The Praying Mantis

Victor WangNew Star Press · ChinaDec 2021

Rating 3.2
Word count
230K words
Chapters
52
ISBN
9787513307475

Tags

War and Military Fiction Suspense ThrillerRisk ControlCriminal PsychologySocial CritiqueFemale Perspective

Summary

A scandal erupts at the renowned automaker Guanchì, pointing directly to quality problems that have damaged consumers' health. Yun Wei, a newcomer in Guanchì's legal department, is assigned to handle the dispute. After several rounds of investigation, Yun Wei confirms that product problems do exist at Guanchì, but when she tries to defend the victims' rights, she discovers that behind the victims stands a meticulously organized group intent on taking down Guanchì. From beginning to end, she was merely a mantis used as a weapon by others... Layer upon layer of deception, one calculation after another—as a mantis, how can she escape to safety?

Editor's review

This is a suspense novel that begins with a corporate product-quality dispute. The story starts as Yun Wei, a newcomer in the legal department, investigates product problems at Guanchì, and as she tries to defend the victims' rights, she discovers another meticulously organized group behind them—and that she herself is merely a "mantis" being used. The novel interweaves workplace predicaments with a chain of deceptions, driving the pace through layer upon layer of reversals; its appeal lies in the escalating calculations over "who is using whom" and in how the protagonist protects herself and breaks out of a passive situation. For readers who enjoy urban suspense, corporate intrigue, and strongly plotted narrative, the book offers an immersive puzzle-solving experience. While reading, pay attention to the groundwork laid for characters' motives and to the design of information gaps—these are the key to understanding the reversals.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read as continuously as possible and watch for the detail clues planted before each reversal.
  2. While reading, note each faction's goals and the information gaps to clarify who is using whom.
  3. After finishing, revisit the opening chapters to appreciate the echoes between the foreshadowing and the ending.

About the publisher

New Star Press China · Founded in 1989

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

  1. 版权信息
  2. 一 尴尬的早晨
  3. 二 替天行道六人团
  4. 三 电动汽车与流产
  5. 四 阅后即焚
  6. 五 付钱的叫客户，被卖的叫资源
  7. 六 诡异的短信
  8. 七 人家买官司
  9. 八 鬼马小葛
  10. 九 矬子里拔将军
  11. 十 危险的游戏
  12. 十一 伪专家谈伪命题
  13. 十二 1号当事人的血泪史
  14. 十三 专家，专为自家
  15. 十四 电动汽车与新生儿畸形
  16. 十五 兔子急了
  17. 十六 四人一台戏
  18. 十七 初探EMC
  19. 十八 屁股决定脑袋
  20. 十九 再探EMC
  21. 二十 新能源，幌子还是阴谋？
  22. 二十一 什么样的侯董决定什么样的冠驰
  23. 二十二 鸡心与心机
  24. 二十三 冤家路窄
  25. 二十四 大戏开场
  26. 二十五 四个一致
  27. 二十六 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后
  28. 二十七 猫和老鼠
  29. 二十八 奈何明月照沟渠
  30. 二十九 挡哪儿？
  31. 三十 进行性核上神经麻痹症
  32. 三十一 冒公司之大不韪
  33. 三十二 危险分子
  34. 三十三 大空头
  35. 三十四 捉贼拿赃
  36. 三十五 神奇的劳力士
  37. 三十六 神秘的段总
  38. 三十七 铤而走险
  39. 三十八 人人都是影帝
  40. 三十九 企业人与社会人
  41. 四十 致命一击
  42. 四十一 昔日宠儿，今日公敌
  43. 四十二 三凤求凰
  44. 四十三 专利怪物
  45. 四十四 幸福的“蜜周”
  46. 四十五 梦想与使命
  47. 四十六 过去、现在和将来
  48. 四十七 同病相怜
  49. 四十八 分道扬镳
  50. 四十九 送你离开，千里之外
  51. 五十 云蒸霞蔚，行路致远
  52. 补记

FAQ

Is this a purely legal novel? Not entirely. The legal dispute is the entry point, but the core leans more toward suspense and corporate intrigue, focusing on multi-party calculations and a chain of deceptions. If you expect rigorous depictions of legal procedure, your expectations may diverge; if you enjoy strong plot reversals, it should suit you well.
What kind of character is the protagonist Yun Wei? She is a newcomer in Guanchì's legal department who gets drawn into the affair by handling a product-quality dispute. During her investigation she gradually discovers the problems, then finds that the organization behind the scenes is using her as a tool. The story unfolds around her investigation, entrapment, and breakout, and readers can follow her perspective as the truth is gradually revealed.
What does the title "Mantis" mean? In the context of the story, "mantis" points to the protagonist's situation of being used as a tool, carrying the implication of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." It prompts readers to focus on the calculative relationships among the various factions rather than only on the surface product-quality dispute.

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About the author

Victor Wang Author · China · 1962

Wang Qiang, born in 1962 in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and known in English as Victor Wang, is a versatile author whose work spans English-language education, computer science, and cultural writing. He holds a bachelor's degree in English language and literature from Peking University and a master's in computer science from the State University of New York, and is a co-founder of New Oriental and ZhenFund, having served as vice president and chairman of New Oriental. A noted book collector, he has written such works as Reading Ruined Me, A Bookworm's Oxford Summer, The Postman of Ideas, and English textbooks including Wang Qiang's Spoken English. The library holds thirty of his works, covering a wide range of subjects: computer and business management titles such as Rigorous System Design, 6G, IoT Big Data Processing, and E-commerce Data Analysis; a scientific monograph on the Late Cretaceous hadrosaur fauna of Laiyang, Shandong; and fiction and suspense anthologies including the three-volume Circle Trap and Hitchcock suspense stories. His writing combines professional rigor with readability, moving easily between technology, popular science, management, and general reading with an erudite yet practical style.