The Mad Detective
Tags
Summary
The city is sick, and He Yan—a criminal investigation unit captain who has hung up his uniform—is sick too. After his mentor's death, he angrily leaves the police force; then his mother dies; then bipolar disorder destroys his family. He Yan's life sinks to rock bottom. At a childhood friend's suggestion, he founds a consulting firm with that friend, throwing his rich investigative experience and the turbulent emotions of his illness into the work. He Yan thinks he will live out his days this way—until his investigations ensnare him in a series of complex cases: identity theft, murder swaps, livestreamed cries for help… Behind every seeming coincidence lies a criminal's madness. Staking what remains of his sanity, He Yan lights one last lamp of hope in the crevice between bipolar disorder and a shattered life. What is the truth? The fog will finally lift.
Editor's review
Madman Detective follows He Yan, a police officer who has left the force, as his life hits bottom after his mentor's death and his mother's passing, leaving him with bipolar disorder and a broken family—threaded together with the complex cases his consulting firm takes on. The book's strength lies in juxtaposing investigative experience with the protagonist's unstable mental state: cases of identity theft, murder swaps, and livestreamed cries for help escalate layer by layer, and behind every seeming coincidence lies a criminal's madness, while He Yan must stake one last lamp of hope between his remaining sanity and his fractured life. Its value lies not only in the suspense of solving crimes but in how a "sick city" and a "sick detective" mirror each other, revealing the human pressure and possibility of redemption behind criminal cases. The pacing is tight, suited to readers who like social-school suspense and psychologically oriented crime fiction and who can read it in one continuous stretch; depictions of bipolar disorder and other mental states run throughout, and readers may note how the character's emotional arc and the case arc drive each other.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy crime suspense and psychologically oriented crime stories
- Those who prefer social-school mystery and care about the human motives behind cases
- Adult readers comfortable with a protagonist who has a mental illness
- Readers looking to binge a full-length suspense novel over a complete weekend
Not a good fit for
- Readers sensitive to heavy depictions of bipolar disorder, family breakdown, and similar themes
- Those expecting a light, stress-free, or purely sweet reading experience
- Readers who prefer honkaku mystery with rigorous trick-based puzzle solving
Reading tips
- Read in chapter order, noting how He Yan's mood swings correspond to the case developments.
- Keep a simple character chart to track key figures in cases such as identity theft and murder swaps.
- Slow down at passages with heavy psychological description, so the suspense doesn't make you overlook the character's state.
- After finishing, revisit the opening's account of the city and He Yan's situation; it makes the ending's resolution easier to understand.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 楔子
- 第一章 东园寺门前的男人
- 第二章 影音室
- 第三章 切入点
- 第四章 后街精酿吧
- 第五章 不是真正的戴芸
- 第六章 亲眼看一看
- 第七章 第一次跟踪
- 第八章 想找你聊聊戴芸
- 第九章 跟踪告一段落
- 第十章 究竟哪一个才是戴芸
- 第十一章 世界上的另一个我
- 第十二章 “小猴子”
- 第十三章 红绿色盲
- 第十四章 除夕
- 第十五章 坠亡
- 第十六章 照片平时是倒扣的
