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Silent Reading #2
Silent Reading (II)
Childhood, upbringing, family background, social relations, traumatic experiences…
We keep reviewing and seeking out the motives of criminals, exploring the subtlest emotions driving them. It’s not to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize, or even forgive them; it’s not to find some reasons to exculpate their crimes; it’s not to kneel down before the so-called “complexity of human nature”; nor to introspect social conflicts, much less to alienate ourselves into monsters.
We just want to have a fair trial – for ourselves and for those who still have hope for the world.
We keep reviewing and seeking out the motives of criminals, exploring the subtlest emotions driving them. It’s not to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize, or even forgive them; it’s not to find some reasons to exculpate their crimes; it’s not to kneel down before the so-called “complexity of human nature”; nor to introspect social conflicts, much less to alienate ourselves into monsters.
We just want to have a fair trial – for ourselves and for those who still have hope for the world.
548 pages, ebook
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 3, 2025
5⭐
This vol's case reminded me why I stoped reading crime novels - they just make me so sad sometimes, especially if the victims are children 😢😢 so some scenes were really hard to read. Neverthless, the whole case plot was brilliantly written, and zhoudu had some great moments together, so I'd rather focus on that.
Gif by zhouszishu
Luo Wenzhou being so stunned by the realization that he finds Fei Du attractive, that he just unitentionlly starts flirting with him 😄 (Also, Fei Du was so surprised he probably thought Wenzhou was being possessed, haha)
However, Wenzhou is like 'he might be good looking but he's still a brat and he annoys me too much'.
Gifs by zhouszishu
I know I already said that but I love their dynamic so much. Their relationship is still more on the slowburn side but things are progressing nicely between them - Luo Wenzhou being completly unable to process how the fuck happened that he finds Fei Du attractive?? and Fei Du upping his flirting game from 'gently pursuing' Tao Ran to 'practically cornering' Luo Wenzhou.
Gifs by xiaobaosnoona
We also learned some more about Fei Du in this vol. He's still very mysterious but the intricate facade he had built for himself has started to crack, and Luo Wenzhou is slowly disovering that his opinion about him might have been wrong afterall.
Gif by lilianhuas
Ok, time to wrap this up. I'm, of course, excited to read more and looking forward to zhoudu future interactions 🥰
Careful Captain Luo, your bias is showing 😉 also, it's so funny that he has Fei Du saved in his contacts as Feishir 😆
This vol's case reminded me why I stoped reading crime novels - they just make me so sad sometimes, especially if the victims are children 😢😢 so some scenes were really hard to read. Neverthless, the whole case plot was brilliantly written, and zhoudu had some great moments together, so I'd rather focus on that.
Gif by zhouszishu
“So it made a deep impression?” said Fei Du.
“Yes.” After Luo Wenzhou’s terse nod, he was silent for a while. Then he said, “Although it wasn’t your mom that left a deep impression.”
Fei Du carelessly said, “Captain Luo has seen all kinds of corpses, of course…”
“I could never forget you,” said Luo Wenzhou.
Luo Wenzhou being so stunned by the realization that he finds Fei Du attractive, that he just unitentionlly starts flirting with him 😄 (Also, Fei Du was so surprised he probably thought Wenzhou was being possessed, haha)
However, Wenzhou is like 'he might be good looking but he's still a brat and he annoys me too much'.
He unconsciously felt around for his cigarettes, then forced himself to put them back. Next to him, Fei Du said, “Go ahead and smoke.”
“Didn’t you have pharyngitis?” asked Luo Wenzhou.
Fei Du shrugged. “No, I was just nitpicking to make you uncomfortable.”
Luo Wenzhou: “…”
He was still a scoundrel, after all!
He couldn’t resist giving Fei Du a light punch on the shoulder; but Fei Du turned out to be a true gentlemen, pursuing the policy of “use your mouth and not your fists.” Suffering a surprise attack to his shoulder, his relaxed and elegant posture became unbalanced, his raised leg dropped, and Fei Du hurriedly reached out a hand to support himself, ending up with a handful of mud.
Not only did Luo Wenzhou not apologize, he actually thought it was pretty funny. Next to Fei Du, he heartlessly laughed out loud.
Fei Du: “…”
Gifs by zhouszishu
I know I already said that but I love their dynamic so much. Their relationship is still more on the slowburn side but things are progressing nicely between them - Luo Wenzhou being completly unable to process how the fuck happened that he finds Fei Du attractive?? and Fei Du upping his flirting game from 'gently pursuing' Tao Ran to 'practically cornering' Luo Wenzhou.
“Captain Luo, please don’t pretend to be innocent at your age. Don’t you know that this conduct of staring into someone’s eyes usually means you’re asking to be kissed?
Gifs by xiaobaosnoona
We also learned some more about Fei Du in this vol. He's still very mysterious but the intricate facade he had built for himself has started to crack, and Luo Wenzhou is slowly disovering that his opinion about him might have been wrong afterall.
“I told you all along.” Tao Ran sighed, as before habitually playing peacemaker. “Fei Du’s really all right. If you’re a little nice to him, he’ll quietly pay it back to you tenfold. He may run off at the mouth sometimes, but he’ll rarely haggle over anything for real. Otherwise he wouldn’t have let it go so easily when that sports car of his got smashed up.”
Gif by lilianhuas
Ok, time to wrap this up. I'm, of course, excited to read more and looking forward to zhoudu future interactions 🥰
Luo Wenzhou let him sit there looking pretty.
Careful Captain Luo, your bias is showing 😉 also, it's so funny that he has Fei Du saved in his contacts as Feishir 😆
January 15, 2026
Okay, this is where I really started to feel the attachment, the “I can’t wait to read more, I can’t put this book down.” This arc is really emotional, but also VERY well done. The twists and turns, putting the puzzle pieces together, the surprises, the emotional investment. How deeply you feel for the people in this case. Also, the leads really starting to connect and FINALLY some flirting 🤭 I’m a fan of Priest and this one delivers!
February 10, 2026
not the best time to read this volume😅
(during The Epstein files horrific story on the news)
deeply disturbing story but very well written.
I was amazed and shocked.
(during The Epstein files horrific story on the news)
deeply disturbing story but very well written.
I was amazed and shocked.
February 26, 2026
PERFECTO DIOS HA SIDO BUENISIMO QUIERO MAS
April 20, 2025
This case is probably the one I remembered the best after the first time I read it, because it left quite an impression on me. I recall that I even needed to take a pause after finishing it, it really got me staring at a wall for a while afterwards.
"You can teach a child to be careful of strangers, to be vigilant, but you can’t make her scared of wearing floral-patterned dresses. Otherwise, what’s the point of us?".
As in every case in this novel this one portrays certain issues our society struggles with until nowadays. We're faced with child abductions, ab*se and m*rder, not to mention the r*pe, p*d*philia, child neglect and child pr*stituti*n.
As a young girl barely stepping out of adolescence, and only a few years older than the victims, it's no wonder this case got to me the way it did.
"These girls were like dried flowers sprinkled on the ground, submerged in the sea of missing child notices, gradually becoming pressed among the pages of unsolved cases, gone without a trace. If not for this chance, no one would have discovered that these cases had grown on the same vine.
This was a poisonous vine growing hidden in a deep forest under a bright sun; its root system was colossal, its tendrils dolorous, like an invisible net. Revealing only the tip of the iceberg already made one tremble in fear".
With that being said I still think that the most horrifying part of it was knowing that such situations are so common and recurrent in reality. Every day you find new incessant reports just like those, familiar news that repeat endlessly with barely any variation, and sadly, more often than not, with similar developments.
The author allows us, while following the process of investigation, getting to know some of the victims, not as tragedies, but as individuals, it also allows us to see things from the perspective of their families, and even get a glimpse into the head of those who grew up in that kind of environment, and how they got so entangled in that mess, to the point of even contribute to perpetuating the cycle.
"The records of missing children were all very succinct: boy or girl, how old, when and how they disappeared… As for how the child had acted, what they'd liked, what their temperament had been, what family members still woke from nightmares every night, planning to spend the remainder of their lives immersed in a hopeless search—none of this would be reflected on paper".
It's really all so messed up, all of those involved, all of those affected one way or another, the crude cruelty...
“Fei Du,” Luo Wenzhou suddenly said with a great show of propriety, “if you provoke me like that again, I’m going to think you have some ‘unspeakable intentions’ towards me.”
