Murders in the Tower of Five Elements

A cult series about the “Chinese Sherlock Holmes”—the eccentric mathematician Chen Jue, one of the strongest Chinese intellectual detectives.

The unusual residential pyramid known as the Tower of Five Elements is conceived as an embodiment of the ancient idea of the elements. Its four levels personify earth, fire, water, and wood—and are built using corresponding materials. The fifth, the uppermost floor, is the very peak of the structure: a single room completely covered with copper that depicts gold, completing the symbolic circle.

Even during construction, ominous rumors spread around the tower: they said it was cursed and robbed of reason anyone who moved in. The first owner didn’t believe the scare stories—on the contrary, he was convinced that living in the “Golden Room” would bring him incredible luck. But one day he opened the window and stepped into the darkness. Later, the same fate struck the second owner.

Lin Zhen, the son of the last owner, is convinced that his father didn’t commit suicide. Even a strange detail doesn’t stop him: at the moment of the tragedy, the “Golden Room” was locked from the inside. Determined to uncover the truth, Zhen decides to spend the night in the room—and he dies as well. Soon after, an earthquake destroys the tower, seemingly burying the solution to the three inexplicable deaths under the rubble forever. But for the brilliant mathematician and detective Chen Jue, none of this is an obstacle: Zhen’s sister turns to him for help…

The novel has been translated from Chinese.