This is the first time I haven't finished a book, but it's just that the story doesn't catch me at all. I was expecting a suspense and mystery thriller and I'm not finding anything like that, on the contrary it's getting very boring and my head starts to hurt because of how much I'm forcing myself to finish it but it's not going to be. I hate to give up on books but with this one I can't keep reading.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarpiaVia for the advanced copy of this book.

I had the most awful time getting through this book. I did not find it suspenseful, interesting, thrilling, or engaging. I usually try to find something positive about books. However, I"m coming up empty here. I didn't think the characters were well developed either. It's my first one star review )-:

Thank you NetGalley and HarpiaVia for an advanced copy of this book.
The Secret Talker is one I almost DNF’d and probably should have. The mystery was pretty clear to me and I was disappointed in the character development. Hongmei just seems to be dissatisfied in life. She leaves her fist husband, Jungjai, for the American professor, Glen, and then takes up with the internet Secret Talker. I think everyone can figure out who The Secret Talker is with the first half of the book. No reason for her dissatisfaction in life seems to be identified except she went through some events during the Chinese Revolution. The book keeps going back to her life in the small Chinese town but never seems to define her and how that defined her or made her who she is.
##Netgalley #HarperVia

The Secret Talker is a quiet compact novel that packs a lot into its slim pages. A married woman begins an email correspondence with a stranger who has been watching her carefully. She is torn between the intrigue and attention being paid to her and her faithfulness to her spouse.

Hongmei begins to tell her secrets to the person on the other side of the screen, and as her story unfolds the reader is captivated and curious to see how it will end.

This translated novel is great and I look forward to reading more by Geling Yan.

The Secret Talker by Geling Yan is a superb read with a well defined plot and characters. Well worth the read!

I will not be posting this review publicity as this was a DNF for me. The rating of a 1 star also reflects the fact that I was not able to finish the story.

I absolutely love the premise of this story but I went in thinking this would be a psychological thriller and I didn't get that. There was a mystery to the story but I would classify this book as more as fiction than anything else.

The writing was well done, but this book was a little to slow for me especially since I went in thinking it would be a page turning thriller.

The Secret Talker by Geling Yan

I will not be publicly posting my review of this book, so I’ll not provide a summary of the book here. This feedback is intended for the publisher only.

I believe this book is mis-marketed as a psychological thriller. Yes, there is definitely a strong psychological aspect to the story, as well as an air of mystery, but it felt more like an autopsy of a marriage. As a bookseller, I believe this one would be a disappointment for thriller consumers.

However, there was something I liked about this book that I can’t quite put my finger on. It kept me reading right to the end, and stranger still, the more I thought about it AFTER I had finished it, the better I liked it.

I think this book would be more successful if marketed as women’s fiction. I think its interior psychological aspects fit better as a commentary on culture, gender, and marriage than as a thriller. Just one humble bookseller’s opinion.

Thank you, HarperVia, for approving this digital ARC.

I absolutely love the premise of this story. Hongmei is bored and unhappy in her marriage to Glen, her American husband who provides for her but somehow she feels never SEES her. Then a mysterious e-mail comes her way and now she gets involved and eventually obsessed about the person obsessing about her. Got that?

I really wanted to like this story... I really did. I even put it down at 66% through and while I usually never pick up books I put down, I realized this was a novella and I may as well finish ... plus my interest was piqued to see where Hongmei's journey would take her. Here are some issues I had: this is marketed as a thriller, but the thriller aspect is hard to really find here. Sure we have an anonymous person stalking Hongmei but as she continues to engage this person and basically turn the tables, the lack of fear and only sleightened increase of paranoia does not lend to that thriller atmosphere. However, I do find that the thriller aspect in most translated books tend to be more subtle and not in your face, which can lend a very tense atmosphere... but alas, that's not found here either. I also felt like this story was a bit incomplete... the entirety of setting up to the final *explanation* felt lacking.

What I did like is that in learning more and more of Hongmei as she opens up to her "admirer", we get a pretty compelling character. While I didn't agree with some of her actions, I could understand needing that excitement in her life. The cultural aspect of American and Chinese clashing a bit playing into her dissatisfaction is relatable and in learning of her past experiences lends to why she is acting the way she is now.

Overall I feel like this could've been fleshed out a bit more. Don't go into this expecting the standard thrilling thrills you'd expect from a thriller... you won't find it. But you will find an intricate story of Hongmei, who is worth getting to know.

I feel like this is a story that I will understand more with a reread or two. First, I want to say this was a quiet story. It really wasn't a thriller but it certainly was a mystery. I really loved the writing style and voice of the main character and the way her story and history unfolded. However, some things at the end I just didn't get...but I think that's my fault. But I loved the exploration of marriage, relationships, and identity.

The Secret Talker (published May 4, 2021) is the English translation of acclaimed author and screenwriter Geling Yan’s novel originally published in Chinese in 2004. This novel focuses on Hongmei, a Chinese woman living in a college town in California with her husband, Glen. When an unknown person begins stalking and emailing Hongmei it causes her to reflect on her own identity, culture, past relationships and relationship with Glen. Hongmei knows that this strange new relationship could mean the end of her marriage but she can’t seem to help herself.

I was really excited for this one but it wasn’t quite what I expected. The description for The Secret Talker makes it seem as though it will be a very suspenseful domestic thriller but it seems more like a contemporary fiction book with an undercurrent of mystery. This was a shorter novel that moved along at a brisk pace and was able to capture a really unique character and story but I do believe it felt like a bit of the story’s charm and “thriller” status was lost in translation.

it's SO FUCKING GOOD. It really is. And when you read it, you will understand why I felt moved to "swear.';

WOWWW.

