Crime & mystery

BEFORE WE WERE MONSTERS

by Katniss Hsiao

Description

PERFUME meets SILENCE OF THE LAMB in contemporary Taipei, with a touch of Mariana Enriquez. A dark, searing, astonishingly confident debut that announces the arrival of a major crime writer.


Eve is a young and quiet crime scene cleaner. A former "super smeller", she lost her sense of smell after a tragic incident, only to have it come alive at scenes of death and decomposition. One night, she is tasked to cleaning up a suicide, not knowing it was a murder scene. With all trace evidence gone, she becomes the police’s No. 1 suspect. Even begins a desperate quest to clear her name, following the elusive scent left by the murderer, even enlisting the help of notorious serial killer/artist, Triple C, to understand the inner workings of a psychopathic mind. To hunt the monster, she must become a monster herself. 

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Rights Information

Eksmo (Russia)
Kobiece (Poland)
Nha Nam (Vietnam)
Suhrkamp (Germany)
Offer (Thailand)
TV rights optioned by Outland Film

Author Biography

Katniss Hsiao is a young novelist and screenwriter. She has a BA in History from National Taiwan University. A lifelong reader of crime fiction and film buff, Katniss currently works for a film production company. BEFORE WE WERE MONSTER is her debut novel.

The Grayhawk Agency

The Grayhawk Agency

Founded in 2008 by Gray Tan, we are a leading literary agency in Asia, representing over 200 foreign publishers and agents in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. We also represent a select list of Asian authors in film/tv and translation, whose works have been licensed in over 30 countries and to production companies in Asia, Europe, and Hollywood.

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Ink
  • Orginal LanguageChinese complex
  • ISBN/Identifier 9789863875772
  • Publication Country or regionTaiwan
  • FormatPaperback
  • Pages383
  • ReadershipGeneral
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Original Language TitleChinese Complex
  • Copyright Year2022

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