The Ghost-Laughing Stone
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Summary
To clear his name, Hu Yanyun set out to track down the killer—only for another murder to occur ten years later in a locked woodland cabin.
Faced with the bizarre case, Lin Xiangming told Hu Yanyun: "If you want to find the truth, I'm afraid you'll have to dig deep into history."
Another ten years passed. Those who had lived through the case were now some impoverished, some rising and falling in business, some frail with age, some gravely ill... After tasting all the flavors and bittersweetness of the world, they returned, as if by unspoken agreement, to Guixiaoshi once more.
Just when everything seemed settled, Hu Yanyun inadvertently glimpsed a corner of the truth. Shocked, he remembered Lin Xiangming's words and boarded a train heading north, "traveling" through the long years to the starting point of it all—the turbulent 1960s...
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Mystery fans who enjoy the combination of orthodox and social-school deduction
- Readers interested in Beijing culture, urban history, and folk legends
- Audiences who appreciate meticulous criminal investigation details and forensic evidence plots
- Readers who like multi-timeline narratives and deep analysis of complex character relationships
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment who are averse to heavy real-world issues
- Audiences sensitive to detailed crime descriptions and the darker sides of human nature
Reading tips
- While reading, pay attention to timeline shifts and foreshadowing details, and enjoy the puzzle-like pleasure of solving the mystery.
- You may combine Beijing's urban geography and historical background to understand the story's atmosphere and enhance immersion.
- After finishing the ending, revisit the main characters' choices and motives to appreciate the author's portrayal of human complexity.
About the publisher
New Star Press focuses on classic works, mystery and detective fiction, science fiction, history, foreign literature and art, and its 602 titles in the library show a balance between popular reading and humanistic depth. Representative books include The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Illustrated Collector's Edition, And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Player of Games, Local Government in Qing China, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Collection of Fine Ukiyo-e Prints, spanning classic literature, detective fiction, science fiction, local history and visual art. Its authors and contributors include William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie and Iain M. Banks, as well as translators such as Zhu Shenghao and Su Fuzhong and illustrators such as John Gilbert and George Cruikshank. Known for the detective series Midnight Library and for social-science and humanities titles, the press emphasizes edition design and reading experience; public information is limited, so this profile highlights the publishing features reflected in the library's books.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 鬼笑石（上）
- 第一卷 九十年代
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第四章
- 第五章
- 第六章
- 第七章
- 第八章
- 第二卷 六十年代
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第三卷 〇〇年代
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第四章
- 鬼笑石（下）
- 第三卷 〇〇年代
- 第五章
- 第六章
- 第四卷 七十年代
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第五卷 一〇年代
- 第一章
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第四章
- 第五章
FAQ
Will it affect my understanding if I haven't read Hu Yanyun's previous works?
Does this book's mystery style lean more toward orthodox or social-school?
Is the forensic and criminal investigation knowledge in the book professional?
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About the author
Huyan Yun, whose original name is Zhang Wei, was born in Beijing in 1976 and is a Chinese writer of mystery fiction. He previously worked as a journalist and made his debut in 2009 with Metamorphosis, for which some critics have called him a "revolutionary of Chinese-language mystery fiction." His works include the "Truth Reasoning Master" series, The Yellow Emperor's Curse, The Black Basin, and the "Fate Trilogy"—Sweeping Rat Ridge, The Empty City Stratagem, and Ghost Laughing Stone—as well as Impossible Survival, Father's Revenge, A Record of Ancient Chinese Strange Tales 3, and The Collected Mystery Novels of Huyan Yun. His writing blends the orthodox puzzle-solving tradition with social mystery fiction and also touches on historical and folk-literature themes. Some of his works have been adapted for film and television and translated for overseas readers.
