Hidden Thorn Star

Name: Hidden Thorn Star
ISBN: 9787229168711

嵇振颉Chongqing Publishing House · ChinaSep 2026

3.5

Word count: 184K words
Chapters: 16
ISBN: 9787229168711

Report an error Find this book

Summary

This is an emotional suspense novel about a psychology PhD who devotes herself to healing the emotionally wounded, only to discover that she herself harbors a hidden wound too painful to reveal. How should she face it and save herself? Everything may seem predestined, yet hope is always there. The title Dark Thorn Star pairs the dark thorn—the wound hidden within—with the star, which stands for the hope of healing.

After earning his doctorate in psychology, Sun Zhixin gave up a generous offer abroad and returned home to start his own venture: a healing group to help those who have been emotionally hurt. Just then he runs into Chen Yuting, a classmate he has secretly admired for years, and the encounter excites her no less. On one hand, she is overjoyed to be reunited with Sun Zhixin; on the other, his group may help her find her twin sister, who has been missing for a long time, so she gladly becomes his assistant. Trouble begins almost as soon as the group is founded: someone is watching its every move from the shadows, and there is a mole inside working with that unseen hand to stir up chaos. An eerie car accident, a relative's baffling disappearance, a mysterious figure who comes and goes, and the inner secrets group members would rather not share... As Sun Zhixin and Chen Yuting help the group's members, they come to realize that the wounds in their own hearts are even deeper. Will they have the courage to face them? Through healing and being healed, they suddenly see that making peace with yourself and becoming your own confidant is the best way to leave all manner of troubles and pain behind.

Editor's review

Beneath its emotional-suspense surface, The Hidden Thorn Star is really about how a healer confronts her own wounds. Psychologist Sun Zhixin returns home to found a healing group, intending to help others, but as the group is just getting started she runs into a series of eerie car accidents, a missing relative, mysterious surveillance, and an internal traitor, tightening the suspense layer by layer. The title sets "hidden thorn" beside "star," already signaling the theme: hidden trauma and the hope of healing coexist. The author does not present psychological healing as a cure-all; instead, as the protagonist helps group members, she gradually discovers a larger fracture within herself, and this reversal—the healer who cannot heal herself—is the book's most substantial part. The subplot of Chen Yuting searching for her twin sister binds personal emotion to the suspense, keeping the pace from settling into mere exposition. Overall, suspense drives the story and emotion grounds it, arriving at the idea of making peace with oneself and becoming one's own confidant—touched with healing, yet never weightless. Suited to readers willing to think about self-relationships amid suspense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy emotional suspense and psychological fiction
Those who resonate with themes of self-healing and making peace with oneself
Readers who prefer dual narrative threads and secrets gradually revealed
Readers interested in counseling and the dilemmas of those who help others

Not a good fit for

Fans of hardcore deduction and tightly plotted locked-room mysteries may find it unsatisfying
Readers who want pure sweet romance and prefer to avoid trauma themes
Readers uninterested in psychological healing and looking for pure adventure

Reading tips

Treat "hidden thorn" and "star" as two threads, and watch how trauma and hope alternate.
When you come across foreshadowing about the internal traitor and the mysterious surveillance, jot it down; it's more fun when it pays off later.
Slow down for passages where the protagonist examines herself; they matter as much as the suspense reversals.
After finishing, revisit the wounds of Sun Zhixin and Chen Yuting to understand the two-way relationship between healing and being healed.

About the publisher

Chongqing Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Chongqing Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for its titles in the humanities, social sciences, literature and arts, with about 940 books in its catalogue. Its publishing areas cover world history, science fiction, foreign literature, architecture and philosophy. Representative titles include Xiang Da's A History of Communications Between China and the West, Liang Sicheng's Rules of Qing-Style Construction, Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest and III: Death's End, Ann Rand's The Fountainhead (25th Anniversary Edition), and Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Its authors include Xiang Da, Liu Cixin, Liang Sicheng and Ann Rand. The press has developed distinctive strengths in historical source editing, the introduction and creation of science fiction, the translation of foreign literature, and architecture and philosophy titles, balancing scholarly value with general readership. As public information is limited, this profile outlines its publishing directions based only on the books in the catalogue.

版权信息
楔子
第一章失踪的妹妹
第二章曲折再相逢
第三章前方现曙光
第四章 “空椅”吐真情
第五章破碎与重生
第六章小鲜肉作家
第七章书中的秘密
第八章蹊跷的遗书
第九章救人身负伤
第十章理想vs现实
第十一章人为的事故
第十二章致命的诱惑
第十三章真相不完美
尾声

FAQ

Is the suspense strong, or does it lean too heavily on psychological preaching?

From the description, eerie car accidents, a missing relative, mysterious surveillance, and a traitor within the group create sustained suspense, while psychological healing is the theme rather than the only content. The author lets suspense drive the plot and then has the characters face their inner trauma through events, with the two intertwined. If you're worried about preaching, focus on how the suspense forces the characters' secrets out step by step.

Can I understand it without a psychology background?

Yes. Although the protagonist is a psychology PhD, the story moves through plot and relationships, and specialized concepts should serve the narrative rather than act as a barrier. Readers need only follow Sun Zhixin's and Chen Yuting's perspectives and understand how they help group members and how they discover their own problems; no prior psychology knowledge is required.

Is the ending more healing or more dark?

The title pairs "star" with the hope of healing, and the description lands on making peace with oneself and becoming one's own confidant, so the overall direction leans toward healing. But the journey includes trauma, disappearance, and betrayal, so it isn't easygoing throughout. If you can accept going through suspense and压抑 before seeing the characters face themselves, the book's tone will suit you.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

嵇振颉 Author

Ji Zhenjie is a Chinese author whose work spans multiple genres. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life remain unclear. Judging from the four books held in the collection, he has published in categories including essays and miscellaneous writings, suspense and mystery, social fiction, and inspirational growth. His representative works include Looking Up at the Starry Sky, Hidden Thorn Star, Eggshell, and No One Has the Right to Easily Deny Me. These titles and categories suggest that his writing explores reflections on ideals and life, attempts the tension of suspenseful narrative, and attends to social reality and the question of self-affirmation in personal growth. Overall, Ji Zhenjie shows a tendency not to confine himself to a single genre, moving between the lyricism of the essay, the deduction of suspense, and the encouragement of inspirational writing. His books address general readers and stay close to everyday experience and spiritual perplexity.