Second Sister: A Novel

A reclusive Hong Kong PI and hacker investigates a teenager's mysterious death in this technological thriller by the author of The Borrowed . A schoolgirl—Siu-Man—has committed suicide, leaping from her twenty-second floor window to the pavement below. Siu-Man is an orphan and the librarian older sister who's been raising her refuses to believe there was no foul play—nothing seemed amiss. She contacts a man known only as N.—a hacker, and an expert in cybersecurity and manipulating human behavior. But can Nga-Yee interest him sufficiently to take her case, and can she afford it if he says yes? What follows is a cat and mouse game through the city of Hong Kong and its digital underground, especially an online gossip platform, where someone has been slandering Siu-Man. The novel is also populated by a man harassing girls on mass transit; high school kids, with their competing agendas and social dramas; a Hong Kong digital company courting an American venture capitalist; and the Triads, market women and noodle shop proprietors who frequent N.'s neighborhood of Sai Wan. In the end it all comes together to tell us who caused Siu-Man's death and why, and to ask, in a world where online and offline dialogue has increasingly forgotten about the real people on the other end, what the proper punishment is. " Readers will savor every twist and turn of Chan Ho-Kei's tour de force. . . . Second Sister is a masterclass on the vagaries of our digital age." —Criminal Element "[A] clever, twisty novel. . . . Fans of hacker thrillers such as Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander books will be amply rewarded." — Publishers Weekly , starred review, PW Pick "Virtually irresistible, with twisty-turny, didn't-see-that-coming manipulations guaranteed to keep readers wide awake into the wee hours. . . . For readers, the provocative mix of urgent contemporary issues and page-turning action won't disappoint." — Shelf Awareness Chan Ho-Kei's The Borrowed was one of the most acclaimed international crime novels of recent years, a vivid and compelling tale of power, corruption, and the law spanning five decades of the history of Hong Kong. Now he delivers Second Sister , an up-to-the-minute tale of a Darwinian digital city where everyone from tech entrepreneurs to teenagers is struggling for the top. A schoolgirl?Siu-Man?has committed suicide, leaping from her twenty-second floor window to the pavement below. Siu-Man is an orphan and the librarian older sister who's been raising her refuses to believe there was no foul play?nothing seemed amiss. She contacts a man known only as N.?a hacker, and an expert in cybersecurity and manipulating human behavior. But can Nga-Yee interest him sufficiently to take her case, and can she afford it if he says yes? What follows is a cat and mouse game through the city of Hong Kong and its digital underground, especially an online gossip platform, where someone has been slandering Siu-Man. The novel is also populated by a man harassing girls on mass transit; high school kids, with their competing agendas and social dramas; a Hong Kong digital company courting an American venture capitalist; and the Triads, market women and noodle shop proprietors who frequent N.'s neighborhood of Sai Wan. In the end it all comes together to tell us who caused Siu-Man's death and why, and to ask, in a world where online and offline dialogue has increasingly forgotten about the real people on the other end, what the proper punishment is "A schoolgirl, Siu-Man, has committed suicide by leaping from her twenty-second floor window. Her older sister and guardian, Nga-Yee, refuses to believe there was no foul play. Nga-Yee contacts a hacker and cybersecurity expert-known only as N.-to investigate and what follows is a cat and mouse game through the city and its digital underground, where someone has been smearing Siu-Man's reputation. This is not the only hidden drama in the city of Hong Kong: Chan introduces us to a serial groper on mass transit; high school kids with their competing agendas and social performances; a Hong Kong digital company courting an American venture capitalist; and the Triads, market women and noodle shop proprietors who frequent N.'s neighborhood. In the end, these threads all come together to reveal who caused Siu-Man's death and why, and to ask, in a world that has increasingly forgotten the real people on the other end of online and offline firestorms, what the proper punishment is"-- Provided by publisher