Incensed

Taipei Night Market #2

by Ed Lin

Family secrets come to light in this dark, comedic crime caper set in Taipei during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. 

In Taiwan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for prioritizing family. When 25-year-old Jing-nan’s gangster uncle, Big Eye, asks a favor, Jing-nan can’t exactly say no, especially because two goons are going to follow him around to make sure he gets it done right. The favor is Big Eye’s 16-year-old daughter, Mei-ling, has a biker boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks—in Big Eye’s gangster opinion—and Big Eye wants Jing-nan to bring her to Taipei, away from the bad influences, and straighten her out.

It doesn’t take Jing-nan long to discover Mei-ling is even more trouble than the average bratty, rebellious teenager. She’s been spoiled rotten and doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. She has her father’s thugs wrapped around her finger and quickly becomes the miniature dictator of Jing-nan’s life. But Mei-ling is also hiding a secret—one that puts her in harm’s way. If Jing-nan wants to save his cousin from her own demons, he has to figure out the truth, even if it tears his family apart—again.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Asia, Crime, Food, Asian Literature

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2016

About the author

Ed Lin is a journalist by training and an all-around stand-up kinda guy. He's the author of several books: Waylaid, his literary debut, and his Robert Chow crime series, set in 1970s Manhattan Chinatown: This Is a Bust, Snakes Can't Run, and One Red Bastard. Lin, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. Lin lives in New York with his wife, actress Cindy Cheung.

Reviews

[Sunny Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goodreads star system confuses me. I know a 5 means the reading experience must have been outstanding; a 1 – well, would I even have finished that book? It’s the three in between that never feel quite right.

In some ways, Ed Lin’s rather crime-light novel, set in Taiwan, ought to be given a 3. The author is definitely not aiming for literary kudos; his narrator Jing-nan, the young owner-operator of a fast food stall in an all-night Taipei market, has two obsessions: food quality and the seventies band Joy Division. A single man whose girlfriend is heavily involved in left wing protests, in the past he spent some time in the States and attended UCLA, but left without a degree. Now he is called upon to look after a bratty 16-year-old cousin, daughter of his gangster uncle, while she spends time in Taipei following her latest expulsion from school. Naturally things eventually go very wrong.

What makes the book work for me is its ability to bring the city of Taipei to life and to tap into Taiwan’s unique history, its relationship to China and Japan, its layered ethnic groups, its traditions and religions, and something of its politics as well. In this second work of the series, the focus is on the struggle to allow same-sex marriage and coming out as lesbian in a generally homophobic society.

And there’s the food aa well. Not since Hiromi Kawakami’s Strange Weather in TokyoS have I encountered so many Asian delicacies in one novel. So why not be generous, and award this nicely diverting little story a 4?

[Viva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 2 stars as a neutral rating = it was OK.

First of all, I note that this is supposed to be a humorous book and humor is notoriously hard to get right. A lot of authors try it but you either get it right or you look like you're trying too hard to be funny. And most authors don't get it right. Unfortunately, the humor in this book didn't make me burst out in laughter or even smile, it just made me note that it's supposed to be humorous.

What I liked about the book was the inside look at Taiwan that only a native Taiwanese person can write and the author has done a very good job of it.

But the downfall of this book to me was that it was very wordy and somewhat bland. I enjoyed the description of the country and the culture but I didn't feel anything about the characters. I thought the author tried to make the descriptions of them funny rather than to flesh them out as real people. And when you don't care about the characters, you don't care about the book either. And that is why I felt this book was just OK. I got this book free as a review copy.

[Grisette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sep 2024 note: Yet another instance where GR bot deletes/merges editions without warning and this book gets brutally removed from my shelves so that it now appears as if I just added it. *In fine*, I know it doesn't matter, but I still hate it 🤬🤬🤬


♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

2 stars

I was wrong. The narrative style did not greatly improve after Book 1. There was still overwhelmingly a societal commentary on Taiwan coupled with some indolent and aimless slice of life recounting of the main character's life, while the mystery/thriller part was late in the game, minimal and with some gross deus-ex-machina resolution.