I flagged this book to Parul Sehgal on Twitter and she "liked" the message so I do hope it gets reviewed and would love to read a review by her.

I'll pitch a review to Michigan Quarterly Review and possibly a few other places. it's brilliant. Utterly.

The Secret Talker is a recently translated novel from the prolific and acclaimed Chinese author and screenwriter, Geling Yan. Originally published in 2004, The Secret Talker explores the identity of a Chinese woman who has relocated to the Bay Area with her American husband to pursue a PhD, with the war on terrorism as it’s backdrop. Hongmei’s struggle with her life in China during the Cultural Revolution and the woman she has become in America is the major undercurrent of the story, but the main conflict comes in the form of an individual who has been sending Hongmei intrusive e-mails with details of her life in America. This “secret talker” infatuates Hongmei and makes her reconsider her marriage and her cultural identity.

The Secret Talker is a novella, and I found myself expectantly reading it as more details are uncovered about Hongmei’s history in China and more details are uncovered about her stalker. The translation is a bit stilted, but altogether compelling enough to move the story along at a brisk pace. While the book synopsis may lead a reader to believe they’re reading a traditional thriller, the book is more interested in Hongmei’s interior life than it is with uncovering her stalker’s identity. Readers expecting a true nail-biter of a thriller should set their expectations appropriately.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the unedited EARC

The book, “The Secret Talker”, by Geling Yan, follows Hongmei, a Chinese woman married to an American man named Glen. They reside is California in a University town. Hongmei meets an interesting person on line and that's the main chunk of the action. It's hard to say more, without revealing the story! I feel like this book could have been a 5 instead of a 3 if it were a bit longer and more detailed. I loved the twists and turns, the background story and the unraveling of the whole plot. I would have love to have more "detective work" that her friend did discussed. The whole plot was great though. I enjoyed this read. Thanks

Alright. this wasn't at all like the summary. It constantly mentioned how this was thrilling and scary and other buzzwords in that vain. This was barely even entertaining. I can see what the author wanted to do but it wasn't done well at all. The writing is boring and weird. The way the book is formatted is also weird. There is no flow to be seen. It feels choppy. The plot is both unrealistic and bland. There needed to be more of a set up instead of just getting thrown into an email immediately. The "reveal" wasn't great either. I honestly can't tell why this was written or what the point was. The main character was unlikeable and I can't tell if that was intentional. I also can't tell if there was supposed to be a redemption arc at the end. I'm going to blame bad translation for some of the choppy writing but that doesn't make the boring go away. I'm very disappointed this wasn't something I enjoyed.

This was a very fast read, but it is not a thriller like the blurb says it is.
It's a strange, creepy, emotional story about a woman who has an email relationship with someone who seems to know a lot about her and be stalking her. This put me off at first but as I continued I realized that a lot of things weren't as they originally seemed. I actually guessed who the secret talker was pretty early on, but I definitely didn't guess the other twists that were revealed on the last few pages.
Very strange book and also pretty sad to be honest. Hongmei reveals a lot about her past and her emotional repression during the book.

Fascinating book! Excited to learn that it's translated to the big screen as well. Very quick read that does require a suspension of disbelief that anyone would divulge that much that quickly to a stranger but it worked throughout. A very good domestic thriller

I think because this book was translated it took away from the book cause it definitely had potential. Overall it was ok but was lacking in some areas of the book.

I loved reading the debut novel The Secret Talker by Geling Yan. Hongmei met her husband, Glen, in China, and after a twist of events, she married him and now lives in northern California, where Glen teaches. Hongmei is working on her graduate studies, and the couple leads a quiet life until Hongmei gets an email from a stranger.

Hongmei writes back, and the short novel's narrative is created, a dialogue with an unknown person. Hongmei's secret talker knows a bit too much about her. It appears that she/he is staking Hongmei. There is always a report about what she is wearing, where she goes, and how she looks each time. Hongmei becomes desperate to find out who this person is and even tries to snare him by having her best friend start a conversation with him.

The book is a quick and exciting read. In just a short time, the author manages to relate much of her life history, leading to a further understanding of her character. Of course, we all want to know who the stranger is. We want a meeting, and reading to the end is worth the time spent with this new book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This book has an intriguing plot: a young Chinese woman, Hongmei, living in America begins receiving emails from a stranger who seems to intimately know her every move. Against her better judgment, Hongmei begins a long and tortured correspondence with this person, revealing more about herself than she’s honestly ever revealed to anyone. She has had a troubled life: sexual abuse as a child, arrest, and torture when suspected of being a spy, and finally moving to the United States with the help of her school professor and now husband, Glen.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tenseness of the exchanges in the emails, the rabbit hole that Hongmei can’t seem to avoid, and the history of her youth in a strict regime. The last few pages seemed a bit scattered, but I’m hoping after I’ve given it more consideration, the intent of the author will become more clear to me. Overall, this was a captivating and enjoyable read.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 4, 2021.

The Secret Talker is a pretty exciting psychological thriller about a woman in a foreign place hiding from the world and from herself and her past. The premise of opening up with one's stalker is interesting, almost like a variation on the Stockholm Syndrome, but a lot gets lost in translation, especially when trying to dive deep into the psyche of Hongmei. But the twist is worth reading the book for, so while it didn't always hold the reader captive, I would still recommend the book to fans of psychological thrillers a la The Silent Patient.