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Enquête de l'avocat Hong #2
Hanging Devils
When Hong Jun returns to China from studying and working as a lawyer in the US, he opens the doors to his new practice in Beijing intent on helping ordinary people defend their rights, but he soon finds himself embroiled in a case which is anything but ordinary.
Ten years earlier, in 1984, on a state farm in the brutally icy, rural northeast of China, local beauty Li Hongmei was raped and murdered. There were two suspects and whilst one disappeared, the other confessed making it a seemingly open and shut case. But now it looks like the wrong man may have been sent down for the crime. His newly-rich brother is prepared to pay whatever it takes to clear his name and he thinks Hong Jun is the right man for the job.
In a quest for justice, Hong Jun returns to the sins of the past and delves deep into the sleazy underbelly of China's corrupt legal system. When he stumbles upon what appears to be official complicity in a cover-up he must challenge those who hold the rule of law secondary to personal ambition and the whims of local officials to solve a case shrouded in both mystery and treachery and one that ambiguously alludes to the ancient legends of the Heilongjiang Mountains where the murder took place.
Ten years earlier, in 1984, on a state farm in the brutally icy, rural northeast of China, local beauty Li Hongmei was raped and murdered. There were two suspects and whilst one disappeared, the other confessed making it a seemingly open and shut case. But now it looks like the wrong man may have been sent down for the crime. His newly-rich brother is prepared to pay whatever it takes to clear his name and he thinks Hong Jun is the right man for the job.
In a quest for justice, Hong Jun returns to the sins of the past and delves deep into the sleazy underbelly of China's corrupt legal system. When he stumbles upon what appears to be official complicity in a cover-up he must challenge those who hold the rule of law secondary to personal ambition and the whims of local officials to solve a case shrouded in both mystery and treachery and one that ambiguously alludes to the ancient legends of the Heilongjiang Mountains where the murder took place.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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132 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 28, 2022
Una novela negra, de los 90 asiática y que posee casi todas las características del neopolicial. Aunque reconozco su valor, me pareció un tanto sosa. Creo que este tipo de novela tiene que tener sobresaltos, y esta tuvo muy pocos. En busca de un final diferente me dejo con sentimientos encontrados porque se me hizo eterno. La mayoría de los misterios, tanto el principal como los secundarios, fueron muy predecibles. Eso hubiera tenido arreglo con una trama más trepidante y firme. No faltaron las reflexiones filosóficas y el típico antidetective que también es un antihéroe, con su propio conflicto personal. 🤷🏻♂️
May 19, 2020
In the mid-1990s, Hong Jun, a lawyer who has just recently returned to China after working for some years in the United States, opens up a law practice in Beijing intent on helping ordinary people defend their rights. His very first case involves a possible miscarriage of justice ten years earlier where a young man was sent to prison for life for the rape and murder of a young woman on a state farm fifty miles from the city of Harbin in the far north-east of China. The older brother of the incarcerated youth is happy to pay for Hong Jun to prove his brother’s innocence – which for Hong Jun means re-investigating the murder to find the real culprit. For without finding the real culprit, Hong Jun is fully aware that there is little chance of a court over-turning its original guilty verdict.
First off, let’s talk about the author. He Jiahong is a professor at the School of Law, Renmin University, in Beijing and specialises in the law regarding the gathering of criminal evidence. He also researches wrongful convictions. Indeed, this novel is a fictionalised account of a very real case – and a remarkable case it is. Not only does the fictional lawyer Hong Jun have to contend with the fact that the incarcerated youth’s blood (or at least blood of his blood type) was discovered near to the body of the young woman, and that there was a witness to him leaving the scene, but also that the youth actually confessed to the murder without being coerced or tortured. However, from the moment he first hears the details of the case, Hong Jun feels there is something not quite right with the conviction and he gets on the train to a very bitter wintry Harbin if not necessarily optimistic then determined to do what he can.