In truth, I would not have minded these imperfections because I do have a partiality to Asian stories. But what irritated me much with this book is that there were suddenly so many nonsensical modifications to the source narrative introduced. Secondary characters and sub plots from Book 1, that added charm and depth to the world building, were out of nowhere put on a bus. The main character's personality now sounded quite different, at times shallow, from what he was in Book 1. All these changes confused me, esp. since the timeline following Book 1 is only a mere two months. To me, every goodwill established in Book 1 was so roughly destroyed. I kept asking myself why such lame editorial choices were made. As a result, the new story narrative sounded cheaper, hollower, and much gimmicky.

I am lost. I really don't know if it is worthwhile to look into other books in the series now.

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My review for Book 1: here

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sophomore entry in the Taipei Night Market series falls short of the original for several reasons. On the positive side, Ed Lin gives his protagonist a great voice, making his dialogue fun to read. The setting and his descriptions of various places in Taiwan are solid as well. The downside to this book is that there is hardly any mystery at all, the flow of the book seems designed to highlight various places in Taipei without making them relevant to the story, , and dwells on the protagonists interest in Joy Division long enough to make it start to seem tedious. I was left with the impression that Ed Lin sacrificed depth of plot and characters for breadth of locations, and the result was only partially satisfying. Still,I plan on borrowing the third book in the series in the hopes that Lin irons out some of the wrinkles because he is still adept at creating an atmosphere for Taipei, a city that is rare to see as the setting for a crime series.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love reading mysteries set in different places around the world, and the atmosphere here is the draw. But I found the plot uneven, the characters shallow, and the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. If it had been a meal in Jing Nan's food stall, I wouldn't have given him a good rating on the Internet.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Taipei Night Market fun. Ed Lin is a generous, engaged author with readers. I enjoyed sharing with him via social media that I used his explanations of Taiwanese culture to share with my family as my significant other was raised in Taipei!

[Ken French · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a tribute to how good a writer Ed Lin is that the plot doesn't really start going until 2/3 of the way through the book and I barely noticed! This book is stylistically reminiscent of This Is a Bust, which is Lin's best-written book in my opinion. Recommended.

[Suzesmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

146🎧🇹🇼TAIWAN 🇹🇼As luck would have it, I have found a crime series set in Taiwan available on @audible! My only gripe is that it starts at the second book in the series (although numbers 3 and 4 are also available). Why do they do this?😩My OCD aside, this is a great read, and another insight into Taiwan. Our hero is Jing-nan (Johnny), the US-educated, likeable orphan, who runs the families hawker food stall “Unknown Pleasures”. He’s recruited by his organised-crime boss uncle to help straighten out Mei-ling, his wayward cousin and aspiring pop star. What I wasn’t expecting was two connections with “Notes of a Crocodile”: 1) lesbians and 2) a healthy interest in the 1980s Manchester-led post-punk bands (Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths…) The structure doesn’t follow your typical crime thriller in that there was no dead body. In fact, there was no crime of any sort until Chapter 10 (of 17)! Hopefully @edlinforpresident will pick up the pace in the next one. A good read all the same. #🌏📚#readingworldtour2021 #readtheworld #worldliterature #readingworldliterature #reading #readingwomenchallenge #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #bookstagram #booklover #book #booknerd #bibliophile #travel #travelogue #fiction #nonfiction #nonfictionreads #travelbooks #ayearofreadingaroundtheworld #taiwan #taiwanliterature

