I read The Block from about 10 years ago, and it is probably my most favorite novel by 喬靖夫.
It is a half fantasy, half crime mystery novel taking place in a fictional city (hinted at as Hong Kong), a detective takes on a missing person case and sets out to investigate the mysterious 'Centipede Block'---a mysterious building in the middle of the city center with zero crime rate in the last 40 years.
Armed with a camera, the detective asks around in the neighborhood but strangely no one seems to have ever heard of this building before---left alone knowing what is going on within the building nor knowing what kind of people are living inside. So our protagonist boldly enters the mazelike building, only to encounter the weirdest of situations and hunted down by unknown killer(s)...
The best feature of this novel is the mysterious and mazelike 'Centipede Block', its nightmarish corridors, the chaotic layout and the kaleidoscopic landscapes (this unique setting is clearly a homage to the Kowloon Walled City), the strange residents hidden in the building...and eventually the explanation of the strange phenomenons in the building.
It is imaginative and refreshing to see a funky fantasy/crime mystery novel like this, which cleverly use the Hong Kong landscapes so effortlessly to set up its story background. 5 stars.