Novels like The Heart-Stealing Sleuth
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Heart-Stealing Sleuth, best match first.
- 1 A Chain of Mysteries 谜案连环 [Crime investigation and deduction + no female lead + episodic stories + light romance] In a corner stands an exquisite, beautiful ice sculpture, but it is made of a corpse. An anime character who seems to have stepped out of another dimension, yet has no breath left. And a blonde beauty asleep on a bench who just won't wake up... What connection do they share? Why did the killer do this? What secrets lie behind it all? The clues they uncover all seem to point to the unsolved case from seven yea 1.4kReads—Score10214d adds
- 2 After My Entire Family Was Executed, I Joined the Inspector to Solve a Cold Case 满门抄斩后，与巡察从事共探悬案 [Mystery and Investigation | Deduction | Light Political Intrigue | Linked Serial Murders | A Vivid Portrait of Society] Yun Shu, the legitimate son of a great general and once the crown prince's study companion, watched his family suffer a sudden calamity. His father was framed for colluding with the enemy and plotting treason, and the entire clan was sentenced to death. With secret help, he faked his death and escaped, abandoning his identity to drift among the common people. He endures humili —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 The Broken Mirror Murder Case 破镜缉凶 [Mystery + Criminal Investigation + Deduction + Case-of-the-Week + Long Main Plot + No Romance + Solving Crimes] On a livestream, a bride in red hangs herself from an ancient locust tree. A million viewers watch as her corpse follows an invisible track and “walks” back to the crime scene. I'm Qin Niu, captain of the criminal investigation team in Changping City. The people I'm up against aren't ghosts, but a group of “crime designers.” They use magnetic levitation to transport corpses, infrasou 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 Allen's Story: Hyperthymesia 艾伦的故事—超忆症 Alan’s Story: Hyperthymesia 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 Forensic Detective on the Case 追凶法医 One baffling murder after another; One tangled clue after another; One eerie crime scene after another; He faces the most ruthless killers; He deciphers the language of bones; Amid a swamp of unsolved cases, he painstakingly pieces together the clues and makes the dead speak! 89Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 6 The Sixth Kind of Reasoning 第六种推理 Reasoning in the world can broadly be divided into five types: syllogistic deduction, conjunction elimination, chain inference, inductive synthesis, and reductio ad absurdum. The world's great detectives use these five methods for one purpose: to discover WHO committed a case. Yang Yuge is fascinated by all kinds of strange cases, but unlike other detectives, he doesn't care about WHO. He only cares about WHY. To find WHY, Yang Yuge uses a sixth method of reasoning, one distinct from the other f 16Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 7 I Transmigrated into a Crime Scene 我穿成凶案现场了 [Not horror, focused on crime solving; very little romance, with the male lead mostly in the background] As a child, Ye Li dreamed of becoming a great hero, righting wrongs and living by the sword. As an adult, she became a police detective, and thought she had more or less made that dream come true. She never expected that one day she would be forced into another role: Wushi's very own "Batman." The difference is that Batman relies on "money power," while she relies on "nerve power": a strong h 23Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 The International Sleuth 国际名探 Ahem, ahem... Rise, my beloved ministers. I have an important announcement at this morning's court session. Since I am exceptionally talented and stunningly good-looking, I am currently writing a novel. As the author of this book, I have high hopes for it. I expect all my beloved ministers to read it carefully. Be sure to leave a memorial with every chapter. I will burn the midnight oil, personally read them, and review your memorials. Before writing this book, I read widely, studied world m —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 9 The Court of Causality: Fatal Percentage 因果律庭：致命百分比 I’m Alan Wexler, a former causality investigator and now a down-at-the-heels detective. My daily routine is watching people at the “Court of Causality” argue themselves hoarse over trivial nonsense. For example, when a piece of cheese goes missing, they’ll blame the boss, a robot, a dog, even the constants of the universe! Then I get dragged into Alex’s death case, and all five unlucky nodes insist they’re innocent. Fine, looks like I’ll have to step in again and find the one truly guilty “cause 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 Murder in the Golden House: My Opponent Is a Bit of a Letdown 金屋藏凶：我的对手不太行 [Alternate Republic of China setting + episodic mystery-solving + happy