Under pressure to quickly resolve the case, a female detective from the Serious Crimes Unit is sent to investigate the kidnapping of the scion of a restaurant chain empire. The fraught relations within the victim’s household, involving everyone from servants to rivals for the family fortune, reveal hints of a long-suppressed family secret. Delving deeper, the detective finds that her own thoughts are beginning to reflect the twisted case she is tasked with solving. Author Chen Xue, who has probed the subtle workings of the human psyche in numerous thrillers, stays true to form. Initially presenting as a classic mystery story, the detective of Dear Accomplice must do more than clarify the murky circumstances surrounding the kidnapping. If she is to understand the culprit’s motive, she will have to face down her own demons in a dark thriller that questions our definitions of family.