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The Girl with a Thousand Faces
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong that meshes ancient myths and local legends into a haunting story of ghosts, grief, and women who will not forgive.
When Mercy Chan washes up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only refuge she finds is the infamous, ghost-infested slum of Kowloon Walled City. Since then, she has rebuilt her life, working for the local triad as a ghost talker and dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt the district. The filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon have become her home.
But the past Mercy can’t remember isn't done with her. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. It claims to know Mercy—and secrets from her past that are best left forgotten.
As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.
When Mercy Chan washes up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only refuge she finds is the infamous, ghost-infested slum of Kowloon Walled City. Since then, she has rebuilt her life, working for the local triad as a ghost talker and dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt the district. The filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon have become her home.
But the past Mercy can’t remember isn't done with her. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. It claims to know Mercy—and secrets from her past that are best left forgotten.
As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2026
About the author
Sunyi Dean
15 books1,906 followersFacebook || Instagram ||Threads || Bluesky ||
Sunyi Dean is a writer of speculative fiction. Originally born in Texas and raised in Hong Kong, she now resides in a Yorkshire cottage full of music and books.
Her most recent novel, THE GIRL WITH A THOUSAND FACES, was inspired by her upbringing: her old high school was once a mission house on the edge of the original Walled City, and her grandparents survived the Japanese occupation during WW2.
In her spare time, she likes buying whisky, collecting dumbbells, and dying in jiu-jitsu. She also founded the Hugo-nominated Publishing Rodeo Podcast with fellow Tor author, Scott Drakeford.
Sunyi Dean is a writer of speculative fiction. Originally born in Texas and raised in Hong Kong, she now resides in a Yorkshire cottage full of music and books.
Her most recent novel, THE GIRL WITH A THOUSAND FACES, was inspired by her upbringing: her old high school was once a mission house on the edge of the original Walled City, and her grandparents survived the Japanese occupation during WW2.
In her spare time, she likes buying whisky, collecting dumbbells, and dying in jiu-jitsu. She also founded the Hugo-nominated Publishing Rodeo Podcast with fellow Tor author, Scott Drakeford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 760 reviews
May 12, 2026
"ghost-talker" is my new dream job
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
January 12, 2026
Generational trauma is perpetual but so are cats! (no I will not elaborate)
A ghost-talker confronts her missing past and the ghosts that linger in Sunyi Dean’s historical gothic feat, The Girl with a Thousand Faces. It feels like eons since I first discovered Sunyi Dean and drifting back into her work feels as languorous as a cat taking a long stretch in the sun—entirely out of sorts with the actual tone of Dean’s sophomore novel: a historical gothic fantasy all about ghosts and the cycles we perpetuate. The Girl with a Thousand Faces is as cutthroat as the ghosts left to steep in sadness, anger, and regret. At the helm, Mercy Chan, a fifty something ghost talker with a mysterious past facing down a ghostly killer intent on forcing her to confront her own forgotten ghosts. The Girl with a Thousand Faces makes the reader into a kind of specter, wandering Kowloon Walled City alongside Mercy as she unravels the past. Dragged down deep into waters ancient and strange, Sunyi Dean weaves a startling narrative that will have you questioning the true villains, be they paranormal or man made. Vindictive ghosts are one thing, but Dean’s true talent lies in her glimpse into the real horror beneath, the devastations of war, grief, and generational traumas—with everything a cost of ignoring that pain. Brave this strange ghostly saga and whatever you do don’t look down.
Read my review
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy.
Bookstagram | Blog
A ghost-talker confronts her missing past and the ghosts that linger in Sunyi Dean’s historical gothic feat, The Girl with a Thousand Faces. It feels like eons since I first discovered Sunyi Dean and drifting back into her work feels as languorous as a cat taking a long stretch in the sun—entirely out of sorts with the actual tone of Dean’s sophomore novel: a historical gothic fantasy all about ghosts and the cycles we perpetuate. The Girl with a Thousand Faces is as cutthroat as the ghosts left to steep in sadness, anger, and regret. At the helm, Mercy Chan, a fifty something ghost talker with a mysterious past facing down a ghostly killer intent on forcing her to confront her own forgotten ghosts. The Girl with a Thousand Faces makes the reader into a kind of specter, wandering Kowloon Walled City alongside Mercy as she unravels the past. Dragged down deep into waters ancient and strange, Sunyi Dean weaves a startling narrative that will have you questioning the true villains, be they paranormal or man made. Vindictive ghosts are one thing, but Dean’s true talent lies in her glimpse into the real horror beneath, the devastations of war, grief, and generational traumas—with everything a cost of ignoring that pain. Brave this strange ghostly saga and whatever you do don’t look down.
Read my review
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy.
Bookstagram | Blog
May 16, 2026
This didn't end up being the all-time favorite read that I was hoping for, but I still have to admire the author for telling an intriguing ghost story full of grief, vengeance and memory through such an unusual and bold narrative structure. This book certainly wasn't what I expected when I first picked it up and it also never stopped playing with my expectations as the story went on. I loved the first introduction that I got to this world. It's 1975 in the Walled City of Kowloon where the days are hot, the atmosphere is dark and the ghosts are plenty. It's the place where 50-something-year-old Mercy Chan works as a ghost talker for a triad queen, together with her ghost cat Bao. (I will never leave a cat unmentioned in my reviews, and Bao is important to me and to the story.) Nowadays Mercy is badass, snarky and just has her shit together, but her past is another thing entirely. She once washed up on a shore with no memories of her prior life, but she was already heavily scared and had a unexplainable violent nature. In present day she gets wrapped up in the planned demolition of Kowloon and in multiple unusual murders, and I was ready to read a 400+ page book of all of that. But the author had other plans and spends a good chunk of the book on telling the backstory of multiple characters thirty-three years in the past instead. It's what I meant when I mentioned the unusual and bold narrative structure, but I have to be honest: the change of pace kinda killed the original momentum for me. I had a hard time getting into the backstory, set in WWII when China was occupied by the Japanese, but overall I can see what Sunyi Dean tried to do here. And I also think that her plan worked out, just not super smoothly. But I found myself slowly invested in the past storyline and I also was rewarded for my patience with a pretty good twist. For a long time I had problems with seeing this as one coherent story, but now I can think about it as a whole. It's a story about war and trauma shaping people, about being driven by hate and rage, but also about being haunted by terrible decisions. There's a bleak and hopeless atmosphere throughout the whole book and even though it's a fantasy novel, it felt very grounded in reality and in human emotion. At parts it read like a horror novel, at parts the real-life war history took over and then it turned into a supernatural ghost story again. (At one point I even thought that it might turn into a monster romance, but fortunately the book didn't go that far.) It was quite the experience and it really had me involved in the story of two women throughout their lives (and deaths). I'm sure that this book will appeal to many readers, but be sure to expect the unexpected with this one.
Make sure to also check out AG's review when it's up. We did a buddy read :)
Huge thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Make sure to also check out AG's review when it's up. We did a buddy read :)
Huge thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️ 4.25 ⭐️ This was so much more than a simple story about a ghost talker who washed up on the shores of Hong Kong to find refuge in ghost-infested slums of Kowloon Walled City. It's a moving story about generational trauma, war, pain told through a lens of Chinese folklore. This book has the most organic blend of all the genres that I love-fantasy, horror, historical fiction. If you're looking for a more diverse read with a kick of magical realism, vengeance for past wrongdoings, look no further! The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a deeply heartfelt book that honors the forgotten and simply takes your breath away with its melodic prose.
Since the story takes place during WWII, the ghosts in this story are victims of violence and linger in the city of Kowloon, Hong Kong. In 1975 timeline (now), Mercy-Chan is a middle aged ghost talker (in her 50's) who helps the trapped spirits attain their justice. Her life is upended when a very powerful ghost comes to this city and causes havoc. It claims to know all about Mercy-Chan, her past secrets (some of which are best left forgot). Having no memories of her past, this fact begins to haunt her. The story then flips narrators in the second part of the book and we enter a past timeline where a mother and daughter, Siu Yin flee Hong Kong. They move to an island that is inhabited by ghosts but the island has a murky past with a darkness that calls to Siu Yin. The middle portion of flashbacks adds more depth and context to Mercy's life but doesn't answer all the questions until the very last part of the novel where everything comes together.. but with a twist.
