REVIEW: Silent Reading: Mo Du Volume 1

About Silent Reading: Mo Du

Silent Reading: Mo Du is a danmei thriller by priest and it is published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. You may recognize priest from her other series I reviewed Guardian: Zhen Hun. In this series, priest takes us into the gritty world of a criminal investigations unit. The unit is trying to solve a murder case while powerful corruption looms overheard.

In volume one, we meet Sergeant Luo Wenzhou, who is the head of the criminal investigation team. We also meet his side kick, Tao Ran. The two balance each other’s out, play good cop-bad cop and have a fun, one-sided flirty banter between them. Luo Wenzhou is witty but easily annoyed, especially by Fei Du. Fei Du is a young, rich CEO, who Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran met at the beginning of their careers. Tao Ran sort of takes Fei Du under his wings, which fuels a secret rivalry between Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou.

When a body appears outside of an area known for it’s rich party goers, alarm bells start ringing for Luo Wenzhou. As the details roll in, the case gets weirder and weirder. Little do they know, this one body will begin to unravel a nasty corruption scheme.

My Thoughts

Silent Reading: Mo Du volume 1 was truly thrilling. From start to finish, each page turn convers a new layer of mystery and intrigue. At times, it felt as if I was sitting in the Criminal Investigation Unit myself, working along side Luo Wenzhou, Tao Ran, and Fei Du to connect the dots. Each scene is painted vividly, with no details spared, which makes it easy to immerse yourself in the story.

Luo Wenzhou as the main character immediately stole my heart. He’s so charismatic and charming, if I existed in this universe, I would be down BAD. He’s serious about his job and uncovering what is happening. But he interacts with others in a such a sarcastic and sexy way, it melts me! His flirtation with Tao Ran makes me wonder if he really has harbored feelings for him for years or it’s just a joke. Either way, I’m excited to find out.

Aside from how interesting and fun the main characters are, what really makes this story stand out for me is how much care is put into the character’s that the cases revolve around. From the victims to their family member, each person feels so read and their pain is palpable. It drives in the point on just how connected we are to each other and how painful it is to lose someone to violent means.

Something that is evident in priest’s stories is how incredible she is at intricately weaving different, seemingly unrelated elements into a larger piece. By the time you’ve put together what she’s tying together, the story has evolved into something much bigger than you’ve planned for. I had an inkling there would be a big tie in some how, but I was not able to guess it, especially not how it all played out in the end.

What I Loved So Far

This next part includes story specific spoilers so stop here if you haven’t read Silent Reading yet.

Fei Du

I’ll be honest – initially I was not seeing it for Fei Du. I’m not sure if he’s written annoyingly and a bit slimy at first to throw you off guard, but if so, it works. I had to reread the synopsis a few times because I was sure there was a mistake and that he was not the male lead. However, as the story progresses and we learn about his backstory, this facade of his makes sense.

There is so much mystery surrounding his mothers death and although it was investigated, it’s clear that Fei Du doesn’t believe or won’t accept the results. This has fueled him to become some mastermind crime investigator. That part is kind of funny to me because he’s so involved in the case, probably breaking a million laws, but hey, it works!

Fei Du x Luo Wenzhou

The rivalry between Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou is hilarious and I love how neither of them hold back when it comes to getting jokes off at the other’s expense. As I mentioned earlier with Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran, I feel similarly about Fei Du and Tao Ran. I don’t feel that he actually has real feelings for Tao Ran at all. But the two of them fighting for Tao Ran’s love and affection makes their beef ten times funnier.

As of the end of this novel, there are no outright romantic developments between the two of them. We do see tiny inklings in both of them that they are softening around each other. I’m so curious to see how they start falling for each other, who falls first (I think it’s Luo Wenzhou for sure,) and who falls harder.

Chen Zhen’s Story

Nothing broke me more in this story than Chen Zhen and his fight to get justice for his sister. He knows that his sister was murdered and of course, did not have the resources to prove it. It was infuriating that he ended up dying without ever truly learning the full details of his sister’s killing. Although he was a minor character, it was a stark reminder that in this world, nothing is just and fair. Even when the “law” says that something occured a certain way, for those who know the victims, they know that isn’t the truth. But like Chen Zhen, many people are powerless agaisn’t a corrupt system. His death was a catalyst for what ended up happening, but man, had I wished it didn’t end up like this.

Where to Buy Silent Reading: Mo Du

Thank you, Seven Seas Entertainment, for the ARC.