The Girl with a Thousand Faces - by Sunyi Dean (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a stunning 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 washed up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, the only place she could find refuge was in 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 now feel like home.

But the past Mercy can't remember won't let her go. 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.

"The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction."--Gareth Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Doors

Review Quotes

"Sunyi Dean's storytelling is gripping and sure, her characters complex and cathartically vengeful, her worlds richly imagined and transportive. The Girl with a Thousand Faces contends with all manner of ghosts, and beautifully examines the nature of grief, rage, and all that must be put to rest in order to truly live."--Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

"The Girl With a Thousand Faces gripped me from the start and refused to let go. It is a mystery, a war story, a tragedy, but more than anything, it is a haunting story of loneliness, love, and loss. The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction."--Gareth Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Doors

"In The Girl with a Thousand Faces, the fantastical and historical come together in a skillfully woven narrative filled with vengeful ghosts, grief, and intergenerational trauma. Dean's atmospheric writing takes you deep into the shadows of the walled city, daring you to find a way out."--Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part

"The Girl with A Thousand Faces is dark and compulsive, and liable to break your heart and steal the pieces. If you like tales of horror and hidden pasts, this one is for you. Sunyi Dean is a master of the art of storytelling, and this book is bound to be an immediate classic."--Hannah Kaner, author of Godkiller

"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a heart-rending ghost story that masterfully examines the brutalities of trauma and war. This story held me in its spectral thrall and I can't recommend it enough. An absolute must-read!"--Alexis Henderson, author of An Academy for Liars

"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is astonishing and clever, unfolding in layers that cross time and space and identities. Dean has crafted a tale that explores--with wisdom and empathy--the devastating effects of conflict and the ghosts it leaves behind."--Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

"A visceral, haunting tale of rage, revenge, and forgiveness, set in an irresistibly vivid and mesmerising alternative Hong Kong. I ate it up!"--Hildur Knútsdóttir, author of The Night Guest

"Sunyi Dean returns with a complex, time-twisting, and intensely vivid tale of grief and redemption in historical Hong Kong--with ghosts! I loved it."--Nicholas Binge, author of Ascension

"The Girl with a Thousand Faces will tear out your heart and heal it in the same breath. Sunyi Dean's hauntingly unique ghost story refuses to be pinned down. Combining the very real horrors of Hong Kong's occupation with one family's female rage and trauma, the story twists and turns with as many faces as the eponymous girl herself."--Eliza Chan, author of Fathomfolk

"In this beautiful and enthrallingly dark fantasy, Sunyi Dean expertly weaves horror, history, and just the perfect amount of whimsy into one of the most original tales I've ever read."--Liz Kerin, author of Night's Edge

"Part ghostly mystery and part meditation on the traumas of war, The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a haunting exploration of identity, loss, and what it means to forgive."--Amber A. Logan, author of The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

"A twisting supernatural mystery hardened by the haunts of war. With alluringly monstrous women and a deep dive into memory, Sunyi Dean digs vividly into the unstable nature of a mid-century Hong Kong caught between ghostly and colonial powers alike."--Wen-yi Lee, author of When They Burned the Butterfly

"In a masterful blend of entertaining and tragic, Dean weaves a gripping tale of war-torn families, aggrieved ghosts, and intergenerational trauma through her signature dual timelines and twists."--Essa Hansen, author of Nophek Gloss

"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is haunting and tense in the very best way. Sunyi Dean has flawlessly blended a vivid historical fantasy with enveloping horror."--Scott Drakeford, author of Rise of the Mages

"With beautiful prose that haunts you well past its conclusion, The Girl with a Thousand Faces breathes new life into the Ghost Story. Dean captures the grief and trauma trapped within Kowloon Walled City and Hong Kong in the wake of WWII without ever letting the personal wounds of familial afflictions escape you. You find yourself deeply moved by the flaws of Mercy and Siu Yin and the stories they shape for each other. This ghost story is not one you soon forget."--Ryan Rose, author of Seven Recipes for Revolution

Praise for The Book Eaters:

"A delightfully weird exploration of motherhood, queerness, and escaping patriarchal norms."--Buzzfeed

"I devoured this."--V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue

"A gripping and beautifully plotted story told with verve and deliciously dark wit."--The Daily Mail

"Raw and imaginative, this gritty, gothic anti-fairytale knows the truth: love will make a villain out of anyone."--Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

"Unputdownable . . . The fascinating magic system, impeccable and unusual worldbuilding, and well-shaded characters will keep readers riveted through every twist of this wild ride."--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

About the Author

Sunyi Dean is a biracial fantasy author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in North England. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant, and her debut novel, The Book Eaters, was a USA Today bestseller. Back in the day, her high school was a former mission house built on the edge of the original Walled City, and her grandparents lived in Hong Kong through both World Wars. In her spare time, she likes buying whisky, picking up dumbbells, and dying in jiu-jitsu.