As you would expect from a lawyer, this is a meticulously constructed novel. We follow Hong Jun as he deftly negotiates the complicated bureaucracy of the legal system in the People’s Republic of China, building relationships where he can, playing on the fact that as lawyer recently returned from the United States he is treated with a considerable amount of respect. And he is also not afraid to call in favours from a long lost love who now occupies a senior position in the police and with whom he wishes for another chance at romance. But, though this is an intricate and always fascinating novel, it will not be for everyone. It is a slow read. And, though we are left guessing to the very end whether Hong Jun will succeed and uncover the true culprit and thereby overturn the original guilty verdict, it cannot be said that this novel is a thrill a minute.
In fact, all the emotion in the novel is rather understated – maybe too much so for the usual reader of modern crime novels. Everyone in the novel comes across as a little too well-controlled – very much in charge of themselves no matter what they have suffered. And Hong Jun himself comes across as rather a little too good at negotiating his way around all the interested parties. He never encounters any real concerted opposition to his enquiries, and never gets confronted by a situation he cannot turn to his advantage – almost too good to be true for a lawyer working in private practice in authoritarian China. Unlike most protagonists in crime novels, Hong Jun also has no apparent vices – not even pride in his own very real abilities. He just continues moving forward, seemingly without losing confidence in himself until he gets to the truth.
All that being said, and though it is not a thrill a minute and is probably not for everyone, I did feel captivated by this novel. Maybe because it is based on a true story or maybe because the novel is so well plotted, it fascinated me to the very end. At the start of the novel we are presented with an intellectual puzzle and it is using his knowledge of criminology and modern forensics that Hong Jun solves this puzzle. So do not expect car chases or mysterious messages put under the door or Hong Jun being threatened with his life unless he drops his investigation. But if China and intellectual puzzles are your thing, then this book might be for you!!
First off, let’s talk about the author. He Jiahong is a professor at the School of Law, Renmin University, in Beijing and specialises in the law regarding the gathering of criminal evidence. He also researches wrongful convictions. Indeed, this novel is a fictionalised account of a very real case – and a remarkable case it is. Not only does the fictional lawyer Hong Jun have to contend with the fact that the incarcerated youth’s blood (or at least blood of his blood type) was discovered near to the body of the young woman, and that there was a witness to him leaving the scene, but also that the youth actually confessed to the murder without being coerced or tortured. However, from the moment he first hears the details of the case, Hong Jun feels there is something not quite right with the conviction and he gets on the train to a very bitter wintry Harbin if not necessarily optimistic then determined to do what he can.
As you would expect from a lawyer, this is a meticulously constructed novel. We follow Hong Jun as he deftly negotiates the complicated bureaucracy of the legal system in the People’s Republic of China, building relationships where he can, playing on the fact that as lawyer recently returned from the United States he is treated with a considerable amount of respect. And he is also not afraid to call in favours from a long lost love who now occupies a senior position in the police and with whom he wishes for another chance at romance. But, though this is an intricate and always fascinating novel, it will not be for everyone. It is a slow read. And, though we are left guessing to the very end whether Hong Jun will succeed and uncover the true culprit and thereby overturn the original guilty verdict, it cannot be said that this novel is a thrill a minute.
In fact, all the emotion in the novel is rather understated – maybe too much so for the usual reader of modern crime novels. Everyone in the novel comes across as a little too well-controlled – very much in charge of themselves no matter what they have suffered. And Hong Jun himself comes across as rather a little too good at negotiating his way around all the interested parties. He never encounters any real concerted opposition to his enquiries, and never gets confronted by a situation he cannot turn to his advantage – almost too good to be true for a lawyer working in private practice in authoritarian China. Unlike most protagonists in crime novels, Hong Jun also has no apparent vices – not even pride in his own very real abilities. He just continues moving forward, seemingly without losing confidence in himself until he gets to the truth.
All that being said, and though it is not a thrill a minute and is probably not for everyone, I did feel captivated by this novel. Maybe because it is based on a true story or maybe because the novel is so well plotted, it fascinated me to the very end. At the start of the novel we are presented with an intellectual puzzle and it is using his knowledge of criminology and modern forensics that Hong Jun solves this puzzle. So do not expect car chases or mysterious messages put under the door or Hong Jun being threatened with his life unless he drops his investigation. But if China and intellectual puzzles are your thing, then this book might be for you!!
August 5, 2021
In the mid 1990’s Hong Jun returns to China from studying and working as a lawyer in the US. He opens a relatively new type of private practice in Beijing intent on helping ordinary people defend their rights. This book is about an early (perhaps his first?) case. He is asked to prove the innocence of a man convicted of murder on a state farm in northern China back in 1984. The man’s brother made money in construction and will pay Hong Jun’s fee.
The imprisoned man confessed so it seemed to be an open and shut case but, after meeting the man, Hong Jun suspects he is innocent. In his quest for justice, Hong Jun delves into the past and discovers signs of sloppy investigation and official cover up. He also finds that evidence requested gets lost and a key witness is murdered. He has to be careful though because the police, courts and communist party officials still are powerful and set in their ways.
There are good things to say about this book. It is interesting to get a glimpse into not only 1990’s China but also that of of the China of the 1980’s China in a remote northern town. It is interesting to read about the Orochen people, a small minority ethnic group who have lived there for centuries. The reader gets to learn about the ancient customs and legends of the Heilongjiang Mountains. Finally, the book seems to be well written/translated, however, the language seems a bit stilted or mannered. This might be intentional, as it kind of mirrors the language used in the telling of ancient stories.
There are also things about this book that are not so good. The plot is pretty basic but Hong Jun’s research into the 1984 murder is interesting. His conclusion that it is somehow linked to a contemporary murder is plausible but many plot points really stretch credibility beyond the breaking point. There is also a great deal of language that seems to be straight out of the Chinese Communist Party propaganda department.
Whenever asked about his time in the US, Hong Jun’s answers always balance admitting the faults of Chinese systems with equal criticisms of the US. When he exposes mistakes and corruption in the 1984 case he clearly points the finger at a single individual, rather than the police, courts or party. Rather than finding resistance to his attempt to overturn a past injustice, he repeatedly stresses the co-operation he gets. All the people he might embarrass exposing past failures are always happy to learn from their failings so they can make the system better at upholding human rights and the rule of law. In one telling passage one of the Orochen people clearly states how much better their lives are now under the Communist Party than ever before, something not often heard from ethnic minorities in China.
It could be that He Jiahong’s honest opinions completely mirror CCP propaganda or they may be there are a result of guidelines given to him by the party or they may be self-censorship at work. However the reader views them, they seem to be at odds with what is known about China today. This, combined with the books other failings, result in a single star from me.
The imprisoned man confessed so it seemed to be an open and shut case but, after meeting the man, Hong Jun suspects he is innocent. In his quest for justice, Hong Jun delves into the past and discovers signs of sloppy investigation and official cover up. He also finds that evidence requested gets lost and a key witness is murdered. He has to be careful though because the police, courts and communist party officials still are powerful and set in their ways.
There are good things to say about this book. It is interesting to get a glimpse into not only 1990’s China but also that of of the China of the 1980’s China in a remote northern town. It is interesting to read about the Orochen people, a small minority ethnic group who have lived there for centuries. The reader gets to learn about the ancient customs and legends of the Heilongjiang Mountains. Finally, the book seems to be well written/translated, however, the language seems a bit stilted or mannered. This might be intentional, as it kind of mirrors the language used in the telling of ancient stories.
There are also things about this book that are not so good. The plot is pretty basic but Hong Jun’s research into the 1984 murder is interesting. His conclusion that it is somehow linked to a contemporary murder is plausible but many plot points really stretch credibility beyond the breaking point. There is also a great deal of language that seems to be straight out of the Chinese Communist Party propaganda department.
Whenever asked about his time in the US, Hong Jun’s answers always balance admitting the faults of Chinese systems with equal criticisms of the US. When he exposes mistakes and corruption in the 1984 case he clearly points the finger at a single individual, rather than the police, courts or party. Rather than finding resistance to his attempt to overturn a past injustice, he repeatedly stresses the co-operation he gets. All the people he might embarrass exposing past failures are always happy to learn from their failings so they can make the system better at upholding human rights and the rule of law. In one telling passage one of the Orochen people clearly states how much better their lives are now under the Communist Party than ever before, something not often heard from ethnic minorities in China.
It could be that He Jiahong’s honest opinions completely mirror CCP propaganda or they may be there are a result of guidelines given to him by the party or they may be self-censorship at work. However the reader views them, they seem to be at odds with what is known about China today. This, combined with the books other failings, result in a single star from me.
July 1, 2014
la donna macchinosa
un avvocato di Pechino che ha studiato all'estero e aperto il primo studio privato della capitale viene incaricato di provare l'innocenza di un poveretto che è in prigione da undici anni per un delitto che non ha commesso...ovviamente influenzato dalla lettura dei grandi investigatori del passato ed essendo egli stesso un avvocato He Jiahong ci dipinge l'avvocato Hong come un razionalissmo pensatore e, per renderlo umano e poetico, lo dota di un amore tragico del passato che torna per travolgerlo anche nel presente...nel complesso si tratta di una storia lineare e piuttosto semplice, i fili tessuti nella trama rivelano qua e là quella che si vorrebbe la sorpresa finale, ma il tutto regge abbastanza, non fosse per l'orribile traduzione dal francese che rende macchinosa la prosa e nel contempo pesante la lettura...viene così il dubbio che se quei pidocchi della Mursia avessero deciso di spendere due lire e tradurre dal cinese forse avremmo un nuovo Qiu Xiaolong...
un avvocato di Pechino che ha studiato all'estero e aperto il primo studio privato della capitale viene incaricato di provare l'innocenza di un poveretto che è in prigione da undici anni per un delitto che non ha commesso...ovviamente influenzato dalla lettura dei grandi investigatori del passato ed essendo egli stesso un avvocato He Jiahong ci dipinge l'avvocato Hong come un razionalissmo pensatore e, per renderlo umano e poetico, lo dota di un amore tragico del passato che torna per travolgerlo anche nel presente...nel complesso si tratta di una storia lineare e piuttosto semplice, i fili tessuti nella trama rivelano qua e là quella che si vorrebbe la sorpresa finale, ma il tutto regge abbastanza, non fosse per l'orribile traduzione dal francese che rende macchinosa la prosa e nel contempo pesante la lettura...viene così il dubbio che se quei pidocchi della Mursia avessero deciso di spendere due lire e tradurre dal cinese forse avremmo un nuovo Qiu Xiaolong...
June 6, 2013
Nice noiry fiction from China - a pretty rare thing
August 18, 2019
Review from Asia Thrills - https://asiathrills.com/hanging-devil...
A beautiful young woman is raped and murdered at a state farm in bitterly cold North-Eastern China. For the local police this is an easy case. A young man, also a resident at the farm, quickly confesses and is sent away to prison.
But ten years later the accused’s brother – who also lived on the farm but is now a wealthy construction company boss – has his doubts. Was his naïve – and physically injured – younger brother really capable of such an horrific crime?
Enter Hong Jun, an idealistic Beijing criminal lawyer who has just arrived back in China after five years in the United States, where he earned his doctorate and then worked for a famous Chicago legal practice. This becomes his first case back home.
He travels to the farm, and to the town where the investigations and trial took place. And slowly the police case starts to unravel as he uncovers secrets that have lain hidden for a decade.
Apparently based on true events, this well-translated book is an engrossing read, made especially appealing by the setting in 1990s fast-changing China. Thus, we are witness to the tensions between the nouveaux riches and the rest of society, between city and country and between bureaucracy and citizenry. We also encounter a rural justice system where the rule of law is not always paramount.
He Jiahong, the author, is a law professor at the People’s University in Beijing. “Hanging Devils” is the first of a series featuring criminal lawyer Hong Jun.
A beautiful young woman is raped and murdered at a state farm in bitterly cold North-Eastern China. For the local police this is an easy case. A young man, also a resident at the farm, quickly confesses and is sent away to prison.