Just look at this beautiful cover, it's stunning and should be enough to convince you to read this. What I loved the most about this book was how grief, sadness, sorrow was layered in all the crevices of this novel. It's a lush gothic tale about women who cannot forgive and the power of forgiveness. Beyond the mystery, the story is about the inherited generational pain. The suffering is perfectly presented in the backdrop of war where forgiveness almost seems impossible. The hurt is like a cycle, going from one person to the next unless that chain is broken. The idea of the girl wearing a thousand faces is a metaphor for emotional wounds that we hide behind many faces we put on. I absolutely encourage you to read this!
Narrator: Natalie Naudus (award winning!)
Duration: 13 hours and 2 minutes
Speed: 1.25x
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio/Tor Books and the author, Sunyi Dean for an early ALC!
Publication date: May 5, 2026
Since the story takes place during WWII, the ghosts in this story are victims of violence and linger in the city of Kowloon, Hong Kong. In 1975 timeline (now), Mercy-Chan is a middle aged ghost talker (in her 50's) who helps the trapped spirits attain their justice. Her life is upended when a very powerful ghost comes to this city and causes havoc. It claims to know all about Mercy-Chan, her past secrets (some of which are best left forgot). Having no memories of her past, this fact begins to haunt her. The story then flips narrators in the second part of the book and we enter a past timeline where a mother and daughter, Siu Yin flee Hong Kong. They move to an island that is inhabited by ghosts but the island has a murky past with a darkness that calls to Siu Yin. The middle portion of flashbacks adds more depth and context to Mercy's life but doesn't answer all the questions until the very last part of the novel where everything comes together.. but with a twist.
Just look at this beautiful cover, it's stunning and should be enough to convince you to read this. What I loved the most about this book was how grief, sadness, sorrow was layered in all the crevices of this novel. It's a lush gothic tale about women who cannot forgive and the power of forgiveness. Beyond the mystery, the story is about the inherited generational pain. The suffering is perfectly presented in the backdrop of war where forgiveness almost seems impossible. The hurt is like a cycle, going from one person to the next unless that chain is broken. The idea of the girl wearing a thousand faces is a metaphor for emotional wounds that we hide behind many faces we put on. I absolutely encourage you to read this!
Narrator: Natalie Naudus (award winning!)
Duration: 13 hours and 2 minutes
Speed: 1.25x
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio/Tor Books and the author, Sunyi Dean for an early ALC!
Publication date: May 5, 2026
May 8, 2026
4.5 ★— What a journey this was! I clearly should have read this earlier, as it’s been on my TBR for a while and I could have used a book like this to get me out of my reading slump.
Following Mercy Chan, a ghost talker living in 70s Hong Kong, this book portrays her past set against the backdrop of Japan’s occupation of China, and her present life in the aftermath of it.
And wow, wow, wow! I did not know this book would take me where it did. Mercy was a great main character to follow, and I appreciated so much that she was a woman in her 50s, when the fantasy genre is mostly dominated by younger protagonists.
Slightly grouchy, snarky, and clearly shaped by multiple decades of her job, I loved that she was a character who fully embraced the shades of gray she exists in, while still fostering her own sense of morality and care amidst the more harsh and unsettling environment surrounding her.
This book goes in a direction I didn’t expect as Mercy investigates the mystery of the myriad of people turning up dead, and I was floored by how Dean managed to intricately weave a tale of loss, betrayal, complicated family bonds, and the darkest shades of human nature. This was all so raw and poignant and also often devastating, letting me as the reader stew in the emotional weight of everything unfolding on the page.
The last sentence of this story cemented my feelings about the book as I was basically mute for a solid hour after finishing my read. I really recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for fantasy that doesn’t follow a cookie-cutter formula and is craving freshness in the genre!
🎧Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
I honestly can’t even overstate how good this narrator was and how well she portrayed Mercy in her different stages of life. Her voice was so perfect and practically made me desperate to keep my AirPods in my ears, as I wanted to see how this story continued! I fully recommend this to audiobook lovers, as listening felt just as good as reading!
________
Thank you to Tor for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
Following Mercy Chan, a ghost talker living in 70s Hong Kong, this book portrays her past set against the backdrop of Japan’s occupation of China, and her present life in the aftermath of it.
And wow, wow, wow! I did not know this book would take me where it did. Mercy was a great main character to follow, and I appreciated so much that she was a woman in her 50s, when the fantasy genre is mostly dominated by younger protagonists.
Slightly grouchy, snarky, and clearly shaped by multiple decades of her job, I loved that she was a character who fully embraced the shades of gray she exists in, while still fostering her own sense of morality and care amidst the more harsh and unsettling environment surrounding her.
This book goes in a direction I didn’t expect as Mercy investigates the mystery of the myriad of people turning up dead, and I was floored by how Dean managed to intricately weave a tale of loss, betrayal, complicated family bonds, and the darkest shades of human nature. This was all so raw and poignant and also often devastating, letting me as the reader stew in the emotional weight of everything unfolding on the page.
The last sentence of this story cemented my feelings about the book as I was basically mute for a solid hour after finishing my read. I really recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for fantasy that doesn’t follow a cookie-cutter formula and is craving freshness in the genre!
🎧Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
I honestly can’t even overstate how good this narrator was and how well she portrayed Mercy in her different stages of life. Her voice was so perfect and practically made me desperate to keep my AirPods in my ears, as I wanted to see how this story continued! I fully recommend this to audiobook lovers, as listening felt just as good as reading!
________
Thank you to Tor for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
Read
January 7, 2026
Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:
Sunyi Dean's debut novel, The Book Eaters, was a bloody good time and one of my favorite books of 2022, so I was wicked excited to learn she has a new book coming in 2026! It's a historical dark fantasy set in Hong Kong about a woman named Mercy Chan. Mercy arrived in Kowloon years earlier with no memory of who she is and has since made a life as a ghost talker for the triad. But then a murderous spirit starts drowning people, and catches Mercy's attention. The spirit claims to know her and her unremembered past. And if Mercy can't remember where she came from and how she ended up in Kowloon, it may drag her down into the depths for good. —Liberty Hardy
Sunyi Dean's debut novel, The Book Eaters, was a bloody good time and one of my favorite books of 2022, so I was wicked excited to learn she has a new book coming in 2026! It's a historical dark fantasy set in Hong Kong about a woman named Mercy Chan. Mercy arrived in Kowloon years earlier with no memory of who she is and has since made a life as a ghost talker for the triad. But then a murderous spirit starts drowning people, and catches Mercy's attention. The spirit claims to know her and her unremembered past. And if Mercy can't remember where she came from and how she ended up in Kowloon, it may drag her down into the depths for good. —Liberty Hardy
May 25, 2026
EDIT: Dropped my rating to 1 star because apparently this author is one of those authors that stalks goodreads and uses "clapbacks" to negative reviews for social media content. Avoid authors who can't stay out of reader spaces.
There is no such thing as a book in the second person that deserves a good rating, especially when it catfishes you with that trash halfway through the book.
There is no such thing as a book in the second person that deserves a good rating, especially when it catfishes you with that trash halfway through the book.
April 2, 2026
Thank you so much for the arc HarperCollins UK | HarperFiction | HarperVoyager!
„But home is never more beautiful than when
you see it for the last time.“
🌊rogue spirits
🪦ghost-infested slum
🌊memory loss
🪦ghost-talker
🌊early-fifties protagonist
„The past is an endless ocean on which we can sail forever without returning home.“
What I liked:
- The plot twist was soo good! I thought I’d figured it out but it was way more complex than I thought. It makes me want to reread the story to notice all the little hints and informations I missed!
- I absolutely loved the worldbuilding! Mostly set in a ghost-infested slum, an unpopular relic of the last World War, filled with ghosts and people who never had the chance to recover from the horrors of the Japanese occupation. The whole story is about traumatized individuals trying to survive, and even ghosts are not spared from exploitation and betrayal. The way ghosts were used and treated during the war was a twist I found especially interesting and sadly realistic if humanity were ever able to use them.
- Bao, the murdery ghost-cat! I love him and I would read a whole book just about him!
What I didn’t like:
- Some parts felt a tad too slow for me, but it didn’t bother me much.
