Meet the Chinese authors whose books have gone global

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Author Zhou Haohui’s crime series, "Death Notice," is making its international debut in the UK this week, after selling more than 1.2 million books in his native country China.

Set in China’s southwestern city of Chengdu, "Death Notice" follows Captain Pei Tao as he and other detectives attempt to track down Eumenides, a shadowy vigilante who sends letters, or death notices, to people he believes have gotten away with crimes.

The book went on sale in the US last week. It is the latest Chinese crime novel to go abroad.

American publisher Doubleday is hoping the international release of "Death Notice" puts Zhou in the ranks of other contemporary Chinese novelists – like He Jiahong, Qiu Xiaolong, and A Yi. They all have struck a chord with a global audience telling stories from China’s criminal underbelly that are usually not exposed.

Zhou Haohui, the Chinese crime novelist whose books have sold over 1.2 million copies, hits American bookshelves for the first time, June 5, 2018. / Liu Lei

Modern-day China novels travel

Zhou said he is not surprised that the modern-day China novels are doing well overseas.

“Crime is a universal theme. When you are talking about crime it is criminal cases, the police in large cities, this suspenseful feeling of mystery,” Zhou told CGTN Digital when we spoke to him on Monday during his visit to Beijing. “I feel that readers all over the world like this kind of thing.”

He said crime is one of the universal themes that can easily transcend cultures, pointing out Hollywood director Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film “The Departed,” a remake of the Hong Kong film, “Infernal Affairs,” about a police mole infiltrating the mob. The drama was simply relocated to Boston from Hong Kong. “The Departed” went on to win four Oscars including Best Picture.

Zhou started out writing online in a private forum for about 4 to 5 years with a strong band of faithful readers not expecting to gain such a large cult following for his work.

"Death Notice," the first novel in author Zhou Haohui's Chinese crime trilogy, hit American bookshelves, June 5, 2018, for the first time.

Book buzz

While it may be too early to tell if Zhou has found success overseas, social media is already buzzing with talk about the book.

One fan tweeted, “Zhou Haohui’s crime novel ‘Death Notice’ trilogy set for US release. Guess I’ve found my new Jeff Lindsey (Dexter Series author)."

Book critic Rhonda Lomazow tweeted, “5 out of 5 stars to Death Notice by Zhou HaoHui. … tense twists (and) turns, a 'could not put down' thriller. Highly recommend.”

Zhou is unphased by all the fanfare.

/ Twitter/@montrAAnderson /@rhondareads

“I am happy to hear fans like it,” he told CGTN Digital. “As a writer you want to always write stories that keep fans wanting more, guessing, if not what is the point?”

Legal scholar and author He Jiahong reviewing one of the many books he has authored in his office at Renmin University in Beijing. / Jeff Wong

In good company

Zhou’s international debut follows that of several other Chinese authors who have gotten rave reviews overseas for writing Chinese crime novels.

“In China, crime novels are detective novels but I didn’t want to write my protagonists as a police officer. I wanted to create a defense lawyer… In 1994 I somehow got to know a special case of a wrongful conviction,” He Jiahong told CGTN Digital. “It gave me the basic idea of how to frame my novel.”

He is an international legal expert and scholar at the Renmin University of China in Beijing and the author of “Crime of Blood” – an international hit that has been translated into several languages including English with the title “Hanging Devils: Hong Jun Investigates.”

“I was a visiting scholar in France when a French lady studying wanted to write her dissertation on my novel,” He said. “A year later she sent me a copy of her dissertation. Then she told me in the letter that a French publisher was interested in my novel.”

CGTN Digital spoke with the legal scholar on Friday just before he was heading to Russia for the FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the Independent Ethics Committee of FIFA, one of the organization’s three judicial bodies.

“As a senior official for FIFA, I am invited to the opening ceremony of the World Cup,” He told CGTN Digital. “I like sports. I was a good fit for them. They were looking for someone who is an internationally known legal expert and likes sports.”

He has not released a new book in over a decade something fans have been hoping to change.

“I’m still thinking but I have to take a break. I have a lot of obligations,” He told CGTN Digital. “I have no time to write a novel since 1998.”

He Jiahong's international crime novel series about Hong Jun. / CGTN Digital

Beyond books

While He ponders whether or not to continue writing the tales of Hong Jun, Zhou has plans to take his storytelling beyond books.

“A Hong Kong company has the rights to the book to make a movie here,” Zhou said. “A number of companies in the US contacted me before the book was released in the US. My business partner and I have set up a film production company also.”

(Cover image: Author Zhou Haohui's crime trilogy is being released overseas in the US and Britain this summer. / CGTN Digital)