ending] During the Republic of China era, the body of socialite Xu Ruolan is discovered in a suburban villa. The police station hastily closes the case as an accidental fall. Officer Jiang Shuyi suspects foul play and continues investigating, only to be dismissed without explanation. Just as the truth is about to be buried, a year later, dancer Dong Yujiao moves into the villa to track down a missing treasure. There, she cro 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 Double Shadows 双重阴影 Twin Shadows 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 A Ghost's Greeting 幽灵的问候 A threatening letter from a mysterious ghost. An opening line that foretells murder. A man who came back from the dead seven years ago. A string of killings in the city center, full of baffling locked-room mysteries. What is the truth? Join the great detective Xia Luoke as he investigates! 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 The Lost Truth 失落的真相 In response to the Ministry of Public Security’s decision that every murder case must be solved, Tianfeng City establishes a special task force to crack cold cases. In an unprecedented move, it appoints Zhang Yunqing, a Chinese-born criminal psychology expert who studied overseas, as the team leader. On Zhang Yunqing’s first day on the job, something strange happens in Tianfeng City: a phone belonging to the evidence from an unsolved case involving a headless female corpse, eight years ago, sudd 216Reads8.5Score10014d adds
- 14 Solving Crimes by Talking to Animals, I Keep Wandering into High-Risk Crime Scenes 听懂兽语破案，天天误入高危现场 (The rating is low because the novel just came out. It will rise later. There is a male lead, but romance makes up less than a tenth of the story and helps lighten its otherwise heavy tone.) Sui Yue is swindled out of her money by a scumbag and saddled with loans she can never pay off. An orphan with nothing left to live for, she decides to jump into a river. But through a bizarre twist of fate, someone pushes her in. In the water, she hears two snakes talking and discovers a man’s corpse. With 6.9kReads8.6Score1k14d adds
- 15 I Brushed Past the Killer and Saw the Crime Scene! 与凶手擦肩，我看到了案发现场！ Zhu Yaqing has a secret she can never tell anyone. Whenever she brushes past a murderer, she sees the crime scene. Because of this, she forms an unbreakable bond with the Criminal Investigation Division of the city’s Public Security Bureau… 601Reads6.5Score10214d adds
- 16 Salvation in the Torrential Rain 暴雨救赎 [No System, no golden finger, no romance, mystery + deduction + main plot + standalone cases] Some people receive WeChat messages from their future selves. Some act in a feel-good web short drama and end up dead at the scene. Some think they can sit back and watch the drama unfold after mouthing off online, unaware that someone is watching them from the shadows... In this world, there are always people who use terrifying methods beyond ordinary understanding to murder their fellow human beings. 128Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 Strange Tales from the Folk 民间吊诡故事 [An ensemble cast] [Multiple protagonists and storylines] [A wild imagination] [Mystery] [Conspiracies] [Open schemes] [Political machinations] Pangu split the earth with his axe. Fuxi and Nuwa established marriage customs. Chiyou and the Yellow Emperor fought for the throne of the gods, only for the battle to end in defeat at Mount Buzhou. After a century of war between gods and demons, the Yellow Emperor abdicated, taking the blame. Humanity gained gods, then lost them, and so a new tale of cr 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Mottled Crimes 罪案斑驳 Before one crisis has passed, another arises. A series of murders has struck Harbor City. The killer is ruthless, and several citizens have already been killed. The Special Cases Unit launches a full-scale investigation. All signs point to the same person behind the crimes: Gu Jinghao. Ye Ziyu arrives in the nick of time to help the team pierce the layers of mystery. The battle with Gu Jinghao is about to begin! 389Reads8.7Score2914d adds
- 19 The Frozen North 深寒之地 This novel follows Yang Rui, an adviser to the Qidong City Criminal Police Division, his assistant Zhou Qi, and their police team as they solve cases. There is no System and no sensational or bizarre gimmicks. This is a hard-edged, orthodox mystery with tight logic and professional details that strive to avoid errors. Readers who prefer fast-paced pulp or light novels may want to give it a miss. 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 20 The Case of the Eroding Color 色蚀谜案 A Case of Sensual Corruption 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 21 Eyes of the Deep Abyss 1: Evil Like a Hook 凝渊之眸1：恶如钩 I'm a special-case criminal investigator. I'm also the most ordinary one among thousands upon thousands of criminal investigators. This is a collection of criminal cases, and a record of memories. In this novel, you'll find me, my mentor, and my best friends. Like me, they are all unique, yet utterly ordinary. We once blazed with ambition and confidence. We once pieced together clues and chased criminals through the fog. We also knew sorrow and hesitation. My mentor once told me: We walk the lin 591Reads9.3Score10314d adds