„If each person only corrects the crimes that they have committed themselves, then the world will be full of pain, because evil men do not care about injustice, and so never correct their own.“
✍🏻 Writing style: 4,75/5
👥 Characters: 5/5
🌍 Worldbuilding: 5/5
📝 Story & Plot: 5/5
✨ Vibes: 5/5
•Is this my go-to genre? yes
•Will I buy a physical copy: yes
•Will I read more books by the author: yes
„But home is never more beautiful than when
you see it for the last time.“
🌊rogue spirits
🪦ghost-infested slum
🌊memory loss
🪦ghost-talker
🌊early-fifties protagonist
„The past is an endless ocean on which we can sail forever without returning home.“
What I liked:
- The plot twist was soo good! I thought I’d figured it out but it was way more complex than I thought. It makes me want to reread the story to notice all the little hints and informations I missed!
- I absolutely loved the worldbuilding! Mostly set in a ghost-infested slum, an unpopular relic of the last World War, filled with ghosts and people who never had the chance to recover from the horrors of the Japanese occupation. The whole story is about traumatized individuals trying to survive, and even ghosts are not spared from exploitation and betrayal. The way ghosts were used and treated during the war was a twist I found especially interesting and sadly realistic if humanity were ever able to use them.
- Bao, the murdery ghost-cat! I love him and I would read a whole book just about him!
What I didn’t like:
- Some parts felt a tad too slow for me, but it didn’t bother me much.
„If each person only corrects the crimes that they have committed themselves, then the world will be full of pain, because evil men do not care about injustice, and so never correct their own.“
✍🏻 Writing style: 4,75/5
👥 Characters: 5/5
🌍 Worldbuilding: 5/5
📝 Story & Plot: 5/5
✨ Vibes: 5/5
•Is this my go-to genre? yes
•Will I buy a physical copy: yes
•Will I read more books by the author: yes
May 28, 2026
I absolutely adored Sunyi Dean’s debut, The Book Eaters, so I have been dying for something new from her ever since, and let me tell you, The Girl with a Thousand Faces was so worth the wait. It truly shows that this book has been cooking for a good while because it is such a wildly inventive and hella unique tale, and it's executed to near perfection. This is pure gothic, grotesque, heartbreaking, ghost-ridden chaos, and I honestly inhaled it like a woman possessed.
From the very first page, everything about The Girl With a Thousand Faces felt so refreshing, and it immediately had me in a chokehold. I mean, who would not be hooked by the setup of a fifty-year-old ghost talker with a mysterious past she cannot remember, facing down a ghostly killer intent on forcing her to confront her own forgotten ghosts? Mercy Chan instantly became one of those characters I would follow absolutely anywhere, even directly into filthy gutters and emotional devastation, and I loved her for that.
But then Sunyi Dean pulls the rug out from under you and suddenly shifts the narrative back to WWII Hong Kong following a completely different character, which could so easily have lost me but somehow that only made me more obsessed. Also, I know second person POV can be hit or miss for people, but holy smokes, was it executed perfectly here. The themes of cycles of trauma, violence, war, grief, vengeance, and inherited pain are masterfully woven into the narrative, and I loved how the emotional core of The Girl With a Thousand Faces never got lost as the story only got more intricate and complex.
I will admit there were a few moments where my brain briefly melted trying to piece together how everyone was relating to everyone else, especially with the whole body swap situation getting increasingly messy, but the confusion honestly almost worked in the book’s favour because the entire story already feels slippery and feverish and haunted in the best way. Moreover, the audiobook genuinely helped so much for me because Natalie Naudus made every single character and voice sound so distinct and emotionally wrecked in their own unique way, and paired with Sunyi Dean’s divine prose, it honestly became such an immersive experience. The folkloric vibes of this The Girl with a Thousand Faces absolutely shine in audio form, and I just adored how the emotions practically dripped off every word.
And do not get me started on the atmosphere, wow. The Chinese folklore influences woven throughout this story are truly immaculate, and I loved how the different historical settings almost felt like their own characters with their own emotions. The lingering ghosts, the waterways, the claustrophobic alleyways of Kowloon, and the constant dreadful sense that the past is festering underneath everything and refusing to stay buried all had me so captivated. The Girl with a Thousand Faces honestly feels damp and angry and hungry in the best way possible, and I ate that up.
By the end, I may or may not have felt a bit too dumb to truly get everything this book was trying to do, but I was honestly way too busy being completely awe-struck by that final twist to really care. Whether you come for the mystery, the stunning prose, the unique structure, the Asian history and folklore vibes, the ghosts, or just the absolutely delicious emotional turmoil, The Girl with a Thousand Faces delivers it all. Sunyi Dean is doing something genuinely special and strange and unforgettable with her stories, and I already know this one is going to haunt me for a very long time to come.
From the very first page, everything about The Girl With a Thousand Faces felt so refreshing, and it immediately had me in a chokehold. I mean, who would not be hooked by the setup of a fifty-year-old ghost talker with a mysterious past she cannot remember, facing down a ghostly killer intent on forcing her to confront her own forgotten ghosts? Mercy Chan instantly became one of those characters I would follow absolutely anywhere, even directly into filthy gutters and emotional devastation, and I loved her for that.
But then Sunyi Dean pulls the rug out from under you and suddenly shifts the narrative back to WWII Hong Kong following a completely different character, which could so easily have lost me but somehow that only made me more obsessed. Also, I know second person POV can be hit or miss for people, but holy smokes, was it executed perfectly here. The themes of cycles of trauma, violence, war, grief, vengeance, and inherited pain are masterfully woven into the narrative, and I loved how the emotional core of The Girl With a Thousand Faces never got lost as the story only got more intricate and complex.
I will admit there were a few moments where my brain briefly melted trying to piece together how everyone was relating to everyone else, especially with the whole body swap situation getting increasingly messy, but the confusion honestly almost worked in the book’s favour because the entire story already feels slippery and feverish and haunted in the best way. Moreover, the audiobook genuinely helped so much for me because Natalie Naudus made every single character and voice sound so distinct and emotionally wrecked in their own unique way, and paired with Sunyi Dean’s divine prose, it honestly became such an immersive experience. The folkloric vibes of this The Girl with a Thousand Faces absolutely shine in audio form, and I just adored how the emotions practically dripped off every word.
And do not get me started on the atmosphere, wow. The Chinese folklore influences woven throughout this story are truly immaculate, and I loved how the different historical settings almost felt like their own characters with their own emotions. The lingering ghosts, the waterways, the claustrophobic alleyways of Kowloon, and the constant dreadful sense that the past is festering underneath everything and refusing to stay buried all had me so captivated. The Girl with a Thousand Faces honestly feels damp and angry and hungry in the best way possible, and I ate that up.
By the end, I may or may not have felt a bit too dumb to truly get everything this book was trying to do, but I was honestly way too busy being completely awe-struck by that final twist to really care. Whether you come for the mystery, the stunning prose, the unique structure, the Asian history and folklore vibes, the ghosts, or just the absolutely delicious emotional turmoil, The Girl with a Thousand Faces delivers it all. Sunyi Dean is doing something genuinely special and strange and unforgettable with her stories, and I already know this one is going to haunt me for a very long time to come.
May 22, 2026
I am so in love with this novel, I think I might just listen to it twice. It’s literally that good..! When that big twist came along, my mind was so blown, I had to put down this novel and think about everything that had happened before, for a good, long while. My flabbers were truly gasted, in all the best ways.
I can’t wait to see what Sunyi Dean writes next. I’m quite sure I will fall in love with those characters and that world as well. Man, what a novel..!
The brilliant Natalie Naudus is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. And she is phenomenal..! As usual. Macmillan Audio, please employ her as a narrator many more times! And kudos to everyone involved in the making of this novel. It’s truly a gem.
This is the author Sunyi Dean’s ‘review’ of this novel. A lot of the things posted on here were mentioned at the end of the novel, which was helpful. But just in case you missed it or skipped it for whatever reason, here is the link. Please read it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
God, do I love novels about angry women….. 4.5 stars, and highly recommended.
I can’t wait to see what Sunyi Dean writes next. I’m quite sure I will fall in love with those characters and that world as well. Man, what a novel..!
The brilliant Natalie Naudus is the narrator for the audiobook version of this novel. And she is phenomenal..! As usual. Macmillan Audio, please employ her as a narrator many more times! And kudos to everyone involved in the making of this novel. It’s truly a gem.