- 第十七章 我觉得，她恨他
- 第十八章 眼里的恨意从何而来
- 第十九章 一氧化碳中毒
- 第二十章 乘客的名字
- 第二十一章 尸检报告
- 第二十二章 两个因仇恨联结在一起的女人
- 第二十三章 完美计划的重大纰漏
- 第二十四章 宿醉之后
- 第二十五章 不一样的想法
- 第二十六章 卷宗
- 第二十七章 模仿作案
- 第二十八章 家长会
- 第二十九章 交叉点
- 第三十章 把拼图拼完整
- 第三十一章 因为我想知道
- 第三十二章 完整的故事
- 第三十三章 他的直觉没有错
- 第三十四章 第三具尸体
- 第三十五章 《雀》
- 第三十六章 小说的母题
- 第三十七章 我骗了你
- 第三十八章 苏醒
- 第三十九章 心理咨询
- 第四十章 长大就像啤酒
- 第四十一章 我觉得，她被控制了
- 第四十二章 我想上门看看
- 第四十三章 有人上门委托调查
- 第四十四章 我确定她失踪了
- 第四十五章 我姐姐出了什么事
- 第四十六章 坠河
- 第四十七章 你以为受害人是谁
- 第四十八章 电脑里的视频文件
- 第四十九章 算了，我认了
- 第五十章 只找到了车
- 第五十一章 抛尸地点
- 第五十二章 行凶动机
- 第五十三章 完美嫌疑人
- 第五十四章 狐狸终于露出了尾巴
- 第五十五章 苏苏的父母
- 第五十六章 如果那不是造谣呢
- 第五十七章 肺里没有水
- 第五十八章 吊坠
- 第五十九章 被人挟持
- 第六十章 谢谢你还肯信我
- 第六十一章 你得罪谁了
- 第六十二章 这个秃顶男人有问题
- 第六十三章 对监控的利用
- 第六十四章 把两起案子关联起来的理由
- 第六十五章 他是来自首的
- 第六十六章 匿名举报
- 第六十七章 恐惧的余音
- 第六十八章 密码
- 第六十九章 交通事故
- 第七十章 解密的钥匙
- 第七十一章 行车记录仪
- 第七十二章 肇事逃逸
- 第七十三章 我不认识他
- 第七十四章 小贾
- 第七十五章 我失控了
- 第七十六章 第二起交通事故
- 第七十七章 第三起交通事故
- 第七十八章 命案
- 第七十九章 管国文
- 第八十章 扫把星
- 第八十一章 网贷
- 第八十二章 命运
- 第八十三章 第二笔网贷
- 第八十四章 合谋骗保
- 第八十五章 破解了一半
- 第八十六章 猫和老鼠
- 第八十七章 英雄
- 第八十八章 自首
- 第八十九章 谜面就是谜底
- 第九十章 侯叔
- 第九十一章 选择
- 第九十二章 真相
- 第九十三章 终章
FAQ
Is this a series or a standalone novel?
From the available information, Madman Detective tells a complete story around detective He Yan, with a main line running from his departure from the police force to founding a consulting firm, getting caught up in a series of cases, and moving toward a resolution of the truth; it can be read as a standalone novel. Whether sequels exist is not stated, so readers can simply start with this single volume.
Are the cases closer to honkaku mystery or social-school?
The information presents complex cases such as identity theft, murder swaps, and livestreamed cries for help, with the emphasis on the intertwining of the criminals' madness and the protagonist's psychological predicament—closer to social-school and psychologically oriented crime fiction than to honkaku puzzle solving centered on locked-room tricks. Readers who prefer social-school suspense will find it easier to get into.
Will the protagonist's bipolar disorder affect the reading experience?
Bipolar disorder is an important background to He Yan's actions and judgments and runs throughout his investigations; it is not a label mentioned in passing. Readers need to accept the narrative tension created by the character's emotional ups and downs. If you are sensitive to depictions of mental illness, try the first few chapters before deciding whether to continue.
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
空城
Author
Kong Cheng is an author who writes in the suspense and mystery genre. Public information about the author is limited: nationality, dates of birth and death, and an English name are not confirmed. According to the library's records, Kong Cheng has two works, The Three-Person Major Crimes Team and The Mad Detective, both categorized as suspense and mystery, which indicates a focus on crime investigation and detective fiction. The titles suggest stories built around team-based case solving or an eccentric detective figure, with an emphasis on plot momentum and suspense. Although the author's personal background and remarks on writing have not been made public, and the number of works remains small, the two titles belong to the same genre, showing a sustained interest in this field. For readers who enjoy suspense and mystery, Kong Cheng's works offer a point of entry worth watching, and future writing is worth following.
