I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This is a fast paced thriller. TRIGGER WARNING PHYSICAL ABUSE AND DRUG ABUSE. This is a translated work. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page and it will keep your attention. This book is in stores for $15.95 (USD). I would recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone.

This Taiwanese thriller is branded as "Jason Bourne meets John McClane" and while it doesn't need this Western-centered description, it fits. While I've never read or watched the Bourne series I definitely got some Die Hard vibes from this novel.

While the reader is supposed to be cheering for Detective Wu, who is trying to solve 4 murders he believes are connected in the 12 days before he retires, they can't help but also cheer for The Sniper Alex.

I haven't read anything quite like this before. At times, it felt more like reading a movie... does that make sense? There is action, suspense, mystery, love interests, and corruption. Everything that makes a good action movie, and a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and couldn't put it down. I had a lot of fun trying to figure it all out and put things together before getting to the end.

“The Sniper”, by Chang Kuo-Li, translated by Roddy Flagg at House of Anansi Press, is a Taiwanese political thriller. Inspired by true events in Taiwanese history, the story follows two protagonists whose initial seemingly unrelated stories cross paths in a web of secrets and conspiracies.

In Italy, Alex lives as a fried-rice chef. He is, however, a former Taiwanese military sniper, and he is reactivated and ordered to assassinate a high-ranking Taiwanese official on a trip to Rome. Once he goes through with the assassination, however, he realizes that he may have been misled and betrayed and is now being hunted by fellow snipers he once worked and lived alongside with. In Taiwan, Detective Wu is twelve days away from his retirement. He is given a last case to wrap up: a Navy officer’s suicide in a hotel. Once he starts looking into the case, however, all evidence points toward murder. In spite of the evidence, the military wants the case closed as suicