Dong Yang:
“I am delighted to see this book take a significant step forward, allowing readers and audiences to discover how mystery writing can deliver the thrilling escapism of an imagined world while also offering a deeply engaged participation in social reality.”

Shen Zhengnan:
“Behind a killing without hatred, might there lie a story of gradual disappointment in the world, accumulated day by day? Read The Method of Killing Without Hatred to find out.”

Lin Siyan:
“Through the subject of indiscriminate murder, The Method of Killing Without Hatred reflects on the profound question, ‘Why do people commit crimes?’—and succeeds as a compelling exploration of criminology.”

Chan Ho-kei:
“This is not a mystery novel aimed purely at entertainment; it is a work of social fiction that poses questions and invites us all to seek the answers together.”

Zhang Yaosheng:
“This work leads readers into a story filled with sorrow, helplessness, and rage. It washes away fear with tears, achieving a kind of social catharsis, and in turn, offers healing.”

Tsai Yi-cheng:
“Having a novel like this, one that belongs to Taiwanese society, allows us to think more completely, more three-dimensionally, and more deeply about complex issues—and that is a wonderful thing.”

Taiwan University Mystery Fiction Club:
“Its critique of social issues and institutions in Taiwan is well-structured, and it puts significant effort into depicting courtroom and law enforcement scenes, offering a glimpse into corners rarely seen by the general public.”

Taipei Medical University Mystery Fiction Club:
“This is a fast-paced mystery novel. I particularly enjoyed its exploration of criminal psychology—it is well worth reading!”

★ Strongly Tied to Social Reality: Adapted from a well-known case of indiscriminate murder in Taiwan, this novel focuses on the hotly debated issue of random violence, confronting questions of human nature and crime in real-world society with powerful contemporary relevance.

★ Suspenseful Plotting: Using a series of seemingly unrelated indiscriminate killings as threads, the story gradually unveils a vast conspiracy hidden beneath the surface. The interweaving of clues and the layered progression of the investigation deliver the suspense and twists that mystery readers crave.

★ Deep Exploration of Society and Human Nature: Going beyond simple case resolution, the novel delves into questions surrounding the motives of those who commit indiscriminate murder, the meaning and function of the death penalty, and the brutal realities of a dog-eat-dog society. It explores the social roots of crime and the complexity of human nature, prompting readers to reflect deeply.

★ Unique Character Perspective: The story is centered on Yu Yunzhi, a victim’s family member who lost his wife, who takes on the role of defense attorney for an indiscriminate killer. This contradictory position adds tension to the narrative and allows readers to view the issue of random violence from multiple angles.

Any victim will do—I just want to be sentenced to death.

Why do people become perpetrators of indiscriminate violence?
And why would a man who lost his wife to such violence agree to defend the killer?

Death brings fear, but what is even more terrifying is death without reason.
When indiscriminate killings erode our sense of rationality,
who can see the whole picture and stop the tragedy from repeating?

This novel follows Yu Yunzhi, a lawyer who lost his wife five years ago in a random murder. The perpetrator’s suicide in prison left his motives unknown—a wound that has never healed. Five years later, a psychologist approaches Yu with a request to serve as defense counsel for a man accused of randomly killing a child at an amusement park. Driven by the desire to uncover the true motives behind indiscriminate murder, Yu accepts the case despite intense public scrutiny.

The defense proves exceedingly difficult. The defendant is in such poor mental health that he cannot communicate effectively, and during the second trial, he abruptly changes his plea, insisting only on receiving the death penalty. Meanwhile, a police shootout erupts on the streets of Kaohsiung, Yu’s assistant is accidentally injured, and Yu learns from a friend in law enforcement that multiple unsolved murders of homeless people around the time of the child-killing case—though committed by different individuals—share ballistics linking them to the same gun. Yu begins to suspect that a much larger conspiracy may connect these seemingly separate acts of indiscriminate violence.

As Yu pursues the truth behind these crimes, hoping to prevent further tragedies, he finds himself confronting the ultimate questions about human nature, crime, and capital punishment: Is death a responsibility or a release for the random killer? Is the death penalty a just ruling that consoles, or a tool to be exploited? And ultimately, Yu must face the true test of confronting evil in its most complex form.

Zhou Dong is a renowned suspense and mystery writer from Taiwan. He won the 14th Taiwan Mystery Writers Association’s Grand Prize for his story “The Fuse of Evolution,” demonstrating his solid command of the craft.

He is the author of the “Spiritual Detective” series, which includes the novels Huineng’s Hatchet and The Limping Crane’s Wing. His new work, The Method of Killing Without Hatred, is one of his representative novels, inspired by a well-known social case in Taiwan. Zhou Dong’s writing emphasizes a blend of knowledge with explorations of social and humanistic issues, aiming to spark readers’ interest and encourage thoughtful habits through the medium of suspense and mystery fiction.

In addition to writing novels, Zhou frequently contributes reviews, analyses, and commentary for various works of fiction. He also brings nearly twenty years of experience in English language teaching and research to his work. He has collaborated with members of the Taiwan Mystery Writers Association to translate and edit the writing reference book The Mystery Writing Handbook, demonstrating his engagement with both literary creation and literary scholarship.