

The "twist" ending transformed this from a mediocre read into a bad one and actively angered me. I was left with something that was neither believable nor at all satisfying.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (plus d'informations)

The editing will drive you a big buggy. The sentences are pretty rigid. The repetition will make you want to cry a bit. You will also know who the murderer is pretty quickly. With all that, The Untouched Crime by Zijin Chen was still a fun ride and an interesting look into investigations in China.

There is a murderer who has been killing people the same way- a jump rope, a cigarette in the mouth, and a sheet of paper that reads- "come and get me." These murders have been going on for 3 years and all done in the same way (although a few pages read 5 years, hence the editing comment). Try as they might, investigators cannot find who is committing these murders.

In another part of town, a noodle shop girl accidentally kills a local gangster with the help of her admirer who followed her to keep her safe. Luo Wen, also a noodle enthusiast, witnesses the whole thing and vows to keep the shop girl and her admirer safe. He covers up the crime for them and tells them what to say to the police.

What do these two, seemingly different, murders have in common? This is part of the fun of the book. When you find out, the book transfers from a who done it to a battle of wits.

I fear whenever someone sees a 3 star review the thought will be- this must not be any good. In this case, this is a good book with a series of problems, but it was still a fun ride and a solid 3 star book. It isn't mind blowing, it won't make you think about life, but it will entertain more than anything and keep you occupied for a few hours.

There are quite a few problems within this book, but I think it is because of translation to English from Chinese. I stated a few of them above, but there are also some regionalisms that get in the way in addition to the problems stated above. The sheer amount of repetition might be fit for a Chinese audience, based on Chinese movies I have seen, but it doesn't read well. For example, when Wen tells the plan to the noodle girl and her accomplice, he will state the plan, the girl will repeat it word for word with a question mark at the end- Wen- Lie to the police. Girl- You want me to lie to the police? Wen- Yes, lie to the police if you are comfortable doing so. Guy- You want us to lie to the police? That is not a direct quote, but there is a lot of dialog like that.

Even with all the problems, I kind of enjoyed the book and wanted to see how it played out. The killer isn't a Hannibal Lector genius, but he (or is it she?) is quite clever and you get into his head quite well (ok, it is a he).

I also enjoyed how people interacted with the police and how the police did their job from a Chinese perspective. I am not sure how well researched the book is, but police take people at their word and people don't lie to police. There was a type of dishonor to do the wrong thing from either side. There are also no giant shoot out scenes, as might have happened in an American book.

This is a solid 3 star book. It isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It would be great for an airplane or a waiting room or something along those lines.

*I wish to thank NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for the advanced copy. I received the book in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)