美人为馅 Memory Lost: Book Review

 

Ding Mo is the author who first introduced me to the genre of mystery novels, and I have yet to find a author who could best her at this genre. That said, I may simply be failing to read widely enough. Out of her three detective novels, Memory Lost will always remain my personal favourite because of the truly equal and supportive relationship between the two leads. The story has its fair share of ups and downs, and never loses the tension as the mystery unravels at top speed – something lesser detective novels may fall short of. It’s an extremely enduring book, something I can re-read many times and still remain invested and interested in the story every step of the way.

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

When in the presence of strangers, Han Chen was always handsome and cold, making it difficult for others to get close to him. He was like the frosted snow – pure, and slightly chilly. Yet, he was also like the river flowing in the dark night – quiet and moving. To many, he was akin to an unequalled and untouchable god.

Only in the presence of Bai Jin Xi would this famous top police superintendent expose his deeply hidden shameless nature.

“Come and sit nearer to me, I won’t eat you. At least, not now.”

“I have never touched other women before. Do you want to check my body?”

“Bai Jin Xi, never ever leave my side. Every year, every month, every moment, every minute, every second.”

In his heart, there exists an obstinate old man – one who has tirelessly loved her throughout all these years.

Review: 

I love the romance in this novel, and I think that in this respect, Ding Mo has arguably outdone herself and wrote her best romance to date out of all her crime thriller novels (I admit I may be biased). Like all Ding Mo books, the two leads remain constant and unwavering in their feelings for each other, so there is very little angst with respect to the second male lead. However, this is one of the first novels where I feel both the male and the female leads are equally matched in terms of capability, experience and wit. It makes the entire process of mystery solving that much better, because the two parties are actively helping each other and contributing to each other’s findings.

I love the second male lead and other side characters here as well – they are crafted with so much brilliance that they too, remain imprinted on your memory and are not overshadowed by the main couple. Here, we are introduced to the police squad which co-operates and works with Han Chen and Jin Xi in solving the crimes, as well as the organized criminal syndicate made up of a variety of interesting characters with their own backstories (which is sadly, not explored in depth).

That said, because the book starts right smack in the middle of a grand mystery, it is not a typical boy-meets-girl book where they gradually fall in love and develop their romance from scratch. Rather, Han Chen starts off looking for his missing fiancé whilst Jin Xi is a happy-go-lucky police officer who gradually develops feelings for him. However, owing to this set-up, Han Chen continuously maintains a distance from Jin Xi and tries not to be too involved in her affairs. Subsequently, Han Chen and Jin Xi both discover that Jin Xi is actually Han Chen’s missing fiancé – and thus we jump straight into the romance portion without having to slowly develop the romance between the two.