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NOT A MONSTER
The winner of the 2nd Fixi Novo Malaysian Novel Contest
Inspector Dominic Wong was part of a task force to catch Shadowman, who started abducting and murdering children a decade earlier. The nickname stuck because many believed there was a supernatural element in the cases.
Inspector Nadra Sunai’s ordeal begins when a child is abducted right under her nose. Nadra sees a white-haired man together with the girl, but her partner doesn’t. The case gets another twist when the kidnapper leaves an envelope addressed to her, with a cryptic message inside.
Both inspectors suffer wrenching personal losses in their attempts to get closure. Their beliefs and principles are challenged when the quest for justice leads them down a mystifying path.
NOT A MONSTER is a debut thriller about crime, retribution and the power of destiny.
Inspector Dominic Wong was part of a task force to catch Shadowman, who started abducting and murdering children a decade earlier. The nickname stuck because many believed there was a supernatural element in the cases.
Inspector Nadra Sunai’s ordeal begins when a child is abducted right under her nose. Nadra sees a white-haired man together with the girl, but her partner doesn’t. The case gets another twist when the kidnapper leaves an envelope addressed to her, with a cryptic message inside.
Both inspectors suffer wrenching personal losses in their attempts to get closure. Their beliefs and principles are challenged when the quest for justice leads them down a mystifying path.
NOT A MONSTER is a debut thriller about crime, retribution and the power of destiny.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2022
About the author
Chua Kok Yee
10 books8 followersChua Kok Yee is a Malaysian author and comic artist.
His latest anthology 'The Muse & Other Stories' was published in 2023 by Penguin Random House SEA, while his debut novel 'Not A Monster' won the FixiNovo Malaysia Novel Contest in 2022. In Oct 2024, he published his debut graphic novel 'Bleeding Scar'.
His stories are used as required reading for English Literature in Malaysia high school.
His latest anthology 'The Muse & Other Stories' was published in 2023 by Penguin Random House SEA, while his debut novel 'Not A Monster' won the FixiNovo Malaysia Novel Contest in 2022. In Oct 2024, he published his debut graphic novel 'Bleeding Scar'.
His stories are used as required reading for English Literature in Malaysia high school.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 16, 2023
Published as the winner of the second Fixi Novo's Malaysian Novel Contest, Not A Monster by Chua Kok Yee is, as the novel blurb shows;
Inspector Dominic Wong was part of a task force to catch Shadowman, who started abducting and murdering children a decade earlier. The nickname stuck because many believed there was a supernatural element in the cases.
Inspector Nadra Sunai’s ordeal begins when a child is abducted right under her nose. Nadra sees a white-haired man together with the girl, but her partner doesn’t. The case gets another twist when the kidnapper leaves an envelope addressed to her, with a cryptic message inside.
Both inspectors suffer wrenching personal losses in their attempts to get closure. Their beliefs and principles are challenged when the quest for justice leads them down a mystifying path.
And my interest was piqued. Maybe I don't read a lot of Malaysian fiction, outside of the Fixi Novo offerings, I don't think there are many police-crime thriller-mystery, at least in English. And while they aren't related in anyway, aside from being another novel published as the winner of The first Fixi Novo's Malaysian Novel Contest, I've also reviewed Toyols 'r' Us which I find funny seeing that both are Crime Novel with Supernatural elements or "supernatural"-esque element(?-tbd) in this one.
The blurb does its best to keep whether the supernatural elements are concrete or just folktale superstition, which I could go either way with seeing that I enjoy something on both line; it could fall into True Detective territory which were laden with Weird Fiction trappings but remain grounded in reality or it could fall into The Ring/The Empty Man's category which does have investigation but are full blown horror with the later being another Weird Fiction/Lovecraft-esque inspired.
The novel starts purely as a grounded crime/detective/police procedural story where our protagonists are drop head first, or in the case of Inspector Nadra, stumbled upon their case, that as they went on, trying to solve cases that you expected to be connected or are actively looking for connections but they aren't, at least not in the minuscule scale that they are presented in.
Inspector Dominic Wong, goes about with a homicide case, turned cases as in multiple, while Inspector Nadra Sunai's investigation is on child kidnapping she witnessed and later on caught another.
Inspector Nadra's investigation is filled with gaps that made the whole thing creepier than it was, as with the whole novel, filled to the brim with dark, abrasive and brooding, atmosphere almost "Film Gris" rather than "noir" or the typical "thriller" that cop novel tends to be. This "film gris" atmosphere sits perfectly in contrast with the Japanese crime/detective novels as a collective, styling itself mostly as a blend of noir and slice of life or rather a Agatha Christie style puzzle-box whodunit and South Korean's more needle piercing psychological thriller crime/detective novel.
The police investigation is where the novel was truly at it's best. The slow procedural aspects brings you along a journey, putting you, the readers in the investigators shoes while perfectly hides the weakness of boring dialogue and equally unimpressive prose.
The problem then is with everything else.
Both of our protagonist, despite one having their backstory revealed and one with their personal life are intimately shown still felt like a blank canvas as neither shows any characteristic that are strictly theirs that you can circle back and says, yes, this is Dominic, or this is Nadra. Pivoting away from the case to explore the protagonists also dragged the pacing down, hard.
Despite how tightly plotted the novel is, and how meandering the plot was during some part of it, by the end, everything felt rushed and it ends not in a bang but rather a non-ending. Ambiguous endings only work if the story's main question has already been answered, and if the ambiguous part is trying to make a point.
The prose are simplistic too and in a way that it could've been a form 3-5 student's fictional essay on a test...but maybe the fault is on me for expecting more after learning that the author has three stories on his anthology used in SPM English literature paper. Then again, the best selling mass produce crime/police/mystery genre is never filled with great prose. Dry and almost police report-like fact writing dominate, so it's not that steep down of an incline compared to average.
While the novel is filled with kidnapped and dead children, the plot itself died along the way to the end. There are elements that I thought were great, mainly the police and crime angle that by the end, suffered by blights of unneeded element and rushed pacing towards the twists.
Maybe it sounds like I hated the book more than I enjoyed it...it's hard to say yes or no. I don't hate reading it, despite the flaws. It was a flawed journey, yes but it wasn't a bad one. The twist, even if I felt it rushed the story's pacing does in fact enhanced the story in a reread. It's a 3 out of 5 but It's closer to a 2 than it is with a 4.
There's also the Kadazan-Dusun reference by Nadra in reference to her backstory that I could go on a rant about but rather not. No Sabahan would call themselves or anything regarding the culture to "Kadazan-Dusun" unless it's some sort of an official government stuff.