This is the author Sunyi Dean’s ‘review’ of this novel. A lot of the things posted on here were mentioned at the end of the novel, which was helpful. But just in case you missed it or skipped it for whatever reason, here is the link. Please read it:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
God, do I love novels about angry women….. 4.5 stars, and highly recommended.
Did Not Finish
April 21, 2026Sincere thank you to Sunyi Dean for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!
DNF @ 50%
I’m very disappointed, this having been one of my highly anticipated reads this year. Normally I have no qualms about giving a rating for a DNF, but this time I’m not going to do so just because I think this might equally be a me problem.
I think this book is trying to tell too many stories. Not in an ambitious, sprawling sort of way. The book is only 320 pages but there is just such a hodge podge of plot crammed in, it’s hard to really connect with any one thing in particular. The first third of the book focuses entirely on Mercy Chan and her ghost talking ability, her life in Kowloon Walled City nestled into Hong Kong. A petition is being put forth for Kowloon, the only home she’s ever known, to be demolished. Nearly as soon as this story is established, there’s an abrupt shift to the past, to the childhood that Mercy Chan no longer has any memory of. Once the story shifts, the narrator and the POV change which is confusing and odd. Suddenly the story is being told from first person POV, something that was not done in the beginning of the book, and the narrator is now omniscient.
I have read other books where very far into the story an entirely secondary story takes place with a different POV character. The first that springs to mind is The Last Contract of Isako. It can be done, but it has to be done carefully. When your reader develops a connection with the main character and then the author pulls the rug and switches to a new main character, it can easily lose the reader. That’s what happened to me with this story. Once the perspective was changed away from Mercy Chan, and a new narrator was added and a first person POV, I could not connect again. After that I found myself struggling to even pick up the book.
In addition to this soup of plot points, writing techniques and timelines, I also found the dialogue extremely clunky. Every character seemed to speak exactly the same way, making it difficult to even discern who was speaking, or find real personality in the characters.
Overall this one wasn’t for me, but I still appreciate being given a chance to early read and review by this author and give them all my best wishes for future books!
DNF @ 50%
I’m very disappointed, this having been one of my highly anticipated reads this year. Normally I have no qualms about giving a rating for a DNF, but this time I’m not going to do so just because I think this might equally be a me problem.
I think this book is trying to tell too many stories. Not in an ambitious, sprawling sort of way. The book is only 320 pages but there is just such a hodge podge of plot crammed in, it’s hard to really connect with any one thing in particular. The first third of the book focuses entirely on Mercy Chan and her ghost talking ability, her life in Kowloon Walled City nestled into Hong Kong. A petition is being put forth for Kowloon, the only home she’s ever known, to be demolished. Nearly as soon as this story is established, there’s an abrupt shift to the past, to the childhood that Mercy Chan no longer has any memory of. Once the story shifts, the narrator and the POV change which is confusing and odd. Suddenly the story is being told from first person POV, something that was not done in the beginning of the book, and the narrator is now omniscient.
I have read other books where very far into the story an entirely secondary story takes place with a different POV character. The first that springs to mind is The Last Contract of Isako. It can be done, but it has to be done carefully. When your reader develops a connection with the main character and then the author pulls the rug and switches to a new main character, it can easily lose the reader. That’s what happened to me with this story. Once the perspective was changed away from Mercy Chan, and a new narrator was added and a first person POV, I could not connect again. After that I found myself struggling to even pick up the book.
In addition to this soup of plot points, writing techniques and timelines, I also found the dialogue extremely clunky. Every character seemed to speak exactly the same way, making it difficult to even discern who was speaking, or find real personality in the characters.
Overall this one wasn’t for me, but I still appreciate being given a chance to early read and review by this author and give them all my best wishes for future books!
April 28, 2026
God, I love stories about angry women. Two wronged children become two powerful, vengeful adults (?) and, honestly, a girl can still dream.
It took me a minute to settle into this one, but once I did, I was all in. The eerie urban-gothic atmosphere was everything, and while it’s classified as horror, there was really only one scene that truly spooked me (mostly because I’m terrified of the ocean). The story feels folksy, mythical, deliberate, and deeply intelligent. Definitely one of those novels where you can feel how much heart the author poured into every page.
Its themes are dark, real, and resonant: generational trauma, the lingering consequences of war, and the messy, painful complexities of family. Both main characters are refreshingly flawed and compelling in their own ways. Mercy is a middle-aged ghost-talker who is just fucking over it lol.The other protagonist is an unapologetically pissed-off and problematic badass.
The narrative is ambitious, and while I admire what it’s reaching for, I do think it could have benefited from a bit more tightening. Converging timelines are tricky, and parts, particularly in part three, felt somewhat clunky. Some of the stylistic choices, especially the POV shifts and heavy use of subject ellipses, occasionally pulled me out of the story. They created an interesting reading experience, but a heavier hand in editing might have made them more effective.
Overall, this is a thoughtful, inventive, and memorable story. I think this will find a devoted audience, especially among readers who love gothic fantasy with sharp teeth and something meaningful to say.
Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a minute to settle into this one, but once I did, I was all in. The eerie urban-gothic atmosphere was everything, and while it’s classified as horror, there was really only one scene that truly spooked me (mostly because I’m terrified of the ocean). The story feels folksy, mythical, deliberate, and deeply intelligent. Definitely one of those novels where you can feel how much heart the author poured into every page.
Its themes are dark, real, and resonant: generational trauma, the lingering consequences of war, and the messy, painful complexities of family. Both main characters are refreshingly flawed and compelling in their own ways. Mercy is a middle-aged ghost-talker who is just fucking over it lol.The other protagonist is an unapologetically pissed-off and problematic badass.
The narrative is ambitious, and while I admire what it’s reaching for, I do think it could have benefited from a bit more tightening. Converging timelines are tricky, and parts, particularly in part three, felt somewhat clunky. Some of the stylistic choices, especially the POV shifts and heavy use of subject ellipses, occasionally pulled me out of the story. They created an interesting reading experience, but a heavier hand in editing might have made them more effective.
Overall, this is a thoughtful, inventive, and memorable story. I think this will find a devoted audience, especially among readers who love gothic fantasy with sharp teeth and something meaningful to say.
Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 11, 2026
Mercy Chan is a middle-aged, flip-flop-wearing ghost talker living in 1975 Hong Kong. Employed by the Cobra Lily triad and accompanied everywhere by Bao, a ghost cat who communicates exclusively through red-eyed contempt, Mercy navigates the sweating, ghost-saturated vertical warren of Kowloon Walled City, where the dead outnumber the living.
The novel also runs a parallel track. Back in 1941, a twenty-year-old called Sung Siu Yin and her cold, grief-carved mother flee the Japanese invasion to shelter on Shek Ham Chau, a pristine ghost island improbably maintained by its industrious spectral residents. Siu Yin explores, finds a monstrous green-skinned jiaoren lurking just offshore, and, because her judgment regarding sea monsters is optimistic, strikes up a friendship she will come to regret across several bodies.
The jiaoren turns out to be Chen Mei Chi, a water ghost of legendary persistence. Dead since childhood, it haunts her island for decades, and operating on the well-established ghost principle that love and drowning are interchangeable.
When Siu Yin's kindness inevitably cracks the ghost's long loneliness, and her eventual rejection cracks it the other way, Mei Chi performs a grand gestures of wounded affection that is fairly hard to forgive. A confusing genealogy of water ghosts is awakened and exposed.
Meanwhile, Mei Chi, walking around in living skin and rattled by guilt she did not expect to feel, gets rescued by a Japanese military patrol and swept into Hong Kong's wartime resistance, where she becomes, through years of body-swapping necessity, the woman the 1975 timeline calls the Girl with a Thousand Faces.
The two timelines are really one very long grudge, and by 1975 that grudge has matured into elaborate supernatural scheming. I was lost in the accounts of wartime betrayal, stolen bodies, colonial neglect, and family guilt. Whether any of it can be settled without drowning everyone in the vicinity is the question Sunyi Dean is trying to sustain across four parts and forty chapters, with a ghost cat, a goddess, and the Hong Kong harbor as witnesses. I was gasping for air on the first page already.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a ghost story about inheritance. It is about what the dead pass to the living, what the living owe the dead, and what happens when the two groups stop agreeing. Women who are cheated of voice, agency, and survival do not dissolve politely into the afterlife. They come back, furious and creative, wearing other people's faces if they must. Give women their due or expect trouble. This thesis is old enough to be engraved on a temple wall, and remains as current as this morning's newspaper. Not very original, though, and thus requires an original way to present it. For me it was too messy, too confusing, too fantastical, too much, too weak, too childish.