- 22 No Escape from the End of Sin 2 罪终难逃2 Cheng Yi, the male lead of this novel, is twenty-six years old and heads Criminal Investigation Team A in the Major Crimes Unit of the U City Police Department. Most of the time, he looks half-asleep and utterly listless. You’d never take him for a police officer just by looking at him. But whenever a case comes up, he becomes a completely different person. He investigates with utmost care and rigor, his mind racing even faster than a computer’s CPU fan. He’s handsome and charming, too, but what 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 Crows Descend on Sin City 鸦落罪城 (Mystery and deduction + criminal investigation + anti-drug operations + anti-corruption + mind-bending crimes) In Yacheng, Nanhuai Province, in the 1990s, a sensational case shocked the nation: the 712 serial murders. The case reached far and wide. The suspect brutally murdered a family of three, but the Qingsha Syndicate behind the killer controlled Yacheng's police, procuratorate, and courts, keeping justice out of reach. To solve the case, Zhou Zhen of the Nanhuai Provincial Police Departmen 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 As Night Gives Way to Dawn: The Perfect Case 长夜将明：刑侦之完美破案 [Mind-Bending Mystery · Case-by-Case Crimes · Hard-Hitting Criminal Investigation · Shocking Twists · Warmth Within the Police Force] The setting in this novel is entirely fictional and does not depict any real people or organizations! The night is long, and crime is shrouded in mystery. In Ningzhou, an economic powerhouse, beneath the dazzling splendor woven by neon lights, unknown cruelty and malice lie in wait in the darkness before dawn, growing wildly at the end of the long night. One bizar 138Reads—Score—14d adds
- 25 The Thousand-Year-Old Detective 千岁神探 During the Song Dynasty, the Six Fan Gate. At the summit of the Tianshan Mountains, he attains immortality. Demons and monsters all fear him. Dynasties rise and fall, and everyone else is just a passerby. A thousand years rush past. He is merely a visitor to the halls of power. He once discussed old cases with Bao Zheng and often examined corpses with Song Ci. Across a thousand years, he writes the chronicles of history. A single lifetime spent seeking the truth. He is the greatest martial artis 22Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 26 Parallel Lines 2 平行线2 The night before her wedding, the bride vanishes without a trace. She is later found at a neighbor’s house, with a man’s corpse lying beside her. Shu Qingyang and Fu Baiyun, who came to attend the wedding, immediately join the investigation, but the key clue lies with a rabbit... A viral singer is found dead by the roadside. Before his death, he had suddenly begun studying theology. The eerie crime scene bears no trace of evidence, while the Qiao family, now squarely in the crosshairs, sends out —Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 27 Case Files of the Eerie 诡案录 The Jiangzhou City police force has a mysterious department called P.C.I, dedicated to investigating strange cases that science cannot explain. Its members are a handful of young people with special abilities. Because Qin Lang has a pair of yin-yang eyes that let him see ghosts, he joins the department through a twist of fate, embarking on a journey into the uncanny world of bizarre cases... 99Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 28 Ma Long Investigates: The Three O'Clock Mystery 马龙探案之三点的迷案 Revision in progress, The format will be changed to one translation per sentence, with one Chinese sentence followed by one English sentence. Extensive English reading material, suitable for readers with a vocabulary of 3,000 words, and written according to the logic of how to say things in English. Contents Volume One: The Three O'Clock Mystery @ Chapter 1 Volume Two: The Missing Corpse @ Chapter 34 Volume Three: The Wrong Murder Case @ Chapter 68 Volume Four: The Right Murder Case A suspens —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 The Mystery of Dingcheng 2 定城迷踪2 [Mind-Bending Mystery + Standalone Stories + Jaw-Dropping Twists] The second installment of "Unraveling the Truth". Behind every massacre, there is always an unseen hand, seemingly trying to expose the ugliest side of human nature. Children turned into pawns in their parents’ power games, victims who take up the butcher’s knife, ghosts wandering on rainy nights, missing human organs... Walking the boundary between day and night, seeing the warmth and coldness of this world, a ray of dawn will al 40kReads9.1Score2.9k14d adds
- 30 The Long Night Dawns: Silent Testimony 长夜将明：无声的证词 [Mind-bending mystery | Case-by-case investigations | Hard-core criminal investigations | High-stakes twists | A tender-hearted police team] The long night looms like a mountain, and mist engulfs the city. When every clue points to the person who seems least likely to be guilty, Leng Hanzhou is forced to make the hardest choice, on the fine line between justice and the law. Because some silent testimony has always been hidden in the darkest depths of human nature. Ningzhou, a prosperous economic 879Reads—Score10514d adds
- 31 Crime Scene 罪恶现场 The story recreates crime scenes and explores the weaknesses of human nature. Behind every case lies a battle between the police and evil! Each case is adapted from a real incident. Any resemblance is purely coincidental! 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 The Encryption Mystery 加密疑案 A master detective from the Republic of China era; a detective’s notebook whose records begin in 1931; a special cipher tailored for detectives of the future; and an intellectual duel that forcibly draws in the Queen of Crime… A conspiracy passed down through generations, inherited schemes, an endless cycle of revenge, and a detective who cannot rest in peace. Only by cracking the double cipher hidden in the notebook can one reach the truth buried in the distant past. The detectives’ wordplay be 48Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 33 Behind the Murder 命案背后 Mystery, investigation, and case after case unraveled thread by thread. It takes multiple twists before the truth finally comes to light, letting readers share in the thrill of solving each crime. The cases grow more complex as the story goes on, making it even more compelling. 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 Crime Scene Puzzle: The Unseen Truth 罪案拼图：看不见的真相 In the modern city, the streets are bustling and the lights are bright, and people hurry along their own paths through life. Yet in the city’s shadowy corners, evil quietly takes root like a ghost concealed by night. Countless secrets hidden from view and thrilling crimes intertwine into an invisible web, waiting to be unraveled. 21Reads—Score—14d adds
- 35 The Strange Corpse Case 奇尸案 Do you think there is such a thing as the perfect crime? If so, what would it look like? Would it make a body disappear completely? Make sure no one ever discovers it? Or leave no evidence behind? 2.2kReads8.1Score18514d adds
- 36 The Root of Sin 心罪源 Greed, desire, hatred, loathing, envy, jealousy... These are all the roots of human crime. The human heart is unfathomable; people can commit crimes over the smallest things. Yi Kai studied criminal psychology, but ended up making a living as a detective. An accidental car crash gave him astonishing powers of observation and perception. A chance encounter led Police Captain Xiang Tiange to recognize his abilities and put him to work. From then on, he embarked on a battle of wits against criminal 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 37 The Ultimate Manhunt 绝地追凶 A contemporary criminal investigation mystery, full of unexpected twists and deductive case-solving. Feel free to dive in. The story will never go on hiatus. Entirely original, with a deliberate pace. Take your time and follow the investigation. Pay attention to the casual remarks and gestures of certain people. 15Reads—Score—14d adds
- 38 Crime Scenes: The Cases That Shook the Nation 罪案现场，那些轰动全国的大案 This book is adapted from several real, high-profile criminal cases that once made headlines across the country. Baffling murders, shocking robberies, investigations into cold cases, manhunts spanning multiple provinces... Every case once stunned the nation; every crime concealed a truth unknown to the public. Told from a documentary perspective, this book reconstructs the crime scenes, investigative details, criminals' minds, and the full process of bringing them to justice. These stories are 74.9kReads8.8Score5.1k14d adds
- 39 The One Who Breaks the Darkness 破暗者 A bizarre disappearance case brought Ye Chen back to the city that held so many of his memories. What he didn't know was that behind each case lay not only the sickness in the human psyche, but also a hidden darkness. 38Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 40 The Chaser 追赶者 “Solving a case is like putting together a puzzle. The hardest and most crucial part is often finding the last one or two pieces.” [Standalone cases + criminal investigation + rigorous deduction + no romance] A massive meteor shower is on its way, and a group of enthusiasts gather at a campsite on the outskirts of the city to watch the stars. In the dead of night, a scream rings out. A man has been stabbed to death. The caller tells the police that they may have killed him. But his habit of usin 95Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 41 The Missing Detective 消失的刑警 [Criminal investigation + solving cases + strong partners + mind-bending + suspense] The “dead” return, all for one deadly truth. While everyone is attending Zhong Yue’s memorial, he opens his eyes in a small hospital room. The criminal investigation squad captain Zhong Yue has “died.” He is now Zhao Yanqin, Zhong Yue’s cousin. Zhao Yanqin is a police officer too, so the supposedly “dead” Zhong Yue naturally returns to the force. With danger all around and lies everywhere, can he escape the trap 8Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 42 The Amnesiac Detective 失忆神探 A murder within a murder case, a body hidden inside a concrete pillar, killings by a porcelain cat brought to life, murders by a bloodsucking zombie, killings by a magic mirror... You can't unravel the secrets behind these cases with ordinary reasoning. A psychology professor suffering from anterograde amnesia offers a unique perspective, taking you deep into the minds of terrifying criminals and exposing the shocking truths behind their crimes. 715Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 43 Phantom in the Night Rain 夜雨魅影 A charming little city in the south. A sudden shower of rain. Hidden in the rain-soaked city are secrets no one knows. A lonely soul is often jolted awake by bloody, terrifying nightmares. Now, he is waiting for someone. A shocking murder case has continued for years. When the truth finally comes to light, no one can believe that the killer had been plotting for a full twenty years… 24Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 44 The Silent Relic 圣物无言 Sullivan is an Irish archaeologist. A graduate of the University College Dublin Department of Archaeology, she could take carbon-14 samples at twelve and spent an entire summer at fifteen in the passageways of Newgrange. She should have been digging at Celtic sites, but an organization called the “Recorders' Guild” recruited her after reading her paper, “Materials and Chronology of Medieval Relics.” The Guild has only one rule: record the truth, and never interfere. She has traveled across Europ 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 Fallen from Grace 坠落失格 Psychological suspense | High-IQ battle of wits | The boundary between reality and illusion collapses | Criminal profiling “My name is Chi Xiaochuan. I’m 26 years old, a hyperthymesia patient, and a full-time writer. Years from now, when I write this book, I’ll still remember that rainy night ten years ago. When the creator becomes the one to solve the puzzle, will the words on the page bring salvation, or lead to an even deeper trap? I’m not a profiler. I’m just someone who writes stories. I do 6Reads—Score214d adds
- 46 Into the Abyss 探入深渊 A clueless, comedy-loving detective, a cool and aloof genius, and a series of standalone cases Why did the hotel’s beautiful cleaning lady vanish without a trace, with neither her body nor any sign of her to be found? Why was there a fresh male corpse lying in a coffin in an ancient tomb? Why did a survivor of a fire end up in the morgue after all? Why were four human heads found at the bottom of a water reservoir? … 159Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 47 The Mirror Image Double 镜像替身 235Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 Detective Jia 贾案侦探 [Mystery + detective + case-solving + deduction + no System + mind-bending cases + steadily unfolding plot] A locked-room murder leads to an antiques donation case from years ago. A ruthless killer lurking in the shadows carefully assassinates the people who know what the police have discovered, cutting off every lead. But evidence of a crime never disappears, and the law's net may be wide, but no criminal can slip through forever. 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 Funeral Affairs Master: I Can Solve Cases Too 白事先生：我也会破案 My childhood friend got caught soliciting sex. There’s no problem with me bailing him out, right? But what’s the deal with making a funeral director like me the head of a special investigation team? All I want is to focus on making money, but the appearance of a confession letter completely changed my life, and nearly got me killed (Chapter 164). For personal and professional reasons alike, Chou Wan, I’m going to catch you... This is a traditional detective novel, not a power fantasy. The pacing 36Reads—Score—14d adds
- 50 A Survival Guide to the Blind-Box Life Under Seattle's Bridges 西雅图桥洞盲盒生存指南 Seattle, a steel jungle folded beneath the weight of capital. In hillside mansions, the plutocrats party through the night. Beneath the bridges, nameless bodies are tossed into the dark every day like industrial waste. Desperate for money, North American student Lu Di takes a low-level night-shift gig collecting bodies for the King County Medical Examiner's Office, just to stay alive. While everyone else avoids crime scenes, he sees them as untapped gold mines beyond the reach of the law. With 7Reads—Score—14d adds