Inspector Dominic Wong was part of a task force to catch Shadowman, who started abducting and murdering children a decade earlier. The nickname stuck because many believed there was a supernatural element in the cases.
Inspector Nadra Sunai’s ordeal begins when a child is abducted right under her nose. Nadra sees a white-haired man together with the girl, but her partner doesn’t. The case gets another twist when the kidnapper leaves an envelope addressed to her, with a cryptic message inside.
Both inspectors suffer wrenching personal losses in their attempts to get closure. Their beliefs and principles are challenged when the quest for justice leads them down a mystifying path.
And my interest was piqued. Maybe I don't read a lot of Malaysian fiction, outside of the Fixi Novo offerings, I don't think there are many police-crime thriller-mystery, at least in English. And while they aren't related in anyway, aside from being another novel published as the winner of The first Fixi Novo's Malaysian Novel Contest, I've also reviewed Toyols 'r' Us which I find funny seeing that both are Crime Novel with Supernatural elements or "supernatural"-esque element(?-tbd) in this one.
The blurb does its best to keep whether the supernatural elements are concrete or just folktale superstition, which I could go either way with seeing that I enjoy something on both line; it could fall into True Detective territory which were laden with Weird Fiction trappings but remain grounded in reality or it could fall into The Ring/The Empty Man's category which does have investigation but are full blown horror with the later being another Weird Fiction/Lovecraft-esque inspired.
The novel starts purely as a grounded crime/detective/police procedural story where our protagonists are drop head first, or in the case of Inspector Nadra, stumbled upon their case, that as they went on, trying to solve cases that you expected to be connected or are actively looking for connections but they aren't, at least not in the minuscule scale that they are presented in.
Inspector Dominic Wong, goes about with a homicide case, turned cases as in multiple, while Inspector Nadra Sunai's investigation is on child kidnapping she witnessed and later on caught another.
Inspector Nadra's investigation is filled with gaps that made the whole thing creepier than it was, as with the whole novel, filled to the brim with dark, abrasive and brooding, atmosphere almost "Film Gris" rather than "noir" or the typical "thriller" that cop novel tends to be. This "film gris" atmosphere sits perfectly in contrast with the Japanese crime/detective novels as a collective, styling itself mostly as a blend of noir and slice of life or rather a Agatha Christie style puzzle-box whodunit and South Korean's more needle piercing psychological thriller crime/detective novel.
The police investigation is where the novel was truly at it's best. The slow procedural aspects brings you along a journey, putting you, the readers in the investigators shoes while perfectly hides the weakness of boring dialogue and equally unimpressive prose.
The problem then is with everything else.
Both of our protagonist, despite one having their backstory revealed and one with their personal life are intimately shown still felt like a blank canvas as neither shows any characteristic that are strictly theirs that you can circle back and says, yes, this is Dominic, or this is Nadra. Pivoting away from the case to explore the protagonists also dragged the pacing down, hard.
Despite how tightly plotted the novel is, and how meandering the plot was during some part of it, by the end, everything felt rushed and it ends not in a bang but rather a non-ending. Ambiguous endings only work if the story's main question has already been answered, and if the ambiguous part is trying to make a point.
The prose are simplistic too and in a way that it could've been a form 3-5 student's fictional essay on a test...but maybe the fault is on me for expecting more after learning that the author has three stories on his anthology used in SPM English literature paper. Then again, the best selling mass produce crime/police/mystery genre is never filled with great prose. Dry and almost police report-like fact writing dominate, so it's not that steep down of an incline compared to average.
While the novel is filled with kidnapped and dead children, the plot itself died along the way to the end. There are elements that I thought were great, mainly the police and crime angle that by the end, suffered by blights of unneeded element and rushed pacing towards the twists.
Maybe it sounds like I hated the book more than I enjoyed it...it's hard to say yes or no. I don't hate reading it, despite the flaws. It was a flawed journey, yes but it wasn't a bad one. The twist, even if I felt it rushed the story's pacing does in fact enhanced the story in a reread. It's a 3 out of 5 but It's closer to a 2 than it is with a 4.
There's also the Kadazan-Dusun reference by Nadra in reference to her backstory that I could go on a rant about but rather not. No Sabahan would call themselves or anything regarding the culture to "Kadazan-Dusun" unless it's some sort of an official government stuff.
August 4, 2024
More of a 2.5 than an outright 3 but since it’s goodreads and I can’t put a 2.5 star, then rounded out 3 it is. Thought a 2 would be too harsh but a 3 would be too generous, it sits perfectly in the middle with a 2.5. Perfectly average.
The things is does that were the high point of the novel for me, it does perfectly. The police detective mystery aspect of the novel is great. Atmospheric with a certain menacing and brooding undertone that fits with the novel’s main plot of children kidnapping and murder. The novel follows two police investigator, Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai trying to solve their respective case which surrounds one in particular that is so vile, it might have supernatural forces behind it. The two case and the plotline from the perspective of the two main character are also in two different timeline which is explicitly reference or told in the summary, but the story acts as if this is a revelation. While the character were rather flat, they are well defined.
Unfortunately, that’s where the positive end. Simply put, everything else aren’t up to par. The prose is basic especially when on the first page for the author’s accomplishment or other works reveal that the author has three short stories use for English literature for SPM. Despite being set in a local backdrop of Malaysia, it does not feel authentically local at all aside from the names of the street and character names.
For a debut novel, it was alright. Alright in that it is fairly average. Could’ve been a proper Malaysian detective mystery novel but was overstaffed with ideas that turned it into a mish mash detective, mystery and horror-esque novel that were incoherent.
The things is does that were the high point of the novel for me, it does perfectly. The police detective mystery aspect of the novel is great. Atmospheric with a certain menacing and brooding undertone that fits with the novel’s main plot of children kidnapping and murder. The novel follows two police investigator, Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai trying to solve their respective case which surrounds one in particular that is so vile, it might have supernatural forces behind it. The two case and the plotline from the perspective of the two main character are also in two different timeline which is explicitly reference or told in the summary, but the story acts as if this is a revelation. While the character were rather flat, they are well defined.
Unfortunately, that’s where the positive end. Simply put, everything else aren’t up to par. The prose is basic especially when on the first page for the author’s accomplishment or other works reveal that the author has three short stories use for English literature for SPM. Despite being set in a local backdrop of Malaysia, it does not feel authentically local at all aside from the names of the street and character names.
For a debut novel, it was alright. Alright in that it is fairly average. Could’ve been a proper Malaysian detective mystery novel but was overstaffed with ideas that turned it into a mish mash detective, mystery and horror-esque novel that were incoherent.
October 1, 2023
The Winner of the 2nd Fixi Novo Malaysian Novel Contest, Not A Monster follows two protagonist, Dominic Wong and Nadra Sunai, two investigative police officer from the Royal Malaysia Police in Selangor. The story's focus on which protagonist rotate between chapters. Inspector Dominic Wong is a veteran investigative officer in the RMP and is also a hero cop for his time, years before in a task force on the hunt of a serial killer dubbed as "Shadowman". Dominic, now is on the pursuit of a serial killer after a string of female homicide points to a single perpetrator. Inspector Nadra Sunai is seven years into her life as a police officer after switching careers from an accountant, finds herself roped into a child abduction case when she is the only one to see the child and the abductor minutes before the scream of the child's mother was heard upon realizing that the child is gone. Cryptic clues from the case addressed to Nadra points back to the "Shadowman" case.
THERE, THERE
Earlier this year I read the horror short story anthology The Big Book of Malaysian Horror Stories, also published by Fixi Novo and there were a lot of duds (24/30 in fact) but Slice of Heaven by Chua Kok Yee was among the ones I found good in an actual writing standpoint and was genuinely creeped by. It was tightly plotted and waste no words going on tangents that would otherwise be fillers. There were some red herring but it adds to the mystery or the story and even when a certain element was introduced and it became obvious where the endgame was heading towards, it's not bad at all. It got me into wanting more from Chua Kok Yee and in the bio section of the author has a list of his other works but the only one I could find in the wild (here in Kuching, Sarawak. We lacked some cool bookstore.) was this novel and it's pretty cheap so I said what the hell, who doesn't like a gritty pulpy crime novel because I do.
2+2=5
The premise of two different protagonist investigating cases that might be connected or at least one that was worked by one of them in the past provides an intrigue and breath of fresh air especially when it comes to Malaysia and how police/law enforcement/crime stories here (movies mostly because I don't think they are many police procedural novels set in Malaysia or written by Malaysian) are mostly on the action-heavy side rather than a methodical or slow burn police procedural. It really does stay in line with Fixi Novo's gritty and pulp image.
GO TO SLEEP
However, despite the praise I sang for Slice of Heaven, Kok Yee does have a flaw in his writing and that was his prose and to a certain extent, his dialogues too. Serviceable is to put it kindly and these are the same flaws I found in this novel.
I like my books to sound nice and flow well. Well-written books add an atmospheric element that isn't comparable with anything else. Take for example, pulp crime/mystery novels such as The Force by Don Winslow, The Turnout by Megan Abbott and Mystic River by Dennis Lehane are all beautifully written books that took me on a journey, partly because of the beautiful, rich prose that add much atmosphere to the world they build. The small town in Boston are grimy and filled with close community in Mystic River. The Force felt cinematic while The Turnout, despite being a neo-noir mystery thriller felt borderline horror with how much it tiptoed into Dark Fiction territory. It exponentially improves the experience of reading the book for me. Not A Monster on the other hand felt very mediocre and the prose plays into that a lot. There's no atmosphere or embellishment.
But why is this different than Slice of Heaven which I liked, seemingly a lot? It's because, as I mentioned earlier, the prose was serviceable and move the short story along very fast. It's different from Not A Monster. Take for example when Dominic's story started, it felt like it is almost trying to give or rather present a noir/hardboiled vibe from the short sentences almost telegrammatic prose-esque like WInslow(at times depending on the book i.e The Force and The Power of The Dog trilogy fit this description perfectly) and Abbott but it doesn't feel authentic to Kok Yee's style of writing because there would be a few long sentences breaking the streak of the short telegrammatic style.
The telegrammatic style however doesn't last long however and in the third Dominic's POV chapter it went entirely away and is closer to the way Nadra's POV chapters are written. Nadra's chapters are written in style closer to the typical mass produced thriller novels you get on the bookshop shelves (like Popular or MPH here) like James Patterson, Lee Child or Alex Michaelides which are cookie-cutter at best rather than it is to pulp fiction novels and this is how I felt reading this throughout.
SIT DOWN, STAND UP
Aside from the prose, the other thing that slow down the novel a lot are the character moments especially when the characterization of the two protagonist are lacking and diving more into them doesn't add much but only slow down the story's progression even more. This issue is prevalent within Dominic's chapters where we're always off tangent going through flashbacks, away from the only decent part which was the serial killer plot thread.
When it's time to explore Dominic Wong as a character, it brings up his race as a Chinese Malaysian and it was established early on there aren't many police officers that are racially Chinese but once it was pointed out, there wasn't much interest in exploring this aspect and in the end amount to nothing. It was later brought up briefly in a flashback when Dominic wants to join the police service much to his grandmother's dismay but still didn't go anywhere with it.
Same can be said about Nandra Sunai. We get to see her personal life but it's hardly explore and never did it made me feel anything regarding that aspect of her life, again in part to do with the mediocre prose and dialogues. There's also a small detailed that she grew up in Sandakan, Sabah and it's written that she thinks it's Kadazandusun food instead of Kadazan food or Dusun food. A Sabahan would not be too keen on the "Kadazandusun" tag which is a politicized tag more than anything. It's a small details but it really does matter and really show the lack of knowledge regarding an aspect written into the story.
WHERE I END AND YOU BEGINS
Just like Slice of Heaven, the overall story felt very tightly plotted but maybe it was cut short in the writing phase and had no wriggle room or rather not wanting to move away from the planned ending resulting in a rush and an abrupt ending that's not entirely satisfying.
SCATTERBRAIN
A cool premise but ultimately brought down by mediocre prose and dialogues as well as boring characters. Not A Monster could've been better I feel. The journey was bumpy and the destination is merely a mirage. I say this as someone who enjoyed Slice of Heaven despite the flaws it shared with this but sadly, I was disappointed especially when some of Kok Yee's written stories are used in SPM literature exam.
THERE, THERE
Earlier this year I read the horror short story anthology The Big Book of Malaysian Horror Stories, also published by Fixi Novo and there were a lot of duds (24/30 in fact) but Slice of Heaven by Chua Kok Yee was among the ones I found good in an actual writing standpoint and was genuinely creeped by. It was tightly plotted and waste no words going on tangents that would otherwise be fillers. There were some red herring but it adds to the mystery or the story and even when a certain element was introduced and it became obvious where the endgame was heading towards, it's not bad at all. It got me into wanting more from Chua Kok Yee and in the bio section of the author has a list of his other works but the only one I could find in the wild (here in Kuching, Sarawak. We lacked some cool bookstore.) was this novel and it's pretty cheap so I said what the hell, who doesn't like a gritty pulpy crime novel because I do.
2+2=5
The premise of two different protagonist investigating cases that might be connected or at least one that was worked by one of them in the past provides an intrigue and breath of fresh air especially when it comes to Malaysia and how police/law enforcement/crime stories here (movies mostly because I don't think they are many police procedural novels set in Malaysia or written by Malaysian) are mostly on the action-heavy side rather than a methodical or slow burn police procedural. It really does stay in line with Fixi Novo's gritty and pulp image.
GO TO SLEEP
However, despite the praise I sang for Slice of Heaven, Kok Yee does have a flaw in his writing and that was his prose and to a certain extent, his dialogues too. Serviceable is to put it kindly and these are the same flaws I found in this novel.
I like my books to sound nice and flow well. Well-written books add an atmospheric element that isn't comparable with anything else. Take for example, pulp crime/mystery novels such as The Force by Don Winslow, The Turnout by Megan Abbott and Mystic River by Dennis Lehane are all beautifully written books that took me on a journey, partly because of the beautiful, rich prose that add much atmosphere to the world they build. The small town in Boston are grimy and filled with close community in Mystic River. The Force felt cinematic while The Turnout, despite being a neo-noir mystery thriller felt borderline horror with how much it tiptoed into Dark Fiction territory. It exponentially improves the experience of reading the book for me. Not A Monster on the other hand felt very mediocre and the prose plays into that a lot. There's no atmosphere or embellishment.
But why is this different than Slice of Heaven which I liked, seemingly a lot? It's because, as I mentioned earlier, the prose was serviceable and move the short story along very fast. It's different from Not A Monster. Take for example when Dominic's story started, it felt like it is almost trying to give or rather present a noir/hardboiled vibe from the short sentences almost telegrammatic prose-esque like WInslow(at times depending on the book i.e The Force and The Power of The Dog trilogy fit this description perfectly) and Abbott but it doesn't feel authentic to Kok Yee's style of writing because there would be a few long sentences breaking the streak of the short telegrammatic style.
"It was ten forty-five on a Saturday morning. Dominic Wong slowed his car down as he approached the gate of the house. There was a patrol car blocking the entrance, and a uniformed policeman leaning at its hood, talking to an elderly Indian man. Dominic stopped behind the patrol car and alighted from the Hyudai. The elderly man turned his head towards Dominic with his eyebrows raised."
The telegrammatic style however doesn't last long however and in the third Dominic's POV chapter it went entirely away and is closer to the way Nadra's POV chapters are written. Nadra's chapters are written in style closer to the typical mass produced thriller novels you get on the bookshop shelves (like Popular or MPH here) like James Patterson, Lee Child or Alex Michaelides which are cookie-cutter at best rather than it is to pulp fiction novels and this is how I felt reading this throughout.
SIT DOWN, STAND UP
Aside from the prose, the other thing that slow down the novel a lot are the character moments especially when the characterization of the two protagonist are lacking and diving more into them doesn't add much but only slow down the story's progression even more. This issue is prevalent within Dominic's chapters where we're always off tangent going through flashbacks, away from the only decent part which was the serial killer plot thread.
When it's time to explore Dominic Wong as a character, it brings up his race as a Chinese Malaysian and it was established early on there aren't many police officers that are racially Chinese but once it was pointed out, there wasn't much interest in exploring this aspect and in the end amount to nothing. It was later brought up briefly in a flashback when Dominic wants to join the police service much to his grandmother's dismay but still didn't go anywhere with it.
Same can be said about Nandra Sunai. We get to see her personal life but it's hardly explore and never did it made me feel anything regarding that aspect of her life, again in part to do with the mediocre prose and dialogues. There's also a small detailed that she grew up in Sandakan, Sabah and it's written that she thinks it's Kadazandusun food instead of Kadazan food or Dusun food. A Sabahan would not be too keen on the "Kadazandusun" tag which is a politicized tag more than anything. It's a small details but it really does matter and really show the lack of knowledge regarding an aspect written into the story.
WHERE I END AND YOU BEGINS
Just like Slice of Heaven, the overall story felt very tightly plotted but maybe it was cut short in the writing phase and had no wriggle room or rather not wanting to move away from the planned ending resulting in a rush and an abrupt ending that's not entirely satisfying.
SCATTERBRAIN
A cool premise but ultimately brought down by mediocre prose and dialogues as well as boring characters. Not A Monster could've been better I feel. The journey was bumpy and the destination is merely a mirage. I say this as someone who enjoyed Slice of Heaven despite the flaws it shared with this but sadly, I was disappointed especially when some of Kok Yee's written stories are used in SPM literature exam.
June 10, 2022
"𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗, 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡."
I bought this one at PBAKL last Monday after being convinced by the blurb.
Not A Monster is not your typical crime-thriller book which you only get one story that needs to find the murderer, but in this book you will get two-in-one story.
The story followed both Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai that got press under pressure when both of them had to find out the murderer/rapist of the young women and the abductor of teenagers. Page by page, they found out more and more unexpected things that led to their case.
Okay, let's go straight to the point.
The things that I love in this book was how good the author described the whole storyline from each POVs. There's also a lot of information about the laws in our country and murder terms that I never knew before.
Aside from those two things, I really loved the main characters; Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai so much. Two of them has their own struggle and difficulty. I loved how both of them are so clever to lure the perps out. My favourite character in this book would be Inspector Dominic Wong since we also got a glimpse of how he wanted to be a police officer. In other words, he's fearless, intelligent and cool. Furthermore, this book is also a mix of supernatural too beside of being a murder-mystery one. Moreover, the plot twist? My jaw dropped when I read it!
Lastly, I never expected myself to love this book and yet, I did. It's so good and really worth every penny of mine. And the fact it's a debut book from the author? Oh my, oh my! I want more from Chua Kok Yee!
Highly recommended to all supernatural crime-thriller lovers out there!
Rate: 4.7🌟
—Feyssa.
I bought this one at PBAKL last Monday after being convinced by the blurb.
Not A Monster is not your typical crime-thriller book which you only get one story that needs to find the murderer, but in this book you will get two-in-one story.
The story followed both Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai that got press under pressure when both of them had to find out the murderer/rapist of the young women and the abductor of teenagers. Page by page, they found out more and more unexpected things that led to their case.
Okay, let's go straight to the point.
The things that I love in this book was how good the author described the whole storyline from each POVs. There's also a lot of information about the laws in our country and murder terms that I never knew before.
