21 Immortals introduces an exciting new voice in international noir—for readers of Jo Nesbø, Keigo Higashino, and John Burdett. Inspector Mislan Latif’s final case after a long night’s shift could be his last. Called to a wealthy neighborhood of Kuala Lumpur, he finds a crime scene unlike any he has encountered before: pristine, the victims a family seated at dinner, Mona Lisa smiles fixed to … dinner, Mona Lisa smiles fixed to their faces, frozen mid-gesture around the traditional Chinese New Year dish of yee sang, signifying prosperity, longevity, many good things—though it’s not that time of year. It makes an eerie, chilling tableau of death, but signifying what? The celebrity of the father, fashion magnate Robert Tham, has already drawn a media throng, and soon the upper echelons of the police have taken an interest, bringing pressure to solve the crime quickly.
But every clue points to another unknown. This isn’t the primary scene: where is it? What are the motives of Tham’s younger business partner, the attractive Miss Irene? What of his connections to an old-school criminal gang and the triads? With rival units of the police seeking to co-opt and, he suspects, bury the case, Inspector Mislan’s investigation takes him to every level of this modern, multi-ethnic, American-pop-culture-influenced society, to where moneyed power and influence demand their say. Maverick, hard-boiled yet tender, a single father raising a young child, Mislan must rely on his team—and the politically savvy woman leading Major Crimes who is his boss—to support, protect him from the corruption above, and help find a way to ensure the course of justice.
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With 21 Immortals, Rozlan Mohd Noor proves that a great character can be found anywhere on the globe. Undaunted and determined, Inspector Mislan Latif is my kind of detective. Harry Bosch would ride shotgun with him anytime.
A compelling and nefarious crime with corruption at its heart. Inspector Mislan is a fierce adversary.
The first and the best of the group
One of the best police procedurals I’ve ever read. Will read more from this author!
21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders by Ruzlan Mohd Noor takes readers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An investigator with Major Crimes, he is sent to a murder scene that is going to prove to be unique as will be just about everything in the case. He has no idea what he is walking into, but the swarming media makes it clear word has gotten out.
Inside the wealthy home and at the dining room table there is a family of three who are all very clearly deceased. All three are fully dressed, sitting in their chairs, with plates and dishes of food before them. The traditional Chinese food eaten primarily during the Chinese New Year to celebrate the holiday, yee sang, is in abundance though there is certainly nothing celebratory here. While it is a murder scene, it is obviously not the primary murder scene.
With an absence of obvious body trauma, it is clear to Inspector Mislan and other investigators that Mr. Robert Tham, his wife, and their ten-year-old son, Lionel, were probably poisoned. They were then stripped, washed, embalmed, and perfumed before being dressed and arranged at the table as if to enjoy the holiday feast laid before them. All three have disturbing smiles as they are posed as if time froze during a happy moment.
Who did this, how, and for what reason are clearly the opening questions in a case that hits a roadblock from the start thanks to a lack of forensic clues. A hard case made harder by the fact that this is a wealthy family with secrets and connections that Inspector Mislan has to ferret out while also dealing with internal police politics, possible corruption in the department, and a host of other matters.
21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan And The Yee Sang Murders by Rozlan Mohd Noor is a complex and interesting police procedural. According to the book jacket copy, the author served as an investigator in the CID of The Royal Malaysian Police as well as other jobs before retiring and turning his hand to writing. This is book one that was first published in 2010 overseas and came out last year by way of Arcade CrimeWise. That life experience clearly shows through and one gets the sense that Inspector Mislan most likely shares quite a number of traits with the author.
There are numerous landmark and cultural references throughout the book as the read is deeply steeped in the culture of the region. No doubt much of that slipped by this reader who had no clue. Imagine trying to read a Bosch book by Michael Connelly with absolutely no frame of reference for the LAPPD, Los Angeles, the state of California, etc., and you have some idea what I was up against here. Additionally, most of the sentences are a bit stilted, making for a choppy read for this reader.
Complicated and very enjoyable if you like police procedurals, this is one to take a look at as 21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan And The Yee Sang Murders is a good one. I am glad I saw the review last month by Jeanne at the BPL as well as this short blurb about the book last month at Lesa’s Book Critiques. The second book in this series, DUKE: Inspector Mislan and the Expressway Murders, is now on the way to my local library branch.
21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders
Ruzlan Mohd Noor
Arcade CrimeWise
https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/arcade-publishing/9781950691401/21-immortals/
August 2020
ISBN# 978-1-950691-40-1
Hardback (also available in eBook format)
288 Pages
My copy came via the Lakewood Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2021
I like to read books by authors from, for want of a better word, exotic locales. Although this book took place in Malaysia, the author never really developed the unique culture of the area. It was like the McDonalds of mystery novels. That would be okay if the story was compelling. It wasn’t. The plot consisted, for the first few hundred pages of recaps of how little the investigator learned. The characters were formulaic, and generally unlikeable.
Rozian Mohd Noor tells the harrowing tale of a tough cop on the streets of Kuala Lumpur who attempts to solve the grotesque murder of an entire family. The suspense winds tighter with each new twist. Inspector Mislan, Noor’s all-too-human hero, is the perfect cop to solve this perfect crime.
Razor-sharp and full of the grit and color of the streets of Kuala Lumpur, 21 Immortals is a gripping examination of the link between organized crime and politics. Total edge-of-the-seat stuff.
From a macabre murder scene to an unexpected ending, Noor effortlessly leads us through the complexities of a police investigation supercharged with corruption, politics, and unfettered egos. His style puts the reader always at Inspector Mislan’s side, discovering evidence and identifying suspects in the same breath. Nothing is predictable in this atmospheric story set in exotic Malaysia.
Rozlan Mohd Noor’s 21 Immortals is set in a vividly evoked contemporary Kuala Lumpur and has all the makings of classic detective novel — a tough, engaging detective, a story that grips from the first page, and an ending that is just as intriguing and satisfying as you hoped it would be. Highly recommended.
3.5 stars rounded down. This is a good police procedural, set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The author is an ex Royal Malaysian Police investigator and court prosecutor. The central figure is Inspector Mislan Latif who is a single parent, because his wife left him and their son, Daniel, now 6 years old.
Latif is called to the scene of a high profile murder. Robert Tham, head of a profitable company called RT, and his wife and son, were murdered.
Inspector Mislan is in the Major Crimes division of the Royal Malaysian Police. He and his team along with the medical examiner slowly unravel how the murder was committed, who did it and why. However, he has difficulty in pursuing the case, because of corrupt and incompetent superiors. His immediate boss protects him from their interference long enough for him to build a case.
He neglects his son as he works nonstop on these murders. Latif is a determined and dedicated police officer.
Pros: The book was well written with believable characters and a fast moving plot line. I read it in 3 days.
Cons: Latif is a chain smoker, constantly smoking in no smoking areas. While this may not be a big thing to some, 2 members of my immediate family have a genetic lung disease. They rely on people abiding by smoking rules.
Smoking quote: “He finishes the nasi lemak, gulps down the coffee, and lights a cigarette, ignoring the government policy of no smoking in the office. He is a police officer, and needs to smoke to melt his brain cells so he can think.”
Thanks to Simon and Schuster for sending me this eARC through Edelweiss