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21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders

(Inspector Mislan Latif #1)

Rozlan Mohd Noor

3.88 · Rating details · 165 ratings · 38 reviews

21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders is an explosive debut from the quietly talented Rozlan Mohd Noor, an ex-police officer, which explains why he knows so much about police work and inside stories. This is a true Malaysian high-tech crime thriller with good cops, bad cops (and badder cops) and triad members, with insights into the workings of the local ...more

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Paperback, 302 pages

Published August 2010 by Silverfish Books

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Aug 04, 2020 Thomas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: edelweiss, east-asian-crime

3.5 stars rounded down. This is a good police procedural, set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The author is an ex Royal Malaysian Police investigator and court prosecutor. The central figure is Inspector Mislan Latif who is a single parent, because his wife left him and their son, Daniel, now 6 years old.
Latif is called to the scene of a high profile murder. Robert Tham, head of a profitable company called RT, and his wife and son, were murdered.
Inspector Mislan is in the Major Crimes division of the ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Dave rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 100-top-crime-fiction, x-netgalley-2020-read, crime-fiction-all, edelweiss-books, netgalley-books, crime-fiction-japan-far-east, read-have, x-2020-edel-reviewed

If you are in the market for crime fiction set in an exotic locale, 21 Immortals is the ticket. It's the first of five books in Noor's Inspector Mislan series set in the tropical locale of Kualu Lumpur, Malaysia. Despite its foreign locale, 21 Immortals reads much like a police procedural set anywhere in the world. Mislan is about to log out for the night, when a call comes in about what turns out to be the world's most unusual crime scene: an entire family embalmed and posed at a fancy celebrat ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Lou rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

21 Immortals is the first instalment in the Inspector Mislan series and Malaysia’s answer to Sherlock Holmes and I must admit that the exotic location, as well as the perfectly executed plot, kept me reading long into the early hours. Kuala Lumpur Inspector Mislan Latif is about to clock off for the night after a long and arduous shift when he's called out to the strangest crime scene he's ever encountered. It looks to be a triple murder where each of the corpses, the mother, father and their te 21 Immortals is the first instalment in the Inspector Mislan series and Malaysia’s answer to Sherlock Holmes and I must admit that the exotic location, as well as the perfectly executed plot, kept me reading long into the early hours. Kuala Lumpur Inspector Mislan Latif is about to clock off for the night after a long and arduous shift when he's called out to the strangest crime scene he's ever encountered. It looks to be a triple murder where each of the corpses, the mother, father and their ten-year-old sons, have been embalmed and posed around their table with a Chinese New Year's banquet in front of them. The clues are scant with Mislan soon coming to the realisation that this is going to be a tough case to solve. Even the cause of death isn't immediately clear. The results of their autopsies indicate that they were poisoned by hydrogen cyanide gas before their bizarre embalming. Later the male victim is identified as affluent businessman Robert Tham, whose brutal slaying may be related to his past as leader of a shady secret society. Once the police force realises the deaths are of a high-profile family the pressure to bring the perpetrator to justice escalates but Mislan refuses to bow to the pressure just to get a result.

It's a rare delight to find Eastern crime fiction that has been translated as well as this; it almost reads as though it was written in English. And the fact that the author was himself a detective for over a decade in KL adds an air of authenticity and realism to proceedings. Mislan is married to his job, as police employees often are, to the detriment of his personal life as he doesn't get to spend enough time with his son and his marriage has broken down with his wife having run off and committed adultery with another man. It'll certainly be interesting to see how his family life evolves as he's now back in the dating game as free and single. I particularly admired that he called out the corruption within the police force and is a man with honour who relentlessly pursues the truth rather than accepting the falsehoods often presented by others. This is a real page-turner and a superb police procedural but add in the tidbits about Malaysian culture, especially food, traditions and customs, and you have an unmissable crime caper. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Arcade Crimewise for an ARC. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Ririn Aziz rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, my-books, mystery-thriller, indie, cabaran-2021

Our very own CSI series.

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Apr 21, 2019 Mobyskine rated it really liked it

The hype was a bit late I've been waiting eagerly for the case to at least lead to something. Half way through it with Hubble on it and Di (oh I love this girl), Inspector Mislan at last on the move. The murder case was plotted well-- I love that the narrative did not panicking that much, quite smooth though a bit slow at the beginning but the blurry unknown mysterious murder case was quite tense and complicated, I was super curious.