But ten years later the accused’s brother – who also lived on the farm but is now a wealthy construction company boss – has his doubts. Was his naïve – and physically injured – younger brother really capable of such an horrific crime?
Enter Hong Jun, an idealistic Beijing criminal lawyer who has just arrived back in China after five years in the United States, where he earned his doctorate and then worked for a famous Chicago legal practice. This becomes his first case back home.
He travels to the farm, and to the town where the investigations and trial took place. And slowly the police case starts to unravel as he uncovers secrets that have lain hidden for a decade.
Apparently based on true events, this well-translated book is an engrossing read, made especially appealing by the setting in 1990s fast-changing China. Thus, we are witness to the tensions between the nouveaux riches and the rest of society, between city and country and between bureaucracy and citizenry. We also encounter a rural justice system where the rule of law is not always paramount.
He Jiahong, the author, is a law professor at the People’s University in Beijing. “Hanging Devils” is the first of a series featuring criminal lawyer Hong Jun.
April 17, 2018
Hanging Devils is pretty much your standard private investigator murder mystery, except that it's set in 1990s northern China. That to me was the most interesting thing about the book. Having lived in China for a while myself, I found the scenes in which lawyer Hong is trying to negotiate his relationships with the Public Security Bureau and local Party officials rang true with my memories of provinicial bureaucracy. Although the author also seems to be walking a careful line, firstly by setting the book in the 1990s, so that any official misdemeanour can be blamed on the past, and secondly by having the forces of justice win out.
Some of the dialogue was humourous and well-translated. But in other parts I would have liked to see the translator veer away from literalness more. This is a crime novel, not non-fiction, and readability should be paramount. A list of characters' names and roles at the start, and perhaps just sticking to surnames, might also help English-speaking readers find their way through the alphabet soup that is transliterated names without the more-memorable allusions of their Chinese characters.
Some of the dialogue was humourous and well-translated. But in other parts I would have liked to see the translator veer away from literalness more. This is a crime novel, not non-fiction, and readability should be paramount. A list of characters' names and roles at the start, and perhaps just sticking to surnames, might also help English-speaking readers find their way through the alphabet soup that is transliterated names without the more-memorable allusions of their Chinese characters.
February 6, 2021
This is more interesting for the fascinating details of mid-1990s Chinese life than the decade-old mystery of who was the real killer of a young woman on a north-eastern Chinese farm. A young man admitted to the crime but his now-wealthy brother employs a lawyer newly returned from the USA to try to clear him. A few too many coincidences and fortuitous encounters do underwhelm what is a fairly mild narrative but the characters and settings feel authentic and lawyer, Hong Jun, is cautious and thoughtful. 3.5 stars
December 27, 2018
My first detective mystery from Mainland China. Not bad for the first in a series. Some parts did seem a bit simplistic, but I found some of the details of how the Chinese justice system works different and refreshing. The description of the town in Heilongjiang, life in that area, and the Orochen people, were all interesting as well.
July 28, 2018
Nice and slowly developing detective novel.
Good characters but the case itself is little bit too simple. The best part is the stories from characters' past.
Good characters but the case itself is little bit too simple. The best part is the stories from characters' past.
March 4, 2015
I like this story, it's a hidden love story absorbed in daily life dynamics and sad events to show how much lovers can do. For instance, the innocent man accept the jail, because he saw that there is no meaning of life anymore after his love left. In addition, the crazy woman who has chosen craziness to seek her love. The lawyer, while trying to sort out the case, still thinking about his love, which I was expecting to get married at the end but they didn't it! And also, the officer who killed the girl was in love with her ...etc
I think this is a very beautifully depicted love story which must be a movie.
I think this is a very beautifully depicted love story which must be a movie.
September 20, 2013
Nice read, poor crime
Want to read
November 9, 2019Synopsis: when Hong Jun returns to China to work as a lawyer in Beijing he takes on a case of possible wrongful conviction for rape and murder.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews