BEFORE WE WERE MONSTERS

Ning is a young and quiet crime scene cleaner. A former “super smeller”, she lost her sense of smell after a tragic incident, only to have it come alive at scenes of death and decomposition. One night, she is tasked to cleaning up a suicide, not knowing it was a murder scene. With all trace evidence gone, she becomes the police’s No. 1 suspect.

Ning begins a desperate quest to clear her name, following the elusive scent left by the murderer, even enlisting the help of notorious serial killer/artist, CHENG Chin-chun, to understand the inner workings of a psychopathic mind. To hunt the monster, she must first become a monster herself.

Evoking the best of Patrick SUSKIND, Thomas HARRIS, and Mariana ENRIQUEZ, this is a dark, searing, astonishingly confident debut that announces the arrival of a major crime writer.

Katniss HSIAO is a young novelist and screenwriter. She has a BA in History from National Taiwan University. A lifelong reader of crime fiction and film buff, Katniss currently works for a film production company. Before We Were Monster is her debut novel.