Aside from those two things, I really loved the main characters; Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai so much. Two of them has their own struggle and difficulty. I loved how both of them are so clever to lure the perps out. My favourite character in this book would be Inspector Dominic Wong since we also got a glimpse of how he wanted to be a police officer. In other words, he's fearless, intelligent and cool. Furthermore, this book is also a mix of supernatural too beside of being a murder-mystery one. Moreover, the plot twist? My jaw dropped when I read it!
Lastly, I never expected myself to love this book and yet, I did. It's so good and really worth every penny of mine. And the fact it's a debut book from the author? Oh my, oh my! I want more from Chua Kok Yee!
Highly recommended to all supernatural crime-thriller lovers out there!
Rate: 4.7🌟
—Feyssa.
March 1, 2023
The debut novel of Chua Kok Yee and also the winner of Fixi Novo’s 2nd Malaysian Novel Contest.
The novel, told from two different POV with Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai changing between each chapters sees the two police investigator go about solving the case that they are assigned with which in time we’ve learn are in two different timeline and are connected when the story is viewed from a macro lens.
Inspector Dominic is written with more care and depth as the story got to delve more into his backstory compared to Inspector Nadra where the storyline felt more like a hollywoodized thriller. It does explained why her character is involved with the child kidnapping case to the capacity that she does but it just feel too cliche and too hollywoodized while outside of the case, her character is basically a cardboard cutout. Aside from growing up in Sabah, there weren’t much exploration into her and her moment with her husband were eye-rollingly cliche and thin. Also, when showcasing Nadra’s childhood from what she ate growing up, shows the writer has very little knowledge of Sabah. It’s funny to some extent.
Despite loving Inspector Dominic more as a character though, his plot moves on a snail’s pace when the story deviate from his current case while Inspector Nadra’s plot move in a brisk pace. There are a few moments that I wished ends and that we get back to the main case in Inspector Dominic’s plot to a point that I end up not caring and just loath the Shadowman’s case, which are told as a flashback, that also made me care less about the Shadowman’s case in the present timeline with Inspector Nadra. While I did say and criticize Inspector Nadra’s more hollywood thriller storyline, her investigation into the kidnapping of a little girl she witnessed was paced relatively perfect and does not deviate much that even if I don’t care much for Inspector Nadra, the police officer or Nadra as a person, still made me want to know what happened next or how the case went.
As for some spoiler-filled points,
The novel works better if it sticks to the police procedural, crime mystery element than when if diverts away from it, either for the character’s sake, in Dominic’s case which slow down the pace of the story significantly or when it’s leaning onto the horror-side of things. It’s a debut novel after all but damnit if it’s just ok at best.
The novel, told from two different POV with Inspector Dominic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai changing between each chapters sees the two police investigator go about solving the case that they are assigned with which in time we’ve learn are in two different timeline and are connected when the story is viewed from a macro lens.
Inspector Dominic is written with more care and depth as the story got to delve more into his backstory compared to Inspector Nadra where the storyline felt more like a hollywoodized thriller. It does explained why her character is involved with the child kidnapping case to the capacity that she does but it just feel too cliche and too hollywoodized while outside of the case, her character is basically a cardboard cutout. Aside from growing up in Sabah, there weren’t much exploration into her and her moment with her husband were eye-rollingly cliche and thin. Also, when showcasing Nadra’s childhood from what she ate growing up, shows the writer has very little knowledge of Sabah. It’s funny to some extent.
Despite loving Inspector Dominic more as a character though, his plot moves on a snail’s pace when the story deviate from his current case while Inspector Nadra’s plot move in a brisk pace. There are a few moments that I wished ends and that we get back to the main case in Inspector Dominic’s plot to a point that I end up not caring and just loath the Shadowman’s case, which are told as a flashback, that also made me care less about the Shadowman’s case in the present timeline with Inspector Nadra. While I did say and criticize Inspector Nadra’s more hollywood thriller storyline, her investigation into the kidnapping of a little girl she witnessed was paced relatively perfect and does not deviate much that even if I don’t care much for Inspector Nadra, the police officer or Nadra as a person, still made me want to know what happened next or how the case went.
As for some spoiler-filled points,
The novel works better if it sticks to the police procedural, crime mystery element than when if diverts away from it, either for the character’s sake, in Dominic’s case which slow down the pace of the story significantly or when it’s leaning onto the horror-side of things. It’s a debut novel after all but damnit if it’s just ok at best.
June 19, 2022
Reading another debut novel for this month! 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘼 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 was set in a local backdrop with two crime cases on a serial killer and missing childs, told in between two assigned Inspectors, Dominic Wong and Nadra Sunai-- a tense and twisty narrative, a total page-turner that struck me anxiously at every pages.
A fast moving storytelling with great exposition on both plot and characters even with two cases narrated alternatingly with a flashback, it did not confuse me that much. I was waiting for it to interlink in the middle but that ending at chapter 12 did surprise me a bit-- such an enthralling red herring, it really upping the suspense for me. Love Dominic's story on how he started the journey (didn't know that it'll be the main clue to the crime), also how Nadra juggling with the mystery of the white-haired man that was seen before every child went missing-- I like how both were so convincing and tough yet bit fallible.
An insighful glimpse of Malaysian police procedural; the legislation, system and relatable acts/laws, bit on bureaucracy and criminal psychology (love the forensic guy too!) also I like that it includes behind the scene on how a journalist works and covering a crime news. Nadra's story was a bit sad to me as it relates on how drug abuse could impacted your life and family bond.
It goes too surreal nearly the end; black magic and supernatural beliefs vs serial crimes, thrilling yet too bizarre (love that reference to Lord of the Flies though) and the motive did enrapture me, even till the end the author still wanting me to make my guess with the ambiguous ending. Clever. 4 stars to this!
Thank you to the author, Chua Kok Yee for sending me a review copy of the book in return for my review!
A fast moving storytelling with great exposition on both plot and characters even with two cases narrated alternatingly with a flashback, it did not confuse me that much. I was waiting for it to interlink in the middle but that ending at chapter 12 did surprise me a bit-- such an enthralling red herring, it really upping the suspense for me. Love Dominic's story on how he started the journey (didn't know that it'll be the main clue to the crime), also how Nadra juggling with the mystery of the white-haired man that was seen before every child went missing-- I like how both were so convincing and tough yet bit fallible.
An insighful glimpse of Malaysian police procedural; the legislation, system and relatable acts/laws, bit on bureaucracy and criminal psychology (love the forensic guy too!) also I like that it includes behind the scene on how a journalist works and covering a crime news. Nadra's story was a bit sad to me as it relates on how drug abuse could impacted your life and family bond.
It goes too surreal nearly the end; black magic and supernatural beliefs vs serial crimes, thrilling yet too bizarre (love that reference to Lord of the Flies though) and the motive did enrapture me, even till the end the author still wanting me to make my guess with the ambiguous ending. Clever. 4 stars to this!
Thank you to the author, Chua Kok Yee for sending me a review copy of the book in return for my review!
June 4, 2022
Such a great book.. Cerita dalam cerita.. Kisah Nadra, Dominic dan juga Shadowman.. Bagaiman kehilangan kanak-kanak yang diculik di depan mata Nadra akhirnya membongkar siapa sebenarnya Shadowman.. Kisah Dominic yang menyiasat dan akhirnya tersilap percaturan dan menyebabkan dua kejadian yang menyayat hati.. Cerita yang berselang seli namun cantik susunanya..
October 11, 2024
3.5 bintang.
Hampir-hampir bagi 4 - 4.3 bintang tapi agak kecewa dengan bahagian peleraian.
Hampir-hampir bagi 4 - 4.3 bintang tapi agak kecewa dengan bahagian peleraian.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2022
Very clever story. Writing is problematic sometimes with regard to grammar and fluency but still pretty impressive for a police procedural/murder thriller. I’ve never read a Malaysian police procedural and wonder if it’s giving Malaysian police too much credit (or am I just cynical…) The book doesn’t read v Malaysian in the way people talk or the settings though. If not for the names of people and places, it could have been set anywhere. It tells 2 parallel stories of Dominic Wong an inspector who is investigating the abduction of children by a shadowy figure appropriately called Shadowman. Another police woman inspector Nadra is also faced with child abduction cases similar to those carried out by Shadowman but the difference is she is getting notes from the abductor seemingly giving her hints as to his planned future abductions. Eventually you realize Dominic Wong’s story was in the past - he is now retired from the force. Why? PTSD ? Burn out from the Shadowman case? Or does he have a closer connection to the Shadowman? and Nadra’s is in the present. Eventually the 2 strands meet and merge and the ending is surprising but believable even if we do move into the arena of precognition.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2022
This book was beautifully written. The storyline and plot twist complemented each other and made me want curious about it all the time. I like how the writer explained well the procedure of murder and abduction cases from the police pov.
Overall, I like it and this is the first English book that I completed reading. 4.5 stars it is!!!!
Overall, I like it and this is the first English book that I completed reading. 4.5 stars it is!!!!
March 9, 2023
The story is good. However, there is a clear weakness in the writing. The twist and turn was executed nicely. It was just those smaller details that could make the novel longer and better (perhaps). The ending isn't great in my opinion.
November 19, 2023
Not A Monster asks a very philosophical question to not just the main characters, but the reader as well. By the time I read the novel to its completion, I was left pondering my own beliefs — what would I have done if I were in the characters' shoes? Despite its flaws, it certainly left an impact on me, cementing it as a great read.
The two main characters of the story, police officers, Dominic and Nadra go through their respective journeys separately (for the most part), with each chapter alternating between each protagonist's perspective. Both characters are investigating different crimes, with the culprit always one step ahead. The investigation aspect is well-thought-out. From each crime scene to the legwork after it, Not A Monster really captured the gritty, tiring and frustrating aspects of being an investigating officer. Every time a piece of the puzzle is presented to Dominic and Nadra (and the reader), more questions are raised, and we're left on the edge of our seats, desperately wanting to know what's next.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery that is presented and the incidents that take place, I was annoyed by the pacing, more so in Dominic's story than Nadra's. A fair bit of Dominic's chapters are told in flashbacks and suffer from being long exposition dumps. While these sequences do play an important role to add context to the ending, it sucked out some of the enjoyment for me. I wanted to know what happened next in the mystery, so being presented with Dominic's flashbacks out of nowhere made reading some parts of it a slog.
Towards the end of the novel, I was shocked by how quickly the story jumped between scenes, dropping plot twists and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. This part really developed at a breakneck speed, and I wished there was more time spent in between scenes, exploring the motivations behind what the characters were doing. I could still piece together the dots, and the ending was satisfying, but I really wished the story spent more time expanding the characters' developments.
But the ending really hit me. In my opinion, it really outweighed the flaws in the writing and the lack of characterization in the protagonists. While on one hand, I felt that the supernatural elements that were introduced felt more like a crutch, a convenient MacGuffin of sorts, but it tied the many loose ends and wrapped up the huge mystery rather convincingly. Not A Monster isn't just any other crime novel, it asks you a question: "What turns a man into a monster?" This question is still lingering in my mind till this day. If you're a sucker for a gripping mystery that challenges your own perception of the world around you, you're in for a treat.
The two main characters of the story, police officers, Dominic and Nadra go through their respective journeys separately (for the most part), with each chapter alternating between each protagonist's perspective. Both characters are investigating different crimes, with the culprit always one step ahead. The investigation aspect is well-thought-out. From each crime scene to the legwork after it, Not A Monster really captured the gritty, tiring and frustrating aspects of being an investigating officer. Every time a piece of the puzzle is presented to Dominic and Nadra (and the reader), more questions are raised, and we're left on the edge of our seats, desperately wanting to know what's next.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery that is presented and the incidents that take place, I was annoyed by the pacing, more so in Dominic's story than Nadra's. A fair bit of Dominic's chapters are told in flashbacks and suffer from being long exposition dumps. While these sequences do play an important role to add context to the ending, it sucked out some of the enjoyment for me. I wanted to know what happened next in the mystery, so being presented with Dominic's flashbacks out of nowhere made reading some parts of it a slog.
Towards the end of the novel, I was shocked by how quickly the story jumped between scenes, dropping plot twists and cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. This part really developed at a breakneck speed, and I wished there was more time spent in between scenes, exploring the motivations behind what the characters were doing. I could still piece together the dots, and the ending was satisfying, but I really wished the story spent more time expanding the characters' developments.
But the ending really hit me. In my opinion, it really outweighed the flaws in the writing and the lack of characterization in the protagonists. While on one hand, I felt that the supernatural elements that were introduced felt more like a crutch, a convenient MacGuffin of sorts, but it tied the many loose ends and wrapped up the huge mystery rather convincingly. Not A Monster isn't just any other crime novel, it asks you a question: "What turns a man into a monster?" This question is still lingering in my mind till this day. If you're a sucker for a gripping mystery that challenges your own perception of the world around you, you're in for a treat.
