Chasing the Murderer

乾离Sep 2026

3.0

Word count: 161K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

In the late autumn of 2003, a string of rainy-night robbery-murders struck Xicheng. Most victims were laid-off workers. Detective Liu Yuzhu ultimately identified the suspect, Zhou Desheng, through a flattened coin left at the scene and an industrial anti-slip shoe print. Zhou, a laid-off fitter, turned to crime under crushing medical bills for his father's pneumoconiosis and mounting debt. He killed four people before police arrested him on a rainy night, restoring order to society. The case reflects the structural tragedy of the layoff era. The authorities sealed the coin away, perhaps as a symbol of an era's pain and reflection.

Editor's review

Tracing the Culprit follows the series of rainy-night robbery-homicides that struck Xicheng in the late autumn of 2003, interweaving the tension of a criminal pursuit with the social wounds of the layoff era. Detective Liu Yuzhu identifies the suspect Zhou Desheng through a flattened coin and an industrial anti-slip shoe print—a piece of deduction both solid and vividly grounded in the scene. And because Zhou Desheng, a laid-off fitter, turns to crime under the weight of his father's pneumoconiosis and mounting debt, the case resists any simple divide between good and evil. The book's real strength lies in placing an individual case back within its structural circumstances, letting readers see the pain of an era in transition behind the crime. The sealing away of the coin carries symbolic weight, pointing to the need for memory and reflection. It will appeal to readers who enjoy social-issue crime narratives and care about social change during the state-enterprise reform period. As you read, watch for the echoes between investigative detail and character circumstance, and consider how the author handles the problems of the times within a genre framework.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy social-issue crime fiction and detective narratives
Readers interested in social change during the layoff wave and state-enterprise reform
Readers of documentary-style literature drawn to the structural factors behind a case
Readers who hope to understand the social mood of the early 2000s through fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, healing, or purely entertaining reads
Readers sensitive to violent crime and heavy social themes
Mystery fans expecting intricate honkaku-style puzzles

Reading tips

Read first along the investigative thread, noting how physical evidence such as the coin and shoe print drives the identification of the suspect.
After finishing, return to the chapters on Zhou Desheng's circumstances and consider the relationship between personal choice and structural pressure.
Extend your reading with background material on the layoff wave and pneumoconiosis to deepen your understanding of the case's social context.
For a book club, organize discussion around the symbolic meaning of the sealed coin.

版权信息
第一章：午夜凶案
第二章：线索排查
第三章：出现分歧
第四章：雨夜来袭
第五章：针锋相对
第六章：双线推进
第七章：凝视深渊
第八章：无处可寻
第九章：猎物升级
第十章：全员行动
第十一章：风雨满城
第十二章：半枚鞋印
第十三章：比拼耐心
第十四章：案前踩点
第十五章：按兵不动
第十六章：不露痕迹
第十七章：消失雨中
第十八章：目标出现
第十九章：意料之中
第二十章：提高警惕
第二十一章：裂痕之下
第二十二章：立即合围
第二十三章：呼啸而过
第二十四章：狩猎地图
第二十五章：赶赴现场
第二十六章：疾风围捕
第二十七章：暴雨如注
第二十八章：困兽之斗
第二十九章：黎明将至
第三十章：天色泛白
第三十一章：永夜沉沦
第三十二章：无声隐喻
第三十三章：良知牵绊
第三十四章：局面双输
第三十五章：阳光之下
第三十六章：急火攻心
第三十七章：无尽煎熬
第三十八章：唏嘘慨叹
第三十九章：精神传承
第四十章：尘埃落定

FAQ

Is this book based on a true case or is it fiction?

The materials do not clearly state whether the case comes entirely from real events; they give only the story's time, place, and characters. It is best read as a crime narrative grounded in the social background of the early 2000s rather than cited directly as documentary reporting.

Why is the suspect Zhou Desheng's motive worth attention?

Zhou Desheng is a laid-off fitter whose father has pneumoconiosis and needs enormous medical fees, while he himself is drowning in debt. These circumstances lift the case beyond an ordinary robbery-homicide and reflect the structural predicament of some people during the layoff era—the core of the book's social-issue character.

What does the "sealed coin" signify in the book?

The materials mention that the authorities seal away the coin and say it may symbolize the pain and reflection of an era. This treatment turns the physical evidence from a tool of detection into a carrier of memory, prompting readers to look beyond the pursuit to the era's wounds and reflection.

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About the author

乾离 Author

Qian Li is a Chinese-language author about whom limited public information is available. It can be confirmed that two works have appeared under this name, with the representative titles Punishing Violence and Chasing the Culprit. Judging from the titles and the common categories assigned to them, Qian Li's writing centers on two directions: social fiction and suspenseful mystery. Punishing Violence leans toward conflicts and questions of order in social reality, while Chasing the Culprit follows the trail of suspense and puzzle-solving. Both books use a case or an investigation as the driving force of the plot, showing the author's attention to tense narrative pacing and social issues. Because no reliable public information is available on Qian Li's nationality, dates of birth and death, education, or writing career, a detailed personal biography cannot be given; readers and researchers can currently understand the author's approach and narrative style only through the works themselves.