Pages: 240
Published: 28th February 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Content warnings: Violence, injury detail
In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their peaceful, quiet life. But when they hear about several Russian girls showing up dead in nearby towns, they decide to investigate – and ultimately discover that this mystery is much closer to home than they ever imagined.
In This Foul Murder, Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned by Roma to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and bring him to Zhouzhuang. Time is of the essence aboard the week-long Trans-Siberian Express, but when someone is murdered on board, Benedikt and Marshall convince the officer in charge not to stop the train so that they aren’t thrown off-schedule. Instead, they pretend that they are investigators and promise they can solve the murder, but as they dig deeper, they realize that the murder might having surprising ties to their own mission…
Two short stories featuring my favourite characters from my favourite duology? Yes please!
An important thing to note is that this book is not really ideal to be read as a standalone. They refer to and even resolve key plot points from the These Violent Delights duology and Foul Lady Fortune.
A Foul Thing
If we needed proof that the intensity of the world of Secret Shanghai can be matched in a short story, then here it is. The writing is captivating and the sense of mystery more alive than ever as the two star-crossed protagonists return from the dead with a new dynamic; married and very much on the same side, yet still showing all the qualities that made them so great in enmity.
We are transported from the chaos and debauchery of Shanghai to the tranquility of Zhuzhuang, the village that Juliette and Roma now call home. There, they almost live the quiet life, dealing in arms and living under aliases for they are still believed dead, but for good measure they naturally have weapons concealed under or within every piece of furniture. And Juliette, ruthless though she is, can never resist a mysterious set of circumstances.
The mystery is well developed too, and it is fun how the events here are so intrinsically linked with the ongoing story of Foul Lady Fortune. Secret experiments and suspicious deaths are rife, and the familiar name of elusive, intriguing former White Flowers scientist Lourens van Dijk is apparently connected to it all. Chloe Gong has this talent for gradually unfurling these details in a way that brings you to the edge of your seat and delivering all kinds of possibilities, and this is no exception.
It is all in the plotting and the amount of depth brought out by the storytelling, and at the same time it is great fun to read. There are moments where it seriously gathers pace such as the race against time to save Mila or when Juliette and Roma are searching for Mr Piotr, but these are complimented by the immaculate scene setting and humorous interactions.
Speaking of which, the closeness of the relationship between Juliette and Roma is a central part of this story. They share an almost telepathic understanding and while Juliette is always there to land a fatal shot to an adversary, Roma is there to pick up the pieces. A lot of time is spent with just the two of them remarking on their mutual love or just teasing each other, which would in most cases be tiresome, but after all the trials Juliette and Roma have had to endure, we can cut them a bit of slack.
As for the other characters, there is a lot to like about Yulin and Mila. They are both quiet and unassuming to begin with, but with a strong inner resilience that becomes more prominent later on, and there are engaging scenes when Juliette teaches Mila how to fight. This development in a story of little more than 100 pages is impressive, and Yulin is also quite shrewd, given how quickly he clocks Juliette and Roma’s true identities.
The setting of Zhuzhuang is a world away from Shanghai, but extremely well realised, such is the detail that Gong injects into her writing. Just like that, we can almost see the canal that separates Juliette and Roma’s home from that of their matronly neighbour, as well as the winding streets which become a battleground when the hitmen come in pursuit of Mila.
Overall, this is a delightful story that encapsulates everything that makes the These Violent Delights so wonderful and puts it in a microcosm. The author’s style is better suited to long, twisting plots, but a very good balance is struck here between the characters and the mystery at hand, and in this particular world, everything is irresistible.
This Foul Murder
Murder on the Trans Siberian Express. That is the basis for this story, which reacquaints us with Benedikt and the love of his life Marshall Seo as they make the journey to Vladivostok aiming to track down Lourens, but as luck would have it a man dies in suspicious circumstances just as they board the train. It leads to an intelligently woven tale with a surprise in store at the end.
The exciting part here is seeing the two protagonists pretend to be private investigators and their attempts to maintain that pretence, but the stakes are high as there is a murderer on the train and any stop along the way would give them the opportunity to escape. This race against time adds extra weight to the plot and makes it rather intense.
Perhaps the only disappointment is that it is the kind of story that could have done with being slightly longer, just so the suspects could be developed more and for some of its intricacies to fully take shape. However, it is very good for what it is, and the unexpected ending works well as it ties in to the overarching events of this book and the series as a whole.
As for Marshall and Benedikt, they compliment each other so well and it is surely impossible not to enjoy the dynamic they share. They both have a nervous energy about them which they channel in different ways, with Benedikt acting as the straight man of the two, although Marshall shows all his powers of deduction in a gripping final part of the story.
The writing is once again brimming with detail and the precise, thoughtful plotting and character building that makes this world so wholesome. As proven in some famous works of literature, a train is fertile ground for a murder mystery, yet if anything what makes this one so notable is the sheer distance it covers. The Trans Siberian railway is an unbelievably long trip if you are there for the entire ride.
Overall, this story fast-paced with a plot that gains a huge amount of impetus as the mystery unfolds, but it is also not without some lighter moments. Benedikt and Marshall can always be relied upon as a great double act and the setting acts as another significant asset. It may not be as good as A Foul Thing, but it still makes for essential reading.
Both stories were very enjoyable to read. Of the two, I loved A Foul Thing just a little bit more – maybe because it felt closer to the storytelling that makes the other books in this series so special. But as a whole, this book is a treat.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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