The colonial Hong Kong setting does genuine work, grounding supernatural grievance in documented historical betrayal. The weaknesses are structural. The second-person chapters tip from immersive into instructional. The pacing across four parts suggests a book that grew in the writing and was only partially persuaded to stop. The connections are loose and the coherence is absent.
Still, a water ghost who steals faces to demand accountability from a city that preferred to forget her is a fine metaphor for recorded history, and Dean deploys it with enough conviction that the book is to be commended for its ambition, even when the ambition outweighs the unfocused execution. This book is a head full of bees. Couldn't keep up, Couldn't stay interested. It's a shame because the era and events are truly fascinating. The execution did nothing for me.
I may be wrong, but this has to be some of the weakest writing I've yet to encounter from a serious publisher:
“...Chungpo swore under his breath.
“Fuck a crab,” Mercy said, and sighed. ��Grandmother, you are dead. I don’t know if the sickness killed you or starvation did, but either way, the only ‘help’ your grandson gave was to hurry you along and make sure you could not escape death. He waited till you were bedbound, stole your money and your jewelry, and locked you in here to die.” She looked at Chungpo. “Am I right?”
The man glared. Gold bracelets clacked on his wrists as his fists curled.
“No!” The ghost began to cry with black tears, smoke trickling from her nostrils. “No, he would never!” Long cooking chopsticks dropped from fragile hands and dispersed into ethereal mist. Her body flickered like a television with a bad signal.
Rat Tattoo grabbed Mercy’s shoulder with some force. “If you are accusing us of—”
Bao hissed, fur standing on end. He was only a small ghost, but the sudden noise was enough to make the man release his grip in shock…”
The novel also runs a parallel track. Back in 1941, a twenty-year-old called Sung Siu Yin and her cold, grief-carved mother flee the Japanese invasion to shelter on Shek Ham Chau, a pristine ghost island improbably maintained by its industrious spectral residents. Siu Yin explores, finds a monstrous green-skinned jiaoren lurking just offshore, and, because her judgment regarding sea monsters is optimistic, strikes up a friendship she will come to regret across several bodies.
The jiaoren turns out to be Chen Mei Chi, a water ghost of legendary persistence. Dead since childhood, it haunts her island for decades, and operating on the well-established ghost principle that love and drowning are interchangeable.
When Siu Yin's kindness inevitably cracks the ghost's long loneliness, and her eventual rejection cracks it the other way, Mei Chi performs a grand gestures of wounded affection that is fairly hard to forgive. A confusing genealogy of water ghosts is awakened and exposed.
Meanwhile, Mei Chi, walking around in living skin and rattled by guilt she did not expect to feel, gets rescued by a Japanese military patrol and swept into Hong Kong's wartime resistance, where she becomes, through years of body-swapping necessity, the woman the 1975 timeline calls the Girl with a Thousand Faces.
The two timelines are really one very long grudge, and by 1975 that grudge has matured into elaborate supernatural scheming. I was lost in the accounts of wartime betrayal, stolen bodies, colonial neglect, and family guilt. Whether any of it can be settled without drowning everyone in the vicinity is the question Sunyi Dean is trying to sustain across four parts and forty chapters, with a ghost cat, a goddess, and the Hong Kong harbor as witnesses. I was gasping for air on the first page already.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a ghost story about inheritance. It is about what the dead pass to the living, what the living owe the dead, and what happens when the two groups stop agreeing. Women who are cheated of voice, agency, and survival do not dissolve politely into the afterlife. They come back, furious and creative, wearing other people's faces if they must. Give women their due or expect trouble. This thesis is old enough to be engraved on a temple wall, and remains as current as this morning's newspaper. Not very original, though, and thus requires an original way to present it. For me it was too messy, too confusing, too fantastical, too much, too weak, too childish.
The colonial Hong Kong setting does genuine work, grounding supernatural grievance in documented historical betrayal. The weaknesses are structural. The second-person chapters tip from immersive into instructional. The pacing across four parts suggests a book that grew in the writing and was only partially persuaded to stop. The connections are loose and the coherence is absent.
Still, a water ghost who steals faces to demand accountability from a city that preferred to forget her is a fine metaphor for recorded history, and Dean deploys it with enough conviction that the book is to be commended for its ambition, even when the ambition outweighs the unfocused execution. This book is a head full of bees. Couldn't keep up, Couldn't stay interested. It's a shame because the era and events are truly fascinating. The execution did nothing for me.
I may be wrong, but this has to be some of the weakest writing I've yet to encounter from a serious publisher:
“...Chungpo swore under his breath.
“Fuck a crab,” Mercy said, and sighed. ��Grandmother, you are dead. I don’t know if the sickness killed you or starvation did, but either way, the only ‘help’ your grandson gave was to hurry you along and make sure you could not escape death. He waited till you were bedbound, stole your money and your jewelry, and locked you in here to die.” She looked at Chungpo. “Am I right?”
The man glared. Gold bracelets clacked on his wrists as his fists curled.
“No!” The ghost began to cry with black tears, smoke trickling from her nostrils. “No, he would never!” Long cooking chopsticks dropped from fragile hands and dispersed into ethereal mist. Her body flickered like a television with a bad signal.
Rat Tattoo grabbed Mercy’s shoulder with some force. “If you are accusing us of—”
Bao hissed, fur standing on end. He was only a small ghost, but the sudden noise was enough to make the man release his grip in shock…”
Review of advance copy received from Author
fierce, tender, twisty and compelling, this is a novel about hate and forgiveness, family and betrayal, and the endless hurt of war and anger.
I loved it.
I loved it.
May 22, 2026
Haunting, heartbreaking, and monstrously unforgettable, The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean is a dark historical fantasy that transports the reader back in time to the real and supernatural horrors of a WWII ravaged Hong Kong. Mercy Chan’s past is unknown, but her future is even more murky as a “ghost talker” living and working within the Triad ranks inside the Kowloon Walled City, which just happens to be overrun with spirits, some of which have been taking and drowning victims in the cold, dark waterways. At least she’s got job security, right? Wrong. Mercy must figure out why the dead are hunting the living and put a stop to it before she also ends up in a watery grave. This is a story of monsters and men at play within the slums of war devastated Hong Kong, and Mercy is doing her best to survive without her memories, but her past will catch up with her whether she remembers it or not, and her ghosts, both figurative and literal, just might end up drowning her alongside the denizens of her city.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a wrathful typhoon of a story, pulling the reader into tempestuous waters blackened with shocking twists, ghost hunting, enthralling mystery, and exhilarating adventure back in time! Sunyi Dean deftly navigates complex grief, explores deeply engrained generational trauma & dares to lift the thin veil of separation between monstrosity and humanity, redefining what it means to be monstrous in a monstrous world. The author obviously poured a tremendous amount of careful research into this tale of destruction and deliverance; it’s dripping in Chinese folklore and salted all the way through with tasty historical pearls, and I learned so much about another side to WWII history. Her writing is, as always, powerfully eloquent and evocative. I really resonated with the female rage aspect of the book, so I relished going on a journey from self-detonation to self-acceptance and rebirth. It. Was. Awesome. I very much recommend losing yourself in a storm of dark history, vibrant culture, and fantastic legends. Happy ghost hunting!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own. Publication date was May 5th!
The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a wrathful typhoon of a story, pulling the reader into tempestuous waters blackened with shocking twists, ghost hunting, enthralling mystery, and exhilarating adventure back in time! Sunyi Dean deftly navigates complex grief, explores deeply engrained generational trauma & dares to lift the thin veil of separation between monstrosity and humanity, redefining what it means to be monstrous in a monstrous world. The author obviously poured a tremendous amount of careful research into this tale of destruction and deliverance; it’s dripping in Chinese folklore and salted all the way through with tasty historical pearls, and I learned so much about another side to WWII history. Her writing is, as always, powerfully eloquent and evocative. I really resonated with the female rage aspect of the book, so I relished going on a journey from self-detonation to self-acceptance and rebirth. It. Was. Awesome. I very much recommend losing yourself in a storm of dark history, vibrant culture, and fantastic legends. Happy ghost hunting!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own. Publication date was May 5th!
May 4, 2026
“Do you like ghost stories, little sister? Sit down, get comfortable. You haven’t heard this one before.”
I loved this book. It was a very cathartic reading experience. I went in blind and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was like what if Fredrik Backman wrote a dark urban fantasy or historical fantasy. I say Fredrik Backman because this book deals with a lot of his usual characteristics- unspoken trauma, the impact of loss, social isolation, forgiveness, rebuilding trust, etc.
“How easily she kindles anger in you; how swiftly she stings and lashes out. Only family can hurt family in that way.”
It is one of the most unique books I have read both in terms of the setting and the structure. The story revolves around two lonely women from two different areas and two different timelines and most of the story happens in ghost infected Hong Kong. One of them is a middle-aged ghost-talker that works for a notorious mafia boss and the other woman is seeking vengeance for all the injustice that has been done to her. All three different grammatical voices are used at different points of the story, and even the narrative voice switches from limited to omniscient and even switches between guided and invisible at times within the omniscient parts- but it is all executed very well. The story flows seamlessly and at no point was I confused by the plot points or which character’s head I was in. There is a specific reason the story is written this way as well.
“If each person only corrects the crimes that they have committed themselves, then the world will be full of pain, because evil men do not care about injustice, and so never correct their own.”
As I observed these characters from within their own head and from the outside and through different lenses, I went from one end of the feelings spectrum to the other extreme- all for the same character. It is very emphatic writing and the payoff is extremely worthwhile. This deliberate head-hopping to view different perspectives of the same event is important for the story this book is trying to tell and the place it is trying to take its characters and the readers to at the end. It also takes exceptionally strong writing by the author to present this story with as much clarity and accessibility that it has. I was hooked and went through 70% of the book in one day.
I cannot conclude this review without mentioning that while this book primarily is kind of a character study across two women dealing with internal trauma and grief, it is also a staunchly anti-war book. We learn some of the culture and life of Hong Kong in the 70s but also how China and Hong Kong were affected by the second world war, the Japanese occupation, the plight of refugees at that time, and how war leaves scars that do not go away even after decades of time.
I loved this book. It was a very cathartic reading experience. I went in blind and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was like what if Fredrik Backman wrote a dark urban fantasy or historical fantasy. I say Fredrik Backman because this book deals with a lot of his usual characteristics- unspoken trauma, the impact of loss, social isolation, forgiveness, rebuilding trust, etc.
“How easily she kindles anger in you; how swiftly she stings and lashes out. Only family can hurt family in that way.”
It is one of the most unique books I have read both in terms of the setting and the structure. The story revolves around two lonely women from two different areas and two different timelines and most of the story happens in ghost infected Hong Kong. One of them is a middle-aged ghost-talker that works for a notorious mafia boss and the other woman is seeking vengeance for all the injustice that has been done to her. All three different grammatical voices are used at different points of the story, and even the narrative voice switches from limited to omniscient and even switches between guided and invisible at times within the omniscient parts- but it is all executed very well. The story flows seamlessly and at no point was I confused by the plot points or which character’s head I was in. There is a specific reason the story is written this way as well.
“If each person only corrects the crimes that they have committed themselves, then the world will be full of pain, because evil men do not care about injustice, and so never correct their own.”
As I observed these characters from within their own head and from the outside and through different lenses, I went from one end of the feelings spectrum to the other extreme- all for the same character. It is very emphatic writing and the payoff is extremely worthwhile. This deliberate head-hopping to view different perspectives of the same event is important for the story this book is trying to tell and the place it is trying to take its characters and the readers to at the end. It also takes exceptionally strong writing by the author to present this story with as much clarity and accessibility that it has. I was hooked and went through 70% of the book in one day.
I cannot conclude this review without mentioning that while this book primarily is kind of a character study across two women dealing with internal trauma and grief, it is also a staunchly anti-war book. We learn some of the culture and life of Hong Kong in the 70s but also how China and Hong Kong were affected by the second world war, the Japanese occupation, the plight of refugees at that time, and how war leaves scars that do not go away even after decades of time.
May 15, 2026
GASP
I didn't see that shift coming
And I didn't see the second shift coming
I looooove truly unpredictable stories like this because honestly I'm sick of reading the same tired plots and outcomes over and over.
This is just so good
The cycle of grief (haunting). Not letting injustice consume what's left of your life
A ghost kitty, more looks into folklore, and really just not seeing the shifts and storylines coming together sold this one so hard for me.
IMO this one is spectacular and I'm recommending it for everyone even slightly interested 🖤
I didn't see that shift coming
And I didn't see the second shift coming
I looooove truly unpredictable stories like this because honestly I'm sick of reading the same tired plots and outcomes over and over.
This is just so good
The cycle of grief (haunting). Not letting injustice consume what's left of your life
A ghost kitty, more looks into folklore, and really just not seeing the shifts and storylines coming together sold this one so hard for me.
IMO this one is spectacular and I'm recommending it for everyone even slightly interested 🖤
Read
June 1, 2026DNF at 200 pages
May 5, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
The Girl With A Thousand Faces is a brilliant genre-blending novel, halfway between Gothic horror and urban fantasy, written by Sunyi Dean, published by Tor. After an astounding debut with The Book Eaters, I had high hopes for her sophomore novel, and it totally exceed my expectations, delivering not only a novel with a heart-pounding story about family bonds, grief and ghosts, but which is also bold with its narrative structure, playing with them to eventually tie all together to make this a memorable book.
Mercy Chan, a woman without memories, washes up on the shores of Hong Kong, finding refuge working as a ghost-talker in the infested streets of Kowloon Walled City; but when one day, a powerful ghost comes to her city and start causing havoc, threatening to be the final nail in the coffin that will allow the council to tear down what has been her world for the last thirty-two years. But behind this ghost there are more things that are also tied to Mercy's past, some secrets that could destroy her life and might need to remain buried.
It's difficult to convey in words why this book is such a brilliant literary piece. While I understand the structure chosen by Sunyi Dean to tell this story (apparently unrelated timelines, different perspectives) might be confusing for some readers, it's part of what makes this a memorable novel; what starts as a ghost story evolves into a family plot whose consequences we are experiencing now, with some revelations that invites us to rethink which role is each character playing. At the end, what we are reading is a story that hides trauma and grief at its core, excellently portrayed by the words of the author.
The setting is another remarkable aspect of this novel: not only by how well Dean has portrayed invaded Hong Kong and the post war situation, but how it is blended together with a ghost theme that is tightly woven with how ordinary people is forced to pay the metaphorical cost of war; it is refreshing to have a historical ESEA location as the setting, especially when the mythology is also imbued into the story.
In terms of pacing, this is a bit of a tricky book to define, mostly due to how it is structured; I didn't find it slow (I kinda devoured it), but there are some sections where I just trusted the author to pull it all together (and honestly, the execution is just chef kiss).
The Girl With A Thousand Faces is simply excellent; I don't think I can really capture in words how good this novel is. A demonstration of Dean's writing skills, a remarkable genre-blending story that is already a candidate to end up being one of my favourite books of the year!
The Girl With A Thousand Faces is a brilliant genre-blending novel, halfway between Gothic horror and urban fantasy, written by Sunyi Dean, published by Tor. After an astounding debut with The Book Eaters, I had high hopes for her sophomore novel, and it totally exceed my expectations, delivering not only a novel with a heart-pounding story about family bonds, grief and ghosts, but which is also bold with its narrative structure, playing with them to eventually tie all together to make this a memorable book.
Mercy Chan, a woman without memories, washes up on the shores of Hong Kong, finding refuge working as a ghost-talker in the infested streets of Kowloon Walled City; but when one day, a powerful ghost comes to her city and start causing havoc, threatening to be the final nail in the coffin that will allow the council to tear down what has been her world for the last thirty-two years. But behind this ghost there are more things that are also tied to Mercy's past, some secrets that could destroy her life and might need to remain buried.
It's difficult to convey in words why this book is such a brilliant literary piece. While I understand the structure chosen by Sunyi Dean to tell this story (apparently unrelated timelines, different perspectives) might be confusing for some readers, it's part of what makes this a memorable novel; what starts as a ghost story evolves into a family plot whose consequences we are experiencing now, with some revelations that invites us to rethink which role is each character playing. At the end, what we are reading is a story that hides trauma and grief at its core, excellently portrayed by the words of the author.
The setting is another remarkable aspect of this novel: not only by how well Dean has portrayed invaded Hong Kong and the post war situation, but how it is blended together with a ghost theme that is tightly woven with how ordinary people is forced to pay the metaphorical cost of war; it is refreshing to have a historical ESEA location as the setting, especially when the mythology is also imbued into the story.
In terms of pacing, this is a bit of a tricky book to define, mostly due to how it is structured; I didn't find it slow (I kinda devoured it), but there are some sections where I just trusted the author to pull it all together (and honestly, the execution is just chef kiss).
The Girl With A Thousand Faces is simply excellent; I don't think I can really capture in words how good this novel is. A demonstration of Dean's writing skills, a remarkable genre-blending story that is already a candidate to end up being one of my favourite books of the year!
May 13, 2026
This book absolutely consumed me. I finished it in a single day because I genuinely could not put it down.
While A Girl with a Thousand Faces is marketed as horror — and it definitely contains horror elements — it is so much more than that. At its core, this is a story about betrayal, vengeance, grief, and loneliness, all set against the painful historical backdrop of Japan’s occupation and control over Hong Kong. The historical setting added such a haunting depth to the story and made the emotional moments hit even harder.
I don’t want to go too deeply into the plot because I truly think this is one of those books that readers need to experience firsthand. What I will say is that I LOVED the direction this story took. That revelation had me absolutely seething because I genuinely did not see it coming. To me, this is what makes a great gothic fantasy: the atmosphere, the creeping sense of dread, and that perfectly executed twist/suspense element woven throughout the narrative.
I also thought the ending was incredibly well done. It felt satisfying and impactful without becoming overdramatic or overextended.
I know timeline shifts can be divisive for some readers — and honestly, sometimes they don’t work for me either — but the way they were handled here was PURE MAGIC. The gradual unraveling of the story through the different timelines was done so skillfully and kept me completely invested from beginning to end.
And if my entire review still isn’t enough to convince you to pick this book up, I’ll just say this: there is a ghost cat in this book named Bao (like the Chinese bun). There. I’ll leave it at that.
Thank you to Tor for sending me an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
While A Girl with a Thousand Faces is marketed as horror — and it definitely contains horror elements — it is so much more than that. At its core, this is a story about betrayal, vengeance, grief, and loneliness, all set against the painful historical backdrop of Japan’s occupation and control over Hong Kong. The historical setting added such a haunting depth to the story and made the emotional moments hit even harder.
I don’t want to go too deeply into the plot because I truly think this is one of those books that readers need to experience firsthand. What I will say is that I LOVED the direction this story took. That revelation had me absolutely seething because I genuinely did not see it coming. To me, this is what makes a great gothic fantasy: the atmosphere, the creeping sense of dread, and that perfectly executed twist/suspense element woven throughout the narrative.
I also thought the ending was incredibly well done. It felt satisfying and impactful without becoming overdramatic or overextended.
I know timeline shifts can be divisive for some readers — and honestly, sometimes they don’t work for me either — but the way they were handled here was PURE MAGIC. The gradual unraveling of the story through the different timelines was done so skillfully and kept me completely invested from beginning to end.
And if my entire review still isn’t enough to convince you to pick this book up, I’ll just say this: there is a ghost cat in this book named Bao (like the Chinese bun). There. I’ll leave it at that.
Thank you to Tor for sending me an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 8, 2026
Mercy Chan washed up in a Hong Kong harbour during the Japanese occupation of WW2 with no memory of her life before. In the 1970s, now a woman in her 50s, she works for Cobra Lily's triads as a ghost talker with her Bao, her ghost cat. Mercy hasn't left the walled, ghost-filled city of Kowloon since she arrived all those years ago but a mysterious serial killer ghost and scheming local officials force her to investigate further afield - and come face to face with her forgotten past.
I read Sunyi Dean's debut The Book Eaters, and although I liked the concept, I struggled to connect with the story. I didn't have that issue with The Girl With a Thousand Faces. Around about halfway through the book, the perspective changes and we discover a whole new layer of complexity to the story.
This is not a gentle story or just a spooky urban fantasy. It's grim in places and we exam the violence of war, the betrayal and disappointment of loved ones, and complex generational trauma. Does seeking and achieving revenge actually allow someone to heal? Or does it take forgiveness?
It was tense, it was emotional - I was thoroughly captivated.
Thanks to Harper Voyager for providing a netgalley proof for review
I read Sunyi Dean's debut The Book Eaters, and although I liked the concept, I struggled to connect with the story. I didn't have that issue with The Girl With a Thousand Faces. Around about halfway through the book, the perspective changes and we discover a whole new layer of complexity to the story.
This is not a gentle story or just a spooky urban fantasy. It's grim in places and we exam the violence of war, the betrayal and disappointment of loved ones, and complex generational trauma. Does seeking and achieving revenge actually allow someone to heal? Or does it take forgiveness?
It was tense, it was emotional - I was thoroughly captivated.
Thanks to Harper Voyager for providing a netgalley proof for review
June 2, 2026
What a book!
I fell in love with this story instantly. The lushness of Kowloon. The horror-adjacent urban fantasy world. Middle-aged Mercy Chan helping ghosts get revenge. SO COOL. And then, Act 2 happens and Ms. Dean has the gall to go hardcore experimental writer. I wouldn't be surprised if the abrupt change annoys some people, but I ended up loving it. It's SO COOL. Especially as you realize _why_ it is the way it is.
In short, read this. The generational trauma of Jade City in a Sixth Sense wrapper. Such a unique, and wonderfully written story. Well done, my friend.
I fell in love with this story instantly. The lushness of Kowloon. The horror-adjacent urban fantasy world. Middle-aged Mercy Chan helping ghosts get revenge. SO COOL. And then, Act 2 happens and Ms. Dean has the gall to go hardcore experimental writer. I wouldn't be surprised if the abrupt change annoys some people, but I ended up loving it. It's SO COOL. Especially as you realize _why_ it is the way it is.
In short, read this. The generational trauma of Jade City in a Sixth Sense wrapper. Such a unique, and wonderfully written story. Well done, my friend.
May 17, 2026
I got this book as this month’s Aardvark picks! I would say I’m satisfied with the choice I made this month in general.
This book opened with one of the most interesting premises I’d read in a while: a triad affiliated, middle aged ghost-talker with a ghost cat companion in Kowloon Walled City in the 1970s. Neat. I loved this world in which ghosts were visible and an accepted part of life, both in the walled city and elsewhere. I ripped through the first part and really enjoyed the unexpected moment at the end of book one.
From there on I have diminishing amounts of praise. I thought at first that the second person omniscient narrator and change of main focus was a little jarring and somewhat confusing. That eventually was tolerable because the twist in this section had a high degree of payoff. Once I “got” what was going on, I really did like it.
For me, the last book was not handled well. I felt like the climax of the whole story was just…talking. Talking? We have ghosts and goddesses and we’re just gonna chit chat at each other about the nature of forgiveness and responsibility? For me it felt like a huge let down. Ultimately, I felt like the author was lecturing through the characters and telling us how to think rather than giving action or dialogue to parse it from.
For me, book one was a 5 star book. Book four was a 2 star book. The rest was somewhere in between. I’m giving it a 3.5 as an average review, understanding that it had a lot of quality inconsistencies.
This book opened with one of the most interesting premises I’d read in a while: a triad affiliated, middle aged ghost-talker with a ghost cat companion in Kowloon Walled City in the 1970s. Neat. I loved this world in which ghosts were visible and an accepted part of life, both in the walled city and elsewhere. I ripped through the first part and really enjoyed the unexpected moment at the end of book one.
From there on I have diminishing amounts of praise. I thought at first that the second person omniscient narrator and change of main focus was a little jarring and somewhat confusing. That eventually was tolerable because the twist in this section had a high degree of payoff. Once I “got” what was going on, I really did like it.
For me, the last book was not handled well. I felt like the climax of the whole story was just…talking. Talking? We have ghosts and goddesses and we’re just gonna chit chat at each other about the nature of forgiveness and responsibility? For me it felt like a huge let down. Ultimately, I felt like the author was lecturing through the characters and telling us how to think rather than giving action or dialogue to parse it from.
For me, book one was a 5 star book. Book four was a 2 star book. The rest was somewhere in between. I’m giving it a 3.5 as an average review, understanding that it had a lot of quality inconsistencies.
May 10, 2026
4.5 ⭐
Absolutely fascinating concept with ghosts, trauma, war, and deeply atmospheric elements throughout. The jump between characters from the first half to the second half felt a bit jarring at first, but I found the multiple perspectives so immersive and intriguing that I ultimately didn’t mind.
The idea of peeling skins to live with “1000 faces” was incredibly compelling and unlike anything I’ve read before. I couldn’t put this audiobook down.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sunyi Dean, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
Absolutely fascinating concept with ghosts, trauma, war, and deeply atmospheric elements throughout. The jump between characters from the first half to the second half felt a bit jarring at first, but I found the multiple perspectives so immersive and intriguing that I ultimately didn’t mind.
The idea of peeling skins to live with “1000 faces” was incredibly compelling and unlike anything I’ve read before. I couldn’t put this audiobook down.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sunyi Dean, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
May 22, 2026
4.25
Somehow I missed this was about ghosts, I obviously didn't read the description. But I ended up really enjoying it! I was even a little teary eyed toward the end.
Somehow I missed this was about ghosts, I obviously didn't read the description. But I ended up really enjoying it! I was even a little teary eyed toward the end.
May 24, 2026
easily one of my favorite books of 2026. holy shit
May 21, 2026
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence/gun violence, blood, murder, body horror, war, colonialism, death, drowning, vomit, attempted rape/sexual assault, confinement, torture, fire, abandonment/neglect, mention of suicide, toxic relationship, grief
--
Sunyi Dean has done it again, brilliantly merging genres – here supernatural fantasy and historical fiction – to deliver a poignant story centred around the lasting effects of war and generational trauma.
The Girl With A Thousand Faces follows Mercy Chan, a middle aged woman with no memory of her past who has the ability to talk to ghosts. She has made a new and comfortable life for herself working as a sort of exorcist in Kowloon Walled City of post WW2 Hong Kong alongside her ghost cat Bao but when a malevolent spirit claiming to know her starts causing havoc across the city, Mercy’s past coming back to haunt her might finally lead her to some answers.
This is very much a ghost story but as with The Book Eaters the horror elements are more uncanny than outright scary. There is some interesting folklore thrown into the mix here too with the themes of grief, neglect and displacement, predominantly at the hands of the horrors of the second World War and the impact it had to the general populous in Eastern Asia, threaded through it all.
I was instantly pulled in by the immersive atmosphere of the ghost city and the mystery around Mercy however, I have to admit that I didn’t love this one as much as The Book Eaters.
The issue I had with the book was more to do with some of the narrative choices than the overall story itself. There is a split timeline and I felt like the parts of the story which recalled past events were paced significantly slower. This did add to the whimsical almost folklore-esque vibe that the story had started to slip into at this point however, there was also the case of these segments being narrated in 2nd person and rather than draw me closer to the character’s personal journey I found it took me out of the story more.
That being said all of the characters in this were still beautifully layered and the emotion that Dean is able to capture through her storytelling is fantastic, its what kept me reading. I sort of caught onto the big twist in the narrative but I still think it was a very good one that made this story all the more original.
Definitely check this one out if you’re intrigued!
Final Rating – 3.75/5 Stars
**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence/gun violence, blood, murder, body horror, war, colonialism, death, drowning, vomit, attempted rape/sexual assault, confinement, torture, fire, abandonment/neglect, mention of suicide, toxic relationship, grief
--
Sunyi Dean has done it again, brilliantly merging genres – here supernatural fantasy and historical fiction – to deliver a poignant story centred around the lasting effects of war and generational trauma.
The Girl With A Thousand Faces follows Mercy Chan, a middle aged woman with no memory of her past who has the ability to talk to ghosts. She has made a new and comfortable life for herself working as a sort of exorcist in Kowloon Walled City of post WW2 Hong Kong alongside her ghost cat Bao but when a malevolent spirit claiming to know her starts causing havoc across the city, Mercy’s past coming back to haunt her might finally lead her to some answers.
This is very much a ghost story but as with The Book Eaters the horror elements are more uncanny than outright scary. There is some interesting folklore thrown into the mix here too with the themes of grief, neglect and displacement, predominantly at the hands of the horrors of the second World War and the impact it had to the general populous in Eastern Asia, threaded through it all.
“War does not finish… It is not a game that stops when enough players quite. It is a wound, sinking into flesh, leaving scars and rot that cause pain for a long time.”
I was instantly pulled in by the immersive atmosphere of the ghost city and the mystery around Mercy however, I have to admit that I didn’t love this one as much as The Book Eaters.
The issue I had with the book was more to do with some of the narrative choices than the overall story itself. There is a split timeline and I felt like the parts of the story which recalled past events were paced significantly slower. This did add to the whimsical almost folklore-esque vibe that the story had started to slip into at this point however, there was also the case of these segments being narrated in 2nd person and rather than draw me closer to the character’s personal journey I found it took me out of the story more.
That being said all of the characters in this were still beautifully layered and the emotion that Dean is able to capture through her storytelling is fantastic, its what kept me reading. I sort of caught onto the big twist in the narrative but I still think it was a very good one that made this story all the more original.
Definitely check this one out if you’re intrigued!
Final Rating – 3.75/5 Stars
May 13, 2026
4 ⭐️ First off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this audioARC of the book. I really enjoyed this book. It's a blend of fantasy, horror/gothic vibes and historical genres and the writing was fabulous. Set in the WWII era of Japan, the author takes you on a wide ride. Mercy Chan(who doesn't remember anything from her past)is a ghost talker for the triad and is tasked with finding a vengeful ghost who is drowning its victims and using their bodies to get around the city. Said ghost knows Mercy, the how is interesting rhe story which I will not spoil. The narrator kept me engaged and in the story. There's murder, ghosties, wartime, loss, grief, terror, drowning, a ghost cat named Bao and lots of Japanese beliefs, and historical moments. Yes I recommend this story to people who like a good Gothic horror.
May 2, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
i picked up this book because it was a bit out of my comfort zone compared to what i normally read, but was intrigued by the concept of the spirit world and a ghost talking main character in historical china. i was not disappointed in the slightest!
this book took me on a journey unlike any i’ve ever read, and i was enthralled from beginning to end.
Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong as a child with no memories amidst the Japanese occupation of WWII. she finds her place in Kowloon city, a crowded complex overrun by ghosts who have yet to move on from unfinished business. but Mercy is a ghost talker with the exceptional ability to speak with spirits and help them attain closure to move onto the spirit world- through whatever violent means they require.
Mercy is haunted by a spirit of her past that she can’t remember anything about, and the demon has begun to kill people in Kowloon city to get closer to Mercy for reasons unknown.
the story progresses in many twists and turns that i refuse to go into any more detail about because i want everyone to go in blind!
the characters and relationships are wildly complex, being the driving force of the plot itself. i don’t say this lightly, but it also has one of the craziest plot twists i’ve ever read- totally didn’t see coming!
i picked up this book because it was a bit out of my comfort zone compared to what i normally read, but was intrigued by the concept of the spirit world and a ghost talking main character in historical china. i was not disappointed in the slightest!
this book took me on a journey unlike any i’ve ever read, and i was enthralled from beginning to end.
Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong as a child with no memories amidst the Japanese occupation of WWII. she finds her place in Kowloon city, a crowded complex overrun by ghosts who have yet to move on from unfinished business. but Mercy is a ghost talker with the exceptional ability to speak with spirits and help them attain closure to move onto the spirit world- through whatever violent means they require.
Mercy is haunted by a spirit of her past that she can’t remember anything about, and the demon has begun to kill people in Kowloon city to get closer to Mercy for reasons unknown.
the story progresses in many twists and turns that i refuse to go into any more detail about because i want everyone to go in blind!
the characters and relationships are wildly complex, being the driving force of the plot itself. i don’t say this lightly, but it also has one of the craziest plot twists i’ve ever read- totally didn’t see coming!
May 7, 2026
honestly thought this was gonna be an easy 4 star read for me. i really enjoyed the first almost 70% of the book - the world-building, lore around ghosts, the story, the little plot twist, the character’s journeys- it was all captivating and i was hooked. but the last quarter was a bit of a let-down, wasn’t a fan of how it finished. the resolution felt cheap like the author was trying to wrap up the story without really considering the characters or their motives. knocked off a whole star for that lame end.
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