The Borrowed
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Where there is murder, there is humanity. Hong Kong's greatest detective, Inspector Kwan, is dying. For the past fifty years he has been quietly solving crimes while the world changed around him. Now on his deathbed, his partner Detective Lok needs help with one final case. Through the story of six different but interlocking murders, this bold and intricate crime novel spans five decades of love, honour, jealousy and revenge, in one of the world's most intriguing nations.
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Interesting premise in that we're introduced to Kwan Chun-dok, the Eye of Heaven. He's a detective with the Hong Kong Police Force, an Asian Sherlock Holmes that has a 100% success rate. But we meet him not only at the end of his career, but his life as well as he helps solve one last case. The first story stretches believability a bit, but stick around because Chan Ho-Kei recounts Kwan's 50 year career in reverse chronological order over the course of six separate stories.
Each story leaves slight clues in the text for the reader to unravel the mystery but of course it's Kwan Chun-dok that deftly gets to the truth. What's unique is that Kwan is a truly good character. He's not damaged goods, harbouring a secret gambling addiction or haunted by some dark past event. And while he may think outside the box, he's still an officer of the law working within a larger bureaucratic system and ascending through the ranks.
A chewy mystery book in translation that proved a wonderful diversion.