A bit of meloromance, some family stuff, ol' memories strike a ...more

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Oct 27, 2020 Naz Asy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-léktur, cereka-fiksi, english, debargetar-jenayah-misteri

So…
I don’t really like the ending but it’s acceptable.
I mean, come on, we already have lots of cold cases here in Malaysia, do we have to have this in fiction too? Please give us some hope. The world is already depressed as it is.

Anyway, this book was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages although I found nothing likable about the main protagonist. Especially he is a chain smoker.
description

Ooh... and I found some typos. That, affect my rating too.

3.5/5 ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Maddie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

"21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders", by Rozlan Mohd Noor is a Malaysian detective fiction novel, the first in the Inspector Mislan series. The entire series was originally published between 2010 and 2017, by Silverfish books, an indie press aiming to promote Malaysian literature in English, and is now being reissued by Arcade Crimewise, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing.

The book follows Inspector Mislan, a Major Crimes detective in Kuala Lumpur as he is investigating the m "21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders", by Rozlan Mohd Noor is a Malaysian detective fiction novel, the first in the Inspector Mislan series. The entire series was originally published between 2010 and 2017, by Silverfish books, an indie press aiming to promote Malaysian literature in English, and is now being reissued by Arcade Crimewise, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing.

The book follows Inspector Mislan, a Major Crimes detective in Kuala Lumpur as he is investigating the murder of a prominent figure in fashion design, his wife and child. Father of a young child himself, Mislan is set to solve the murder, in spite of the perfect nature of the crime as well as the pressure from the press craving superiors in the Police Department.

I am a big fan of detective fiction and a big fan of traveling to different countries and observing life in different places, so this book was perfect for me. The thriller/ mystery aspect of the book is not over sensationalized, and there are no big cliffhangers, shoot-outs, or hold-your-breath chases. After all, as Inspector Mislan himself points it out on a few occasions, this is not an episode of CSI. Rather, it is a slow burn police investigation, where the detective sometimes needs to pull at straws, sometimes needs to call in favors, and sometimes needs to fight the corrupt system. When I picked this up I saw it compared to Keigo Higashino's detective fiction, but as I was reading it it reminded me more of Hideo Yokoyama's more procedural crime fiction. I picked it up for the murder case, but I stayed for the case investigation and the integrity of the characters that want to see the case through.

If you are a fan of detective fiction definitely give this one a go. It's quick, engaging, and rooted in reality. I am eager to continue with the series and I really hope Yelp can suggest some good Malaysian restaurants near me, because all the food mentions and descriptions had me drooling. Thank you NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing (Arcade Crimewise) for the free copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find myself some nasi lemak and a glass of teh tarik. ...more

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Oct 17, 2020 Jeanne rated it liked it

Shelves: mysteries, non-us-culture

More of a police procedural than I usually read. It was good, but at times I got lost with all the acronyms, LOL. The PC and the SS and then unfamiliar words for types of food meant I didn't grasp things properly, but that's on me. Interesting plot but I still had some questions. . . Inspector Mislan is an interesting character and I was intrigued by some of the others. As has been noted, there is a LOT of smoking going on. When I first read that in a review I thought they were nitpicking but I ...more

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Nov 01, 2020 Vincent rated it liked it

This is one of those books where it is hard to sum everything up into a single star-rating.

As a debut novel, it definitely shows promise. 21 Immortals has a unique voice, interesting characters, and a well drawn and uncommon setting. As a police procedural, outside of the beginning, I liked the pace of parsing out information, and the feeling of everything coming together near the end.

But Noor also makes some choices it was hard for me to get over.

The book is written in present tense, and for no ...more

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Aug 11, 2020 Alan rated it liked it · review of another edition

The first in a police procedural series featuring maverick (!) Inspector Mislan Latif, set in Kuala Lumpur. Although he should have clocked-off after his night shift, he is called to a bizarre murder scene where a family have been embalmed and arranged around a dining table. As the case progresses over the next week, Mislan is caught up in organized crime and a battle between different sections within the KL police precinct.

The setting is interesting, somewhere different for fans of hard-boiled ...more

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Dec 23, 2020 Anne rated it really liked it

Very good police procedural in an interesting culture. The main character is likeable, serious about his job and good at his job. I enjoyed the methodical way in which he and his partner ( and boss) solved the murder. Already looking forward to the next in the series.

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Aug 11, 2020 Yee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, mystery-thriller, netgalley

I quite liked the lightness of the story, and despite it's a crime investigation story, there is some sense of humour in it. To be honest, I was surprised by the author's frankness about Malay's weakness in English. Although it is a fictional story, pointing out any flaws in them is a taboo in Malaysia. It didn't go well when it was pointed out by their former Prime Minister himself. I just worry that some readers will get offended with it. However, I admire his courage to express his personal o ...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Linda Lingard rated it liked it

This is the first Inspector Mislan book by Rozlan Mohd Noor. The third book has just been published. I enjoyed this book but it's not that easy a read, for a crime novel. The book grips you from the beginning with an eerie murder scene - a family of three sitting upright at a properly set up dinner table; each one dead. They have been embalmed. The author then takes the reader deep into the crime investigation including the murky world of Chinese triads in Kuala Lumpur's chinatown. The book is r ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 Guyada rated it did not like it

So glad it's over. The whole book is one huge cliche written in the most simplistic way, cheesy situations that do not give much sense. I found the detective the dullest investigator I have ever encountered in crime fiction. Well, I tried it, I suffered and I earned. ...more

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Aug 22, 2020 Tony rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, novels, setting-asia

I'm always on the lookout for crime fiction from other countries, so I was excited to see this first book in a new series by a Malaysian author. Originally published by a small press in Malaysia a decade ago, it's the first of three police procedurals set in contemporary Kuala Lumpur. The hero is Mislam Latif, a workaholic divorced police inspector with a keen eye for the best food spots in the city. He's cut from the same honest cloth as the heroes of many Western police procedurals, with the n I'm always on the lookout for crime fiction from other countries, so I was excited to see this first book in a new series by a Malaysian author. Originally published by a small press in Malaysia a decade ago, it's the first of three police procedurals set in contemporary Kuala Lumpur. The hero is Mislam Latif, a workaholic divorced police inspector with a keen eye for the best food spots in the city. He's cut from the same honest cloth as the heroes of many Western police procedurals, with the notable exception that his young son lives with him (this isn't as much as an impediment to his work as one might think, as there's a live-in maid who does most of the caregiving).

This case involves the strange murder of a fashion tycoon and his family, who have been staged in a tableau around a traditional Chinese New Year meal of yee sang. What follows is a pretty straightforward cop procedural, as Mislan and his assistant follow various investigative threads, get the help of various technical expects (including a stereotype of a computer hacker and a sexy coroner who naturally becomes Mislan's romantic interest), call in favors, and attempt to fend off all manner of internal politics and corruption.

The author worked as a police inspector in Kuala Lumpur for a decade, so the rhythms and tone of the policework comes across well. However, the complications arising from various competing ranks of police bureaucracy with their own interests (and acronyms) gets a little hard to follow. It felt like every forty pages or so, there was another meeting in a police office with 6-7 people all leveling various threats about taking the case away or firing Mislan or firing his boss. That all could have been handled with more clarity and nuance.

On the whole, the writing is fairly workmanlike -- clipped phrases, short sentences, simple language. Some aspects would benefit from a further round of light editing -- for example, Mislan's boss is in the story from the very beginning, but all of a sudden, halfway through the book, a paragraph suddenly appears that provides the basic details of her physical appearance and career with the police. That sort of info-dump should come at the outset, not after she's already appeared in five scenes. Another minor example is that the term "Secret Societies" is abbreviated as "SS" throughout, which kept pulling me (as a Western reader) out every time characters talk about the SS this and the SS that.

That said -- there's a fair amount to like in terms of the cultural context for the book. There are tons of food scenes, and I kept racing to the internet to look up what people were eating and then drooling over photos. The incessant smoking and drinking of iced coffee felt very of the place. Another aspect that was interesting was the extent to which characters of differing ethnic backgrounds (Chinese vs. Malay, etc.) weren't particularly cross-culturally fluent. All in all, definitely worth checking out if you like crime novels from other countries or just have a particular interest in Malaysia. There are two more books in the series, but I'm not clear if those will also be released in the West or not. ...more

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Jul 08, 2020 Sue F rated it really liked it

I’m a fan of police procedurals, and also of mysteries set in interesting locations, and so I was glad to receive an ARC of 21 Immortals by Rozlan Mohd Noor in exchange for my honest review.

And I enjoyed reading this book very much. I really do appreciate a good police procedural, and have fun imagining whether I could follow the clues and make the same deductions that the investigators do. And it’s also fun to enjoy, along with the investigators, those moments when things seem to fall into pla ...more

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Jul 18, 2020 AngryGreyCat rated it really liked it

I received a free ebook of this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I requested this title because I wanted to read a mystery set somewhere that I am not that familiar with and by an author new to me. 21 Immortals starts off grabbing the reader immediately with a bizarre crime, an entire family found dead and posed around a New Year’s feast in their home. Inspector Mislan only is on the case because the call came in at the very end of his shift and now he finds himself stuck with ...more

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Feb 06, 2021 Zeb Kantrowitz rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-book

A man his wife and his ten year old son are found sitting at their dining room table. They are well dressed and a traditional new year's dinner is in front of them. What is unusual is that it is not New Years and they are all dead. Their bodies are embalmed and there are no marks of violence of injections anywhere on the bodies.

Inspector Mislan of the Major Crime Squad of the KL (Kuala Lumpar) Police is expected to figure out how they were killed and by whom. He quickly finds out that the head o ...more

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Aug 12, 2020 Kathleen Gray rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fans of the police procedural should pick this one up for a different take on the trop. Kuala Lumpur Inspective Latif Mislan is shocked to see a crime scene where a family is enbalmed and posed around a dinner table- who wouldn't be. What he didn't expect was to uncover so much corruption, greed, and tech issues as he worked through the case. This has good atmospherics for KL and its law enforcement community (I learned a bit). Also good- Mislan rather than the usual troubled detective, is tryin ...more

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Sep 15, 2019 Helen Mary Labao Barrameda rated it it was amazing

This novel was recommended to me with 2 other titles by Silverfish bookstore’s manager one rainy afternoon at the center of an expat’s village in Kuala Lumpur. I asked if there were 2-3 titles in their store that I can take home so I can have a little of Kuala Lumpur and Malaysian culture for my library back home. I took a particular interest in this title as this murder mystery was written by an ex-Malaysian police officer, which meant that its forensics and setting is more accurately depicted ...more

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Aug 23, 2020 Rachel marked it as unreadable · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Not leaving a star rating because I DNF. From the 25% that I read, though, I can say that I feel like I must have picked up a different book than the rest of the reviewers. I’m baffled by the high ratings. I found the dialogue to be painfully stilted and poorly written, like something you’d be subjected to in a bad detective movie or 1970s TV show. I never felt any compelling reason to care about the characters or the solution to the murder, so I’m cutting my losses and hoping my next read is be ...more

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Dec 05, 2020 Wanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a very unusual book but in a very good way!

I’ve never read a book from Rozlan Mohd Noor and Inspector Mislan is simply amazing. He has the biggest heart especially when it comes to solving his unusual crimes. A lot of the words/foods were way above me but I got the gist of it. They are normal people just like us & I’ll definitely read another book of his. Now I know why it was rated almost 5* on my library website.

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Dec 27, 2020 Jennifer Talansky rated it it was ok

I don't understand the positive reviews for this one. I learned more about what the characters ate and drank than about anything else. There was little to no plot development. It was a great opening premise that went nowhere. It was disjointed: the author would introduce an idea or character into the story in a way that hinted it was going to be important, and then did nothing with it. I felt compelled to finish it, hoping it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not. ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 Lee Thames rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller

Well done police procedural from the KL in Malaysia. Inspector Mislan #1. This book was written about 10 years ago and is just now making it to the US. The second Inspector Mislan is due out later this and others to follow.

I will probably return to Inspector Mislan after three and four are released. I don't want to read one and wait; read one and wait. I want to binge read! ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Elle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Okay lah, I loved the thrill this book gave but will say at times it fell a bit flat. Liked how I was able to picture where the characters were based on my previous experience of KL and I loved being reminded of a city that I love. I can't wait to see that comes next in this series. ...more

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Apr 27, 2020 Melisende rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, crime, thriller

Looking forward to reading more from this author - in particular, more in this series.

full review here @ Melisende's Library ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Aimi Nazri rated it liked it

The ending, i hate the ending. I need closures!

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Sep 27, 2020 Elina rated it really liked it

Request for less cloying romance/objectifying of women, please. Thank you.

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Nov 05, 2020 Jaylani Adam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

I wish there were more Malay crime fiction writers.

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Dec 23, 2020 Mike rated it really liked it

Pretty solid police novel. Little disappointed how slow they were spotting a big clue. Otherwise interesting story, decent finish.

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About Rozlan Mohd Noor

Rozlan Mohd Noor

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Rozlan Mohd Noor is an ex- police officer in the Malaysian police force. He worked as an Investigation Officer for 11 years in capital city Kuala Lumpur. He now runs his own HR and Security Consulting firm but still finds time to write. By many standards, Rozlan is a prolific writer, publishing one to two books a year from 2010-2014.