On a less heartbreaking side, our Captain Luo and President Fei are starting to grow closer to each other, seeing one another in a different light while adapting to their newly founded partnership for the sake of the case. 🤭
"Suddenly, something pulled him from behind. His back pressed against a warm and solid body, and a pair of hands came around him, traveled up, and covered his eyes. He smelled the faint scent of cigarettes on those clear-knuckled hands. Then, in the cracks between the fingers, there was a burst of light".
"You can teach a child to be careful of strangers, to be vigilant, but you can’t make her scared of wearing floral-patterned dresses. Otherwise, what’s the point of us?".
As in every case in this novel this one portrays certain issues our society struggles with until nowadays. We're faced with child abductions, ab*se and m*rder, not to mention the r*pe, p*d*philia, child neglect and child pr*stituti*n.
As a young girl barely stepping out of adolescence, and only a few years older than the victims, it's no wonder this case got to me the way it did.
"These girls were like dried flowers sprinkled on the ground, submerged in the sea of missing child notices, gradually becoming pressed among the pages of unsolved cases, gone without a trace. If not for this chance, no one would have discovered that these cases had grown on the same vine.
This was a poisonous vine growing hidden in a deep forest under a bright sun; its root system was colossal, its tendrils dolorous, like an invisible net. Revealing only the tip of the iceberg already made one tremble in fear".
With that being said I still think that the most horrifying part of it was knowing that such situations are so common and recurrent in reality. Every day you find new incessant reports just like those, familiar news that repeat endlessly with barely any variation, and sadly, more often than not, with similar developments.
The author allows us, while following the process of investigation, getting to know some of the victims, not as tragedies, but as individuals, it also allows us to see things from the perspective of their families, and even get a glimpse into the head of those who grew up in that kind of environment, and how they got so entangled in that mess, to the point of even contribute to perpetuating the cycle.
"The records of missing children were all very succinct: boy or girl, how old, when and how they disappeared… As for how the child had acted, what they'd liked, what their temperament had been, what family members still woke from nightmares every night, planning to spend the remainder of their lives immersed in a hopeless search—none of this would be reflected on paper".
It's really all so messed up, all of those involved, all of those affected one way or another, the crude cruelty...
“Fei Du,” Luo Wenzhou suddenly said with a great show of propriety, “if you provoke me like that again, I’m going to think you have some ‘unspeakable intentions’ towards me.”
On a less heartbreaking side, our Captain Luo and President Fei are starting to grow closer to each other, seeing one another in a different light while adapting to their newly founded partnership for the sake of the case. 🤭
"Suddenly, something pulled him from behind. His back pressed against a warm and solid body, and a pair of hands came around him, traveled up, and covered his eyes. He smelled the faint scent of cigarettes on those clear-knuckled hands. Then, in the cracks between the fingers, there was a burst of light".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2025
”Suddenly, Fei Du turned around. Luo Wenzhou had no time to dodge, and their gazes lightly bumped together.”
The transition from book one to two felt like going from one chapter to another. I’m suspecting the original work isn’t split up like this. Either way, this book was also very case-driven. We didn’t really get to explore the relationship between the two main characters too much, which was a bummer. The translation is also a bit choppy from time to time, some really strange word choices when there are easier ways to express things. Priest is known for writing plot-heavy books, but I find this case underwhelming. The premise was interesting, but the ending felt rushed. There wasn’t really an explanation behind why the family involved did all this. Especially on the grandmothers part and the connection to the other men involved. I would’ve liked more of a resolve with the victims and their families, as well as the father who spent twenty years looking for his daughter. All in all, more explanations on everyone involved, it was way too vague to create an emotional attachment.
Another thing I thought about already in the first book is how unnatural most of the encounters feel between the main characters. It’s almost always something unbelievable like the graveyard and then the car accident. It felt a little over the top and staged, but I guess it can’t be avoided considering their vastly different career choices.
Either way, this case is as far as the series have gotten to, so I’m going to start the next book to find out what happens next. Maybe they’ll wrap up this storyline in the beginning of the next book. Hoping for some more progress relationship-wise in the upcoming part.
The transition from book one to two felt like going from one chapter to another. I’m suspecting the original work isn’t split up like this. Either way, this book was also very case-driven. We didn’t really get to explore the relationship between the two main characters too much, which was a bummer. The translation is also a bit choppy from time to time, some really strange word choices when there are easier ways to express things. Priest is known for writing plot-heavy books, but I find this case underwhelming. The premise was interesting, but the ending felt rushed. There wasn’t really an explanation behind why the family involved did all this. Especially on the grandmothers part and the connection to the other men involved. I would’ve liked more of a resolve with the victims and their families, as well as the father who spent twenty years looking for his daughter. All in all, more explanations on everyone involved, it was way too vague to create an emotional attachment.
Another thing I thought about already in the first book is how unnatural most of the encounters feel between the main characters. It’s almost always something unbelievable like the graveyard and then the car accident. It felt a little over the top and staged, but I guess it can’t be avoided considering their vastly different career choices.
Either way, this case is as far as the series have gotten to, so I’m going to start the next book to find out what happens next. Maybe they’ll wrap up this storyline in the beginning of the next book. Hoping for some more progress relationship-wise in the upcoming part.
August 14, 2025
"So it made a deep impression?" said Fei Du.
"Yes." After Luo Wenzhou's terse nod, he was silent for a while. Then he said, "Although it wasn't your mom that left a deep impression."
Fei Du carelessly said, "Captain Lou has seen all kinds of corpses, of course..."
"I could never forget you," Said Luo Wenzhou.
The case they deal with in this volume is probably one that left the deepest impression for me. I started getting on edge from the very first time they presented the book that'd set the tone for the case - which is also something I love about MoDu.
How Priest already gives us clues of what is coming with the quotations she chooses to open the volume.
Beyond the case, that I felt was even more interesting than the first one, in this part we have ZhouDu beginning to interact with each other more, talking beyond their usual banter.
But the part that really stood out for me was when Fei Du went to talk to the Su girl (don't ask me the actual name) - how he could turn the interrogation around and understood which buttons to press. And I think not only in that moment, but during the entire book we are giving more understanding on wh Fei Du is.
Priest really managed to make this volume better than the first one!
April 1, 2026
3.75 “i’m so intrigued by everything” 🌟
bro the mystery continues. Everytime i feel like i’ve figured it out, boom another new info.
This case was sick and diabolical though omgg. I was flabbergasted. Priest has a tendency of writing the most gut wrenching mysteries and then some how having time to sprinkle in romance & banter
Watching Luo wenzhou & Fei du start to look at each other differently has me giggling and kicking my feet. Ugh i cannot wait for the romance to bloom (i have a feeling it’s gonna be physical first)
bro the mystery continues. Everytime i feel like i’ve figured it out, boom another new info.
This case was sick and diabolical though omgg. I was flabbergasted. Priest has a tendency of writing the most gut wrenching mysteries and then some how having time to sprinkle in romance & banter
Watching Luo wenzhou & Fei du start to look at each other differently has me giggling and kicking my feet. Ugh i cannot wait for the romance to bloom (i have a feeling it’s gonna be physical first)
November 5, 2025
This book covered arc 2 (Humbert Humbert), which had an equally (though definitely darker) gripping and complex case that the main characters had to unravel. It was difficult to put down, but simultaneously difficult to read at times because of the sensitive nature of the case.
I loved the development of Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou’s dynamic, and I’m looking forward to them getting closer. Looking forward to the next!
I loved the development of Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou’s dynamic, and I’m looking forward to them getting closer. Looking forward to the next!
March 4, 2025
Love this series!! The cases are so interesting and all the characters really well build!
Also the sloooow burn... on pointt XD
Also the sloooow burn... on pointt XD
April 15, 2025
one of the most harrowing things i've ever read. i have no other words...
I'm afraid not even zhoudu's developing relationship was enough to add levity to this, cute as they were.
I'm afraid not even zhoudu's developing relationship was enough to add levity to this, cute as they were.
May 31, 2025
Completed: May 20, 2025
June 15, 2025
president fei i love u so bad it's terminal. zhoudu flirting is chefs kiss. this case is creepy and well-written
September 10, 2025
Hoooo…. I love the dynamic between Captain Luo and President Pei. The tension and flirting start from book 2. It’s more clear now what happened to the second case.
September 18, 2025
bésense pls
December 3, 2025
oh dang that was a crazy case man
February 3, 2026
The LAYERS to this crime wow I was shook reading this
February 9, 2026
Priest knows how to finish a book. Knows how to hook you up in that perfect way you are itching to just read the first chapters of the next one.
Btw, much better than the first, I devoured the first half in a couple days. And the end. Simple and disturbing.
Btw, much better than the first, I devoured the first half in a couple days. And the end. Simple and disturbing.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews