The Death Bookmark in the Library

Lin Ye has just taken over the rare-books department at the municipal library when he runs into Shen Zhao, a criminal detective investigating an old case. A rare-book restoration specialist has been found dead in the reading room, with a strange bookmark bearing the words “Borrow this book and die” pressed against his chest.

The unusual ink stains on the victim's fingertips are identical to those on evidence from an unsolved case three years ago. Lin Ye's keen eye for rare-book editions reveals that the bookmark is made from paper taken from a unique Republican-era volume stolen from the library. Shen Zhao, meanwhile, deduces from traces at the scene that the killer knows every blind spot in the surveillance system after the library closes.

When a second body appears, more “death notices” marked with bookmarks come to light. Coded notes in old books, strange scratches in the restricted section, and the administrator's deliberately concealed past draw the two into a conspiracy spanning years. When the clues point to a secret hidden in the library's unique collection, they realize they have already become the killer's “next readers”.