Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei #BookReview - The Books of Ours

 #NickReads 

Novel Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei

Identitas Buku
Penulis: Chan Ho-Kei
Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Tebal buku: 632 hlm
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Fakta Menarik!
Tahukah kamu Chan Ho-kei, penulis novel yang bergenre misteri dan kriminal ini lahir di Hongkong dan telah menulis 10 buku! Chan Ho-kei juga sebenarnya berprofesi sebagai insinyur perangkat lunak dan perancang video game. 

Mari Kita Ulas Bukunya!
Second Sister – Cerita dimulai dengan seorang perempuan bernama Nga-Yee melihat Siu-Man adik kandungnya tewas terjatuh dari jendela apartemen mereka di lantai 20, Nga-Yee sangat terpukul dengan kejadian suram yang mendadak ini. Kepolisian setempat segera menindak dan menyelidiki apa penyebab Siu-Man terjatuh dan diperkirakan bahwa Siu-Man terjatuh dari jendela apartemennya atas keputusannya sendiri atau bunuh diri! Nga-Yee yang mendengar spekulasi polisi tersebut tidak menerima, karena dia sendiri yakin bahwa adik perempuannya tidak punya alasan untuk mengakhiri hidupnya apalagi keluarganya sangatlah mencintainya dan menurut Nga-Yee adiknya bukan seseorang yang akan melakukan bunuh diri. 

Nga-Yee sangat terpukul dengan kejadian itu, kerja kerasnya untuk mengumpulkan uang agar adiknya dapat bersekolah ke jenjang lebih tinggi akhirnya jadi sia-sia. Tidak menerima kenyataan, Nga-Yee akhirnya menggunakan uang tabungannya untuk menyewa seorang detektif lokal untuk menyelidiki kematian adiknya. Detektif suruhan Nga-Yee mencium sesuatu yang janggal pada kematian Siu-Man, namun karena dia bekerja dengan cara konvensional dia pun menemukan jalan buntu dalam penyelidikan. Detektif tersebut akhirnya merekomendasikan jasa seorang detektif yang lebih pintar lagi dan tentunya dapat melacak seseorang dengan cara yang lebih modern, detektif tersebut bernama “N.”

N adalah seseorang yang cukup misterius, perawakannya seorang lelaki dewasa namun begitu acak-acakan dan tidak terawat ibarat seseorang yang sudah tidak mandi berbulan-bulan, rumahnya berantakan dan kotor, serta sifatnya yang ketus dan sarkastik. Namun, dibalik sifat buruknya, N adalah seorang detektif handal yang menyelidiki kasus dan mencari mangsanya dengan cara modern yaitu melalui internet. Kepintarannya inilah yang dimaksud oleh detektif lokal tersebut dan tak jarang jika ada seseorang yang mencari petunjuk tentang sesuatu mereka akan meminta bantuan kepada N selama laki-laki tersebut mau mengambil kasusnya. 

Singkat cerita, Nga-Yee berhasil membuat N tertarik dengan kasus kematian adik kandungnya, Siu-Man. Memang terbukti bahwa Siu-man mati karena dia memutuskan untuk bunuh diri tapi ada yang mengejutkan dalam temuan penyelidikan N, ternyata Siu-Man pernah dilecehkan dan itulah pemantik awal dia memutuskan untuk bunuh diri! Mengetahui fakta-fakta yang mengejutkan atas latar belakang kematian adiknya, Nga-Yee tambah terpukul karena dia sekarang ternyata tidak sama sekali mengenal adiknya, Nga-Yee juga tersadar bahwa setelah kematian Ibunya, dia terlalu fokus untuk mengejar uang dan melupakan kondisi adiknya.

Apa fakta yang ditemukan oleh N? Apakah Nga-Yee melakukan pembalasan dendam atas adiknya?

Opiniku

🙋🏻‍♂️ Kalo aku ditanya apa yang bagus dari novel ini, aku bakal jawab detail ceritanya bagus banget! Tentunya bener twist di alur ceritanya juga banyak seperti yang orang-orang bilang, tapi ada beberapa yang bisa ketebak. Selain detail dan twistnya, aku suka banget penulisnya bikin novel ini jadi banyak POV tapi ada tiga POV besar yang jadi benang merah ceritanya jadi ini selaras sama yang aku bilang di awal kalo novel ini bener-bener detail, ini kenapa jadi gitu dan itu kenapa jadi gini semuanya ada sebab dan akibat yang jelas dan tidak terasa dipaksakan. Pesan yang ada dalam novel ini juga bagus banget, bahkan bagi aku pribadi ini novel pertama yang mengangkat isu kriminal di dunia daring atau cyber crime yang mungkin istilah yang lebih sering kita denger. 

Memang kalau dinilai secara “dunia nyata” novel ini terasa sangat fiksi karena karakternya khususnya “N” sangat terlalu pintar, tapi penilaian ini sifatnya subjektif banget dan siapa tahu ada di dunia nyata yang sifat dan kehidupannya sama dengan karakter “N” ini.

Rating dari Kami!
5/5 ⭐️

English Version | 🇺🇸

Fun Fact!
Did you know Chan Ho-kei, the mystery and crime novelist was born in Hong Kong and has written 10 books! Chan Ho-kei is also a software engineer and video game designer by profession. 

Here Comes the Review!
Second Sister – The story begins with a woman named Nga-Yee seeing her younger sibling Siu-Man dead from the window of their 20th floor apartment, Nga-Yee is devastated by this sudden grim event. The local police immediately took action and investigated what caused Siu-Man to fall and it was speculated that Siu-Man fell from her apartment window by her own decision or suicide! Nga-Yee who heard the police's speculation did not accept, as she herself believed that her sister had no reason to end her life especially since her family loved her very much and Nga-Yee did not think that her sister was someone who would commit suicide. 

Nga-Yee was devastated by the incident, her hard work to raise money so that her sister could go to higher education finally went to waste. Not accepting reality, Nga-Yee finally used her savings to hire a local detective to investigate her sister's death. Nga-Yee's detective smells something odd about Siu-Man's death, but because he works in a conventional way he finds a dead end in the investigation. The detective finally recommends the services of a detective who is smarter and can certainly track someone in a more modern way, the detective is named “N.”

N is someone quite mysterious, his stature is that of an adult man but is so disheveled and unkempt like someone who hasn't bathed in months, his house is messy and dirty, and his nature is sharp and sarcastic. However, behind his bad character, N is a reliable detective who investigates cases and looks for prey in a modern way, namely through the internet. His cleverness is what the local detective is referring to and it's not uncommon that if someone is looking for clues about something they will ask N for help as long as the man is willing to take the case. 

Long story short, Nga-Yee managed to get N interested in the death of her younger sibling, Siu-Man. It is proven that Siu-Man died because she decided to commit suicide but there is something surprising in the findings of N's investigation, it turns out that Siu-Man was abused and that was the initial trigger for her decision to commit suicide! Knowing the shocking facts about the background of her sister's death, Nga-Yee is devastated because she now turns out not to know her sister at all, Nga-Yee also realizes that after her mother's death, she was too focused on chasing money and forgot about her sister's condition.

What facts did N discover? Did Nga-Yee take revenge on her sister?

Nick’s Mind
🙋🏻‍♂️ If I were asked what's good about this novel, I would say that the story details are really good! Of course, there are also many twists in the storyline as people say, but there are some that can be guessed. In addition to the details and the twist, I really like that the author makes this novel so many POVs but there are three big POVs that become the common thread of the story so this is in line with what I said at the beginning that this novel is really detailed, this is why so and that is why so and so everything has a clear cause and effect and does not feel forced. 

The message in this novel is also really good, even for me personally this is the first novel that raises the issue of crime in the online world or cyber crime which is probably the term we hear more often. Indeed, if judged in the “real world” this novel feels very fictional because the characters, especially “N”, are too smart, but this assessment is very subjective and who knows if there are people in the real world who have the same nature and life as this “N” character.

A Star From Us!
5/5 ⭐️

Instagram: @thebooksofours

Threads: @thebooksofours

X: @thebooksofours

Email: itsatbo@gmail.com