Chinese crime fiction in the UK

LONDON - The English version of Death Notice, a popular Chinese crime-fiction work by contemporary writer Zhou Haohui, has just been published in Britain.

The thriller, which has sold more than 1.2 million copies in China, is set in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. It follows an elite police squad as they hunt a vengeful killer who sends death notices to - and then executes - criminals the law cannot reach. Its British publisher, Head of Zeus, introduces the book on its website as "a hi-octane, hi-concept, cat-and-mouse thriller that adds an exhilarating new gear to police procedures".

Nicolas Cheetham from Head of Zeus tells Xinhua that he was struck by the book's "exemplary plotting and pace", and the final twist is brilliantly done.