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incensed

Incensed will not make the finals of mystery / thriller of the year but it does not attempt to. It is a fun read, unpretentious and worth the short time it takes to read it.
Our hero, Jing-nan is told , not asked , by his gangster uncle to take care of his,the uncle’s, rebellious teenage daughter and keep her safe in the big city where she will be out of the clutches of her gangster boyfriend. The uncle makes him an offer he can’t refuse “Get her away from her boyfriend or else...”
And thereby hangs the tale. Jing-nan does have a day -time jon - actually a night time job . He runs a food stand at the night market which leave him limited time to watch his cousin and perhaps influence her. The night market gives us a a picture of the neighborhood, the culture and the denizens of the place. We meet his activist girlfriend and watch her struggles with the establishment. We get to see his cousin might be troubled but has musical talent galore. And yes the boyfriend does try to find her.
The book had some funny lines that made me laugh out loud. The plot was okay. The ending could have been better.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much like the first book, there’s not much of a plot or mystery to Incensed. Instead, the novel acts more like a fictional travelogue for readers unfamiliar with Taiwan (I have a feeling the endless explanation will distract Taiwanese readers). Using colourful characters and light humour, Lin spends most of the tale detailing aspects of Taiwanese culture and society, especially focusing on food (present on almost every page) and the role and place of criminal gangs. As per the first book, there is also an on-going obsession with the music of Joy Division. The supposed hook for the tale is the babysitting and disappearance of Mei-ling, the daughter of a gangster. Jing-nan was charged with looking after the bratty sixteen year old. Which he does for most of the story. Indeed, it is only in the last fifth of the tale that the mystery element takes place, and that lacks any real puzzle with a weak denouement. If you’re after a real mystery, or plot-driven story, then this may disappoint. If you're happy enough with colourful characters, a few amusing scenes, and a fictional travel guide for Taiwan, then its passable.

[Andrew Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of Mr. Lin's Taipei Night Market mysteries. This time we see a more situated Jing-Nan who has settled in more with his lot in life running a newly located version of his family's night stand which he renamed "Unknown Pleasures" after one of his favorite English Punk Rock band's album. He's got a girlfriend, Nancy, from Taida who is active in protest movements, and a new apartment. Suddenly, his gangster Uncle from Taichung reappears in his life with the demand he looks after his daughter, Jing-Nan's 16 year old high school delinquent cousin.

Although the story still brought alive the various machinations of Taiwan's nightlife with a bigger focus on some elements of "heidaoren" society the first entry was far superior both in showcasing the criminal element and building to a compelling mystery. Mr. Lin generally has a great penchant for making great use of any plot device, character, that he brings to the fray but I thought it was sadly a bit lacking this time around (Katsu stand man). Nonetheless a fun romp through Taiwan again and looking forward to the next installment.

[Reader Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim at a bookstore in NYC. I’m always interested in Asian authors writing within their culture.

Bottom line - liked it, didn’t love it, and probably wouldn’t recommend it.

I mainly liked it for the descriptions of Taiwan and explanations of culture points. Jing-nan was an unremarkable character, your average Joe, run-of-the-mill, garden variety hero who gets roped into doing something he doesn’t want to. Mei Lin was a bright and feisty character, but she never felt “present”. Jing-nan would just summarize select interactions and pepper them throughout a rambling narration that spent way too much time talking about irrelevant music history.

The plot was slow and the chapters felt episodic. Eventually, little details from before did end up reappearing and tying in, like the microphone that Mei Lin wants to buy, but not in a sufficiently complex fashion to redeem the scatterbrained storytelling.

I read this without having read the first book in the series and it worked fine as a stand-alone too.

[Schuyler Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ed Lin, author of “Incensed,” is writer who does a lot with a little. His story of a headstrong daughter of a gangster and the efforts to keep her under control go far beyond that tale and enters politics, the clatter of Taipei, gay rights, loyalty, Chinese and Taiwanese history, and many other topics that seem to have little to do with what he’s trying to say.

It’s interesting stuff but he carries it a little too far. Remember the old chestnut about the guy, when asked for the time, would tell you how a watch was built? Ed Lin is the guy with the unwanted education.

That’s a shame because Lin is a talented writer; of that there’s no doubt.
But his story suffers from too much extra information. He needs to sort out the material that doesn’t add to his story. Had he done that, he would have written an intriguing short story, one the reader could enjoy and move on to something else before he or she grew a beard.

[Zoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked all the Taiwanese history and cultural tidbits woven throughout the novel; it made me want to visit some spots and made me wonder how much of it was true (are temples in Taipei really run by gangsters?).

And I didn’t like just about everything else. Not sure how this novel can be billed as a mystery when nothing particularly mysterious happens until about 3/4 of the way in. Instead of adding depth and nuance, the main character’s obsession with Joy Division just kinda read like a gimmicky encyclopedia-like regurgitation of band trivia; other characters were similarly flat. And the writing was clumsy at times — perhaps the most awkward bit was when an appetizing meal was compared to “scabs” that were “delicious.” No thanks.

Disappointed because I was hoping to find a Taiwanese series I could get into but I’ll definitely be skipping the rest.

[Ken Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

My teen age son is from Taiwan and I am a history buff, so I like to read about the history of Taiwan and its culture. This is the 2nd book of a trilogy by Ed Lin. The first book is Ghost Month, which I read this summer. I did not enjoy this one as much. It certainly provided further exposure to Taiwan culture in general, including an exploration of the acceptance of homosexuality from one Taiwanese perspective, but the actual story was much less intense and suspenseful than the first one. While I did not enjoy it as much as the first book, I do plan to finish the trilogy.

[Raymond Goss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Ghost Month. This was a continuation of the same main characters and the new niece, Mei-ling. I think it took too long to get into the main part of the story. There were a few chapters introducing the characters and then the story really takes off about 70% through the book. While I don't think it would be necessary to read Ghost Month first to understand the characters, I do think Ghost Month puts the readers into the Taipei night scene better and reading it first is highly recommended.

[Bao Bao · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice sequel.

Jing-nan is tasked to look after his cousin Mei-ling after she's discovered to having an Indo-Chinese boyfriend who doesn't meet eye to eye with Big Eye, who is Mei-ling's father, and Jing-nan's Uncle.

Mei-ling is sweet, and is looking to become a singer in her own right, until she goes missing one day.
Jing-nan tries his best to look-after Mei-ling, then has the difficulty in finding her when she abandons him.

There's more talk about food, skewers, Taiwanese history and politics in this book. It's a good book to learn about Taiwan!

4.5 stars!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Ed Lin's two Night Market Mysteries before, during and after a week-long trip to Taiwan. I really enjoy the way that Taiwan locations, culture, politics and criminality are incorporated into these stories. Incensed is just as good as Ghost Month in that respect but it suffered a bit in its last quarter or so where the disappearance mystery plot is resolved; it seemed a bit perfunctory to me.

[Frieda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining in some parts - the witty banter and remarks were a highlight. However, unlike the first book in this series, Ghost Month, Incensed as a bit of a slow burn. Sometimes I found myself wanting to put the book down and move on to something else. However, I kept on. It was only towards the end of the book where the real action began and even that, it fell short. I hope that the next book in the series will captivate like Ghost Month had.

[Susanna Chin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because it is set in Taipei, the location of my upcoming holiday. At the onset of reading, I knew very little about Taiwan. By the end of the book, I knew very little more! For the entire duration of the story nothing worthy of interest happened. Characters floated in and out of the story line with very little development. All in all a very unsatisfying read.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the Taipei Night Market series introduces Mei-Ling , Jing-nan's little cousin and her father Big Eye a gangster. Jing-nan is chaperoning and showing her Taipei. She disappears and things get more and more involved. I love these books and I love reading about the tastes and sights in the night market.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a guilty pleasure for its description of culture in Taiwan and familiar scenes of Taipei. Is this haute literature? No. But there is a bit of mystery to keep the pages turning. Read if you like Taiwan, street food, or Joy Division.

[Vallery Feldman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ghost Month , the first in the series is terrific. Unfortunately this one, the second, is a disappointment. No real plot. Ideas all over the map. I will read the third and hope Ed has his story back on track.

[Sophia Tseng · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little formulaic, but laugh out loud funny. This book is all insider knowledge about the mentality, point of view, and way of life in Taiwan. The characters are so likeable I wish I knew them in real life.

[Harvee Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked learning more about Taiwan and its local and Chinese population, culture, politics, history, and current scene.

[Mary Ahlgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these books because I grew up in Taipei. This one got a bit confusing though....but it sure made me hungry.

[Annelin Dewa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to view Taiwan from a different perspective, but just not my cup of tea

[Nickole · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Michael Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

a big let down from the first book.
really no suspense. A story/plot centered around a spoiled rotten teeanage brat girl is not interesting.