October 13, 2022
hooked from the first chapter, means the book really good. if you watch korean dramas, you will know. the storyline of this book kinda like kdrama but in writing form. unexpected twists, the ending really makes me think hahaha
June 30, 2022
weh best gila…SUMPAH! less than 2 days je dapat habiskan??? recommended, tak pernah tahu buku fixi boleh jadi se-best ini😩 Mr Chua Kok Yee, I love you💘 the thrill, the suspense, the plot-twist, everything is PERFECT😍
June 27, 2022
A good read. 😋
Liked the twist
Liked the twist
December 31, 2022
Not A Monster by Chua Kok Yee is a horror(?) thriller novel, published under Fixi Novo, 2022.
The first thing that attracts me is of course the cover. Next, the genre itself. I’m an avid fan of crime thriller stories, so I’m really excited to crack this one. Next is the author’s bio. His many, many achievements really intrigued me. With that being said, I have super high expectations.
Now, let’s talk about the story.
What I love about it is that the author is using two separate characters (Inspector Domenic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai) to tell the story. Both of them have their own struggle and unfinished business, but somewhat sort of related in a way when they investigate the abduction case. The way the story revolves, as a whole is also very smooth, and makes me want to know more, especially about the criminal case. The terms used and the procedure explained were so good, I almost cry.
With that being said, I’m not really a fan of the horror side of the story, especially toward the ending. A bit disappointing when you built the story based on ‘logic’, but then there are the shaky illogic parts spoiling it.
In conclusion, it’s really a good crime thriller novel but with a slight disappointment. But alas, nothing is perfect in this world, am I right?
The first thing that attracts me is of course the cover. Next, the genre itself. I’m an avid fan of crime thriller stories, so I’m really excited to crack this one. Next is the author’s bio. His many, many achievements really intrigued me. With that being said, I have super high expectations.
Now, let’s talk about the story.
What I love about it is that the author is using two separate characters (Inspector Domenic Wong and Inspector Nadra Sunai) to tell the story. Both of them have their own struggle and unfinished business, but somewhat sort of related in a way when they investigate the abduction case. The way the story revolves, as a whole is also very smooth, and makes me want to know more, especially about the criminal case. The terms used and the procedure explained were so good, I almost cry.
With that being said, I’m not really a fan of the horror side of the story, especially toward the ending. A bit disappointing when you built the story based on ‘logic’, but then there are the shaky illogic parts spoiling it.
In conclusion, it’s really a good crime thriller novel but with a slight disappointment. But alas, nothing is perfect in this world, am I right?
July 14, 2022
Brilliant
December 8, 2022
The book was an interesting read. I’d give it 5 stars for the plot because it is very unique especially for a mystery. It reminded me of the Korean movie The Call as both brings up the question of whether killing a child can be justified to prevent them from committing crimes in the future.
I’m giving it a 4 because I feel like there was a lack of character development for Nadra in comparison to Dominic. For Dominic, it was explained why he became an investigator and the events that led him to continue the Shadowman’s work. Yet for Nadra, I felt as if her circumstances were explained quite brief. It would have been nice to have a bit more description of her grief towards her husband dying so as to give readers more of an idea of how it impacted her and what her decision would be in the end. Though, this could be due to the book being around only 70k words so the author may not have enough words to expand on Nadira’s POV more.
The plot twist was done well as I didn’t expect Pretam to be the original Shadowman. Though I kinda had a feeling that Dominic was the white haired man in Nadra’s POV. Nonetheless, It was a good and easy read with an intense open ending.
I’m giving it a 4 because I feel like there was a lack of character development for Nadra in comparison to Dominic. For Dominic, it was explained why he became an investigator and the events that led him to continue the Shadowman’s work. Yet for Nadra, I felt as if her circumstances were explained quite brief. It would have been nice to have a bit more description of her grief towards her husband dying so as to give readers more of an idea of how it impacted her and what her decision would be in the end. Though, this could be due to the book being around only 70k words so the author may not have enough words to expand on Nadira’s POV more.
The plot twist was done well as I didn’t expect Pretam to be the original Shadowman. Though I kinda had a feeling that Dominic was the white haired man in Nadra’s POV. Nonetheless, It was a good and easy read with an intense open ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2024
Don't know how to feel about this yet. A well written book. A very interesting theme and ending to the book
January 27, 2023
Picked up on a whim in Malaysia. Pulpy. Weird detective story with a touch of maybe supernatural. I enjoyed it.
June 1, 2024
The first line snatched my attention. I loved the twist this book had. Did not see it coming! The twist and turns in figuring out the suspect kept me guessing!
February 11, 2024
Mind blowing. Unexpected plot twist. Well done
March 10, 2024
3.5 rounded to 4 ⭐
Nak hujung baru best. Awal tu cm draggy & pening sket plot nya
Nak hujung baru best. Awal tu cm draggy & pening sket plot nya
December 30, 2022
This book follows two perspectives, first is Inspector Dominic Wong who investigates a murder and raping cases while the second is Inspector Nadra Sunai who follows a child abduction case. Things get weirder and harder when supernatural things are involved.
First I thought it's gonna be a cat-finding mouse adventure until I realize it was darker than that. I get goosebumps a lot from this book because it has that eerie feeling lingering around those cases, I can't help but think that something more sinister is coming. This book rises up the issue of every action does not justify your intention - which a good thing to ponder and argue. I never knew at the end they gonna question their life principle and place themselves in a very tough decision.
The author has a neat and clean way of arranging the writing and the plot, the dark humour, and police job detailing were all features in this book. Although it may appear that too many things had been cramped into juat 200+ pages, but the story flow easily no matter who is the narrative at that time. I just hope that this book doesn't end too sudden, I feel the end was rushed without a proper solution, but it does explain why things got a wrong turn.
This is the type of book that one needs to read and experience because half of the book makes me side with the child abduction but in the end, I can help but question, are children as innocent as they may seem?
4.7 ratings, because the end was super rush :D. Thank you, Mr Kok and Fixi for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say, I enjoy the goosebumps to the max.
First I thought it's gonna be a cat-finding mouse adventure until I realize it was darker than that. I get goosebumps a lot from this book because it has that eerie feeling lingering around those cases, I can't help but think that something more sinister is coming. This book rises up the issue of every action does not justify your intention - which a good thing to ponder and argue. I never knew at the end they gonna question their life principle and place themselves in a very tough decision.
The author has a neat and clean way of arranging the writing and the plot, the dark humour, and police job detailing were all features in this book. Although it may appear that too many things had been cramped into juat 200+ pages, but the story flow easily no matter who is the narrative at that time. I just hope that this book doesn't end too sudden, I feel the end was rushed without a proper solution, but it does explain why things got a wrong turn.
This is the type of book that one needs to read and experience because half of the book makes me side with the child abduction but in the end, I can help but question, are children as innocent as they may seem?
4.7 ratings, because the end was super rush :D. Thank you, Mr Kok and Fixi for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say, I enjoy the goosebumps to the max.
January 3, 2025
[eBOOK 94]
Not A Monster by Chua Kok Yee.
.
Buku ni menggunakan simple English yang mudah difahami. (Aku nak suggest untuk adik-adik SPM atau sesiapa sahaja yang nak improve English untuk baca buku ni, tapiiii buku Fixi la. Tapi, unsur carutan ataupun vulgar words dalam buku ni takde la banyak sangat)
.
Okay, aku suka buku ni sebab genre crime thriller/investigation.
.
Inspektor Dominic Wong dalam misi memburu Shadowman yang sejak bertahun-tahun membunuh kanak-kanak, tapi jejaknya tidak dapat dikesan.
.
Inspektor Nadra Sunai pun dalam misi mencari kanak-kanak hilang yang mana beliau sendiri menyaksikan yang kanak-kanak tersebut mengikut seorang lelaki berambut putih. Tapi yang anehnya, hanya dia yang nampak lelaki tersebut, sedangkan rakan sekerjanya tidak.
.
So, ini semua dikaitkan dengan Shadowman.
.
Cerita ni menarik pada permulaannya.
.
Makin menarik bila aku sedar yang sebenarnya 2 inspektor ini berada dalam timeline yang berbeza.
.
Dan makin menarik bila aku tahu siapakah sebenarnya Shadownman itu.
.
Cumanya, bagi aku, sedikit frustrated sebab ada melibatkan unsur supernatural, bukanlah purely jenayah yang aku expect.
.
Dan mungkin untuk orang yang dah biasa baca buku English, takde lah rasa wow sangat buku ni. Tapi untuk aku yang boleh kira dengan sebelah tangan je ni, aku dah cukup puas hati
Not A Monster by Chua Kok Yee.
.
Buku ni menggunakan simple English yang mudah difahami. (Aku nak suggest untuk adik-adik SPM atau sesiapa sahaja yang nak improve English untuk baca buku ni, tapiiii buku Fixi la. Tapi, unsur carutan ataupun vulgar words dalam buku ni takde la banyak sangat)
.
Okay, aku suka buku ni sebab genre crime thriller/investigation.
.
Inspektor Dominic Wong dalam misi memburu Shadowman yang sejak bertahun-tahun membunuh kanak-kanak, tapi jejaknya tidak dapat dikesan.
.
Inspektor Nadra Sunai pun dalam misi mencari kanak-kanak hilang yang mana beliau sendiri menyaksikan yang kanak-kanak tersebut mengikut seorang lelaki berambut putih. Tapi yang anehnya, hanya dia yang nampak lelaki tersebut, sedangkan rakan sekerjanya tidak.
.
So, ini semua dikaitkan dengan Shadowman.
.
Cerita ni menarik pada permulaannya.
.
Makin menarik bila aku sedar yang sebenarnya 2 inspektor ini berada dalam timeline yang berbeza.
.
Dan makin menarik bila aku tahu siapakah sebenarnya Shadownman itu.
.
Cumanya, bagi aku, sedikit frustrated sebab ada melibatkan unsur supernatural, bukanlah purely jenayah yang aku expect.
.
Dan mungkin untuk orang yang dah biasa baca buku English, takde lah rasa wow sangat buku ni. Tapi untuk aku yang boleh kira dengan sebelah tangan je ni, aku dah cukup puas hati
February 3, 2026
Easy language, making it a pleasure to read. Kept me hooked on until the very end. But I saw it coming, Pretam kept popping up like a mentor waiting to release a bomb, like anytime now.. and he finally did. Good read.
Finished the book in 2 days, could have done it in a day or half if I werent occupied.
Btw, it’s an open end book, if that’s your cup of coffee, or tea 😉
Finished the book in 2 days, could have done it in a day or half if I werent occupied.
Btw, it’s an open end book, if that’s your cup of coffee, or tea 😉
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2025
i’m rating this as a 2.5, it’s not bad but it’s just…bland? so to speak. like maybe i just suck at noticing but i didn’t even realise it was alternating timelines until halfway through
i do like the climax of it though that was fun to read
i do like the climax of it though that was fun to read
July 3, 2022
This book follows two perspectives, first is Inspector Dominic Wong who investigates a murder and raping cases while the second is Inspector Nadra Sunai who follows a child abduction case. Things get weirder and harder when supernatural things are involved.
First I thought it's gonna be a cat-finding mouse adventure until I realize it was darker than that. I get goosebumps a lot from this book because it has that eerie feeling lingering around those cases, I can't help but think that something more sinister is coming. This book rises up the issue of every action does not justify your intention - which a good thing to ponder and argue. I never knew at the end they gonna question their life principle and place themselves in a very tough decision.
The author has a neat and clean way of arranging the writing and the plot, the dark humour, and police job detailing were all features in this book. Although it may appear that too many things had been cramped into juat 200+ pages, but the story flow easily no matter who is the narrative at that time. I just hope that this book doesn't end too sudden, I feel the end was rushed without a proper solution, but it does explain why things got a wrong turn.
This is the type of book that one needs to read and experience because half of the book makes me side with the child abduction but in the end, I can help but question, are children as innocent as they may seem?
4.7 ratings, because the end was super rush :D. Thank you, Mr Kok and Fixi for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say, I enjoy the goosebumps to the max.
First I thought it's gonna be a cat-finding mouse adventure until I realize it was darker than that. I get goosebumps a lot from this book because it has that eerie feeling lingering around those cases, I can't help but think that something more sinister is coming. This book rises up the issue of every action does not justify your intention - which a good thing to ponder and argue. I never knew at the end they gonna question their life principle and place themselves in a very tough decision.
The author has a neat and clean way of arranging the writing and the plot, the dark humour, and police job detailing were all features in this book. Although it may appear that too many things had been cramped into juat 200+ pages, but the story flow easily no matter who is the narrative at that time. I just hope that this book doesn't end too sudden, I feel the end was rushed without a proper solution, but it does explain why things got a wrong turn.
This is the type of book that one needs to read and experience because half of the book makes me side with the child abduction but in the end, I can help but question, are children as innocent as they may seem?
4.7 ratings, because the end was super rush :D. Thank you, Mr Kok and Fixi for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say, I enjoy the goosebumps to the max.
December 4, 2024
I'm gonna admit to myself that I'll probably never get round to writing a proper review of this.
I liked it enough, but wasn't fond of the dual timelines.
I liked it enough, but wasn't fond of the dual timelines.
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