Brain Teasers: Mystery, Puzzles, and Crime Solving 烧脑-推理解谜破案

1 雪 Echoes of the Snowy Mountains 雪山的回响 Unwilling to Leave the Mountains and Rivers不辞山川Romance145k WordsCompleted [Upcoming novel] My next book will be Did You Pick Up a Cat Today? The snowy mountain above, the lake marsh as witness. With a prayer flag in hand, let's brave a storm together. * Cen An gets stood up by her client and is forced to spend the night in a remote mountain village. Strange villagers, knocking at the door after dark, a cousin who's gone missing, and a flickering ceiling lamp hanging by a thread. Ding! You have a new message. Please check it. [Unknown number]: 1. Make sure your fait 1.3kFavorites1kClicks/ch2.7kGifts

Curator note

This story is quite mind-bending, involving repeated loops and the exploration of clues to unfold the investigation. More than one person is trapped in the loop. What I liked included: ① The opening introduction was realistic and immersive, not the kind that immediately forces you to accept a bizarre premise. The environmental, psychological, and action descriptions were all very realistic, not just theoretical. For example, the psychological shift between self-preservation and rescuing a suspected abducted woman alone, and the initial reaction of constantly calling the police. ② Some of the plot points were well-developed and knowledge-based, not silly or the shallow, mindless feel-good story. For instance, when I first saw the rule text message mentioning "Don't think about kerosene lamps, don't think about kerosene lamps, don't think about kerosene lamps," I was internally scoffing, thinking there was a psychological effect—the more you mentally suggest not to think about something, the stronger the impression becomes. Turns out, they already knew! I was being silly [doge emoji]. I also really liked the foreshadowing, but I won't spoil it further.

2 被 Trapped on the Day of the Murder 被困在凶案发生的那一天 Li Mi李觅Romance172k WordsCompleted [Mystery + Detective Fiction + Episodic Story + Power Fantasy + Strongest Female Lead] Ling Shuang runs a detective agency that loses money. Her everyday work consists of finding neighbors' cats and dogs and settling disputes between them. One late night, a young man soaked to the skin bursts into her agency, claiming he's from three days in the future and is trapped on the day a murder took place. After that, things start spiraling out of control. Every few days, people from the future who a 453Favorites311Clicks/ch145Gifts

Curator note

The female protagonist is a private detective, and the detective agency is a magical place: passive bystanders of a case are trapped on the day of the incident; if they enter the agency, they are transported back three days, teaming up with the detective to solve the case and prevent it from happening in the first place. Because the parties involved are also unintentionally involved, they don't know what the key points are and need to try repeatedly. Not everyone is efficient at collecting clues, and not everyone is cooperative, which is very realistic. The stories are mostly set in the neighborhood next to the agency, somewhat like episodic stories, with a main storyline connecting the characters in each episodic story. Each story unlocks a group of people (this is somewhat idealistic; it's impossible to control which specific neighbors appear each time, but without control, too many people would make it more chaotic and difficult). The senses are sharp, and the clues are there from the start, but you can't distinguish which ones are useful, and there are also distractions. By recounting the day's events again and again, new clues are gradually uncovered, making the story more mysterious and full of twists and turns. The pacing is very fast, with each episode ending in just a few chapters, which feels a bit too short.

Curator note

The format is a series of serious criminal cases that are naturally linked together, interspersed with a diary storyline and occasional flashbacks. Several timelines intertwine and run parallel, with scenes shifting from one point to another, creating a suspenseful and thrilling experience. It's tense, exciting, and a bit mind-bending, with each story seemingly independent yet intricately connected, requiring the viewer to guess as they watch. The pacing of each storyline is well-matched, with clues corroborated and revealed at opportune moments. The story unravels bit by bit, sending shivers down your spine at times, culminating in a twist at the very last moment. From the male protagonist's perspective: The son of a policeman who suffered greatly in life and whose body was mutilated after death, returns as a lawyer to investigate the truth and seek revenge. The male protagonist in this story is the nephew of the female protagonist in "Thirteen" (a bit glib and carefree), so this policeman is her brother. This series of stories has some dark and even gritty elements; evil forces are deeply entrenched, and the fight against them is arduous, fraught with sacrifice. Without this background, the male and female protagonists would be a standard carefree, academically challenged, and academically gifted campus romance. Although he's a bit cheeky, he's a ray of sunshine in the female protagonist's bleak world. From the female lead's perspective: A psychologist who lost her memory in an accident a year ago. Now, she seems to have a happy family and a considerate boyfriend, but it's as if a veil of mystery surrounds her as she gradually recovers her past self. It's incredibly thrilling, as she discovers how amazing she was before and... I won't spoil it, you'll have to watch it yourself! The female lead is definitely not a harmless, weak, dependent flower; she's more of a dark character, and the emotional outburst at the end will bring you to tears—it's so heartbreaking. The second male lead is the female lead's ex-boyfriend. He's a capable and charming man, an orphan and the eldest of several siblings. He worked hard to climb the social ladder while also caring for his younger sister, and is now a top-tier CEO. He's gentle, considerate, and genuinely loving towards the amnesiac female lead, but at other times he's a thorn in the side of her father. However, he also seems to have his own agenda, making his character shrouded in mystery. It was a little sad to see the female lead break up with him. Later on… it was truly heartbreaking. This was the first time I cried for Xu Haizhen in this story, and the second and third times were for Zhu Shengxi. If it weren't for his background, if he could have stayed with the female lead forever, how wonderful that would have been. Indeed, compared to a seemingly glib-tongued male lead, I much prefer this kind of gentle, considerate, selfless, and unwavering male lead. (Of course, the focus of this story isn't romance but suspense.)

Curator note

I haven't seen this type of story much before. It's about someone caught in the middle breaking free of their predicament, and a former gangster boss who has cleaned up his act and gone straight, now getting old and his health is failing, so he starts testing his successor. This short prequel feels like an introduction, and there's a series of longer stories to expand on it.

5 困 The Trapped Bird 困鸟 Ji Ying纪婴No CP112k WordsCompleted * The fair-skinned, slender convenience-store clerk downstairs was gloomy and taciturn, and had been bullied by thugs more than once. Moved by compassion, Jiang Rou stepped in to help. In the quiet of the night, their eyes met. The clerk’s ears turned red as he shyly thanked her, like the start of a story about salvation. Until one day, Jiang Rou realized he might well be a serial killer who had kidnapped and brutalized several women. To find evidence she could take to the police and rescue th 22.2kFavorites19.4kClicks/ch18.6kGifts

Curator note

A suspenseful story of outwitting a serial killer. It unfolds from multiple perspectives (see the title), somewhat like a murder mystery game; each person reads their own script, experiencing only their own viewpoint, with narrative tricks. There are no mindless, unintelligent characters; instead, intelligent people are used to highlight their even greater intelligence. [Doge emoji] The girls' relationships at the end were so touching! [Crying emoji]

6 开 The Opening 开篇 Pray Lord祈祷君Romance651k WordsOngoing One-line blurb: She draws the truths the dead could never speak, but has no idea what those truths are. He searches for a witness who may never have existed, not knowing the answer lies in no one's eyes. Hu Tao is a manga artist. She never appears in public, gives no interviews, and has no photos. Her readers can only imagine who she is from the crime scenes in her comics, rendered so realistically they make you uncomfortable. When she finally decides to take off her mask and step into 3.4kFavorites2.3kClicks/ch11.8kGifts

Curator note

This is part of the same series as the beginning (Old Zhang even made a cameo appearance). This book is suspenseful to the point of being absurd, shrouded in mystery, with several perspectives intersecting and making it difficult to grasp the overall meaning. The cover synopsis is about an anime character coming to life, but as I started reading, I gradually forgot about it. Then, at a certain point in the story, a character suddenly brought up the synopsis again, jolting me back to reality and giving me a jolt – it wasn't that simple after all. The helplessness of the invisible man is portrayed so vividly that it evokes empathy and a sense of frustration and pain. The setup is quite lengthy. Every time I had a sudden flash of inspiration, I soon realized something was amiss, that it was getting more complicated. The same event is interpreted differently by different people. Unlike the usual case-by-case approach, this one is more like a series of layers wrapping around a suspenseful point, with each person offering their own interpretation. Each person's narration makes you believe it's true, then the next person's narration makes you think it's true, and then something else happens. The further you read, the more you realize that almost all the initial viewpoints seem wrong.

7 异 Anomaly Assessment 异常测定 Retreating Halberd退戈Romance283k WordsCompleted Sanyao Tech, at your service! · Fang Qingzhou has a few bad habits. She’s a picky eater, doesn’t like eating, loves to sleep in, and has a mild case of OCD. She wants everything in her domain to follow the rules and proceed in order. From the moment things are created, through their development, and all the way to their end, she wants them to unfold according to what she believes is the best sequence. If something goes wrong and can’t be fixed, she’d rather pull out the floorboards beneath it an 55.8kFavorites45kClicks/ch155.3kGifts

Curator note

First of all, a big congratulations on the breakthrough in the romance storyline! [Cheering emoji] I love the male and female leads' characters. The female lead is a high-IQ genius scientist (her emotional expression has a slightly robotic feel; she's considerate and accommodating, but whether she can truly win people's hearts is another matter [doge emoji]. The male lead currently seems to be a stubborn, tsundere type). The two of them have amazing chemistry in their acting and gathering clues. Other characters also add unexpected dry humor, such as the socially dreadful chatterbox and the clueless clerk. It's a story about what constitutes an abnormal person and explores technological ethics. Even the narrative style is carefully designed, so I'll avoid spoilers and have you discover it for yourself to experience the surprises. [Rose emoji] After a six-month hiatus, I suddenly discovered it was finished. I'd almost forgotten the plot from before, so I had to start reading from the beginning. Watching Shen Zhiyang's part again still made me cry buckets; it was so heartbreaking [crying emoji]. There were so many other characters later on, some constantly wiping away tears, others I hated with a passion… The fates of so many people were so painful to watch [crying emoji]. My eyes are swollen from crying.

Curator note

In short, it's about a reborn protagonist who seeks the truth and overcomes her inner turmoil. This story isn't a serious crime thriller; it has a slightly old-school Mary Sue feel, with everyone wanting to hang out with the heroine. The small school team members have distinct personalities, and their teamwork on missions is quite exciting. The heroine has no magic but is very perceptive, though her acting isn't great [doge emoji]. She arrives in a magical world and experiences a series of events. She remembers that in her past life, her best friends didn't treat her as friends at all and said many hurtful things, causing her psychological trauma. In this life, she wants to avoid them while also trying to find the truth… Because of her actions different from her past life, she unlocks the true truth behind some stories from her previous life, with most having plot twists. What I liked was the straightforwardness and directness, the fast pace, with several chapters per story, and the relatively short length of the entire story. Every time I realized the previous ending wasn't the real one, it gave me goosebumps. There were also some interesting little details, such as not calling her companions in a crisis to avoid exposing them, and taking immediate action in emergencies instead of asking questions to satisfy her curiosity. The contrast between the two lifetimes and the relationships of the later characters made me cry uncontrollably. In her previous life, she clearly loved making friends, but this time she's a loner and doesn't socialize. In her previous life, she loved taking pictures of her friends and even made an album for each of them, but in this life, she hasn't taken any pictures of them… Also, what disgusted me most about this story were the female lead's parents. If you love adventure and don't want to take responsibility, then don't have children. You ran off and got into danger, yet you called on your child, who can't use magic, to rescue you. You didn't care about your daughter's life or death, nor did you care about the elderly. You only cared about yourself from beginning to end. The side stories feature different romantic pairings, and the achievement names at the end of each story are perfectly matched and rhyming. The first side story even included a turtle soup.

9 你 Hello, Mysterious Forensic Doctor [Sherlock Holmes] 你好，神秘法医[福尔摩斯] Eighteen of Mountains and Seas山海十八Romance1.1M WordsCompleted After transmigrating to the 19th century, forensic pathologist Moren seizes her opportunity and becomes one of London's wealthy elite. Just as she decides to enjoy a leisurely life collecting rent, she discovers an old book made of human skin in the attic: European and American Love Stories. Story One: The Count's Decree: Three Days Until the Wedding, and the Bride-to-Be Has Eloped with Her Guard Story Two: The Banker's Death: A Widowed Banker Dies After Getting Engaged to His “Girlfriend,” Whi 21kFavorites26.2kClicks/ch44.6kGifts

Curator note

In real life, there are cases to solve, and the male and female protagonists are transported into a seemingly melodramatic love story that actually hides a secret—a book of human skin with mysteries to unravel. These two storylines intersect, with a subplot focusing on advancing medical science and advocating for women's medical qualifications. The early parts are relatively realistic, but the later parts become more suspenseful. The male lead is Mycroft, but the story content is essentially entirely new, focusing more on solving various cases than simply retelling the original work. Therefore, it's still included in the mystery and detective book list. 1. I liked the female lead's cautiousness and suspicion when she first transmigrated; she didn't believe everything others said. The original owner's job was a telegraph operator, and the female lead is a forensic pathologist. The pre-transmigration learning and adaptation to the new job, along with the specific descriptions of telegraph work, made the story relatable and prevented it from feeling empty. 2. The female lead doesn't overlook any suspicious points, which is reassuring. She's able to analyze the other person's psychology and remains calm and collected in handling the situation. 3. The supporting characters, besides the main characters, are also well-developed. For example, Luna, as a skilled technician, although she was blinded by love, she possesses her pride and won't willingly be fooled or manipulated. Her ability to think and discover inconsistencies feels natural, rather than simply disappearing after serving her purpose of "sabotaging" others. The side story even mentions her later achievements, which is a pleasant surprise. 4. The author's notes at the end of each chapter contain references, indicating that the plot or certain settings are based on facts, and I also learned some relevant knowledge. 5. The role-playing scenes in the later main storyline, where the characters act out scenes together, are also very funny and show great chemistry. 6. I enjoyed the romance between these two. It wasn't overly sweet from the start, nor did they inexplicably fall deeply in love. Their interactions in both the real world and the book involved multiple collaborations and seamless teamwork; the romance was a nice touch, not an obstacle to solving the case. Even when they suspected each other's identities, they remained rational and restrained, not reckless. Even their reunion was carefully planned and subtly suggestive. The tension was great, like teasing a dog. However, the playful banter before they were about to confess their feelings was a bit too much for me—too cloying and a bit too flirtatious… Just fast forward a bit! 7. One part is the Storybook Town theme park, which looks very appealing to me. It incorporates many fairytale settings I've never seen before, and also includes mystery-solving elements.

10 d Doubleface Yu Shanshan余姗姗Romance776k WordsCompleted Next Long Novel: Human Tide, Human Sea. Forensic pathologist vs. homicide detective. This is part of the series that includes Time and Crime and A Ling. Blurb: Hey, listen to me tell you a story. I died at the very beginning of the story. I went back to investigate how the whole thing started, only to discover there were three suspects: My future boyfriend, the man I once believed was the real culprit, and another “me.” Hehe, interesting, right? … Notes: 1. This story features time travel 9.8kFavorites8.8kClicks/ch11.6kGifts

Curator note

The core themes revolve around time travel, parallel universes, and the butterfly effect. The same few characters appear repeatedly in different combinations. It explores both repeated attempts within a single world and the search for self and the resolution of obsessions across multiple worlds. Discussing this genre too much could be a spoiler, so it's best to watch it yourself. The later parts of the settings look a bit messy, and I'm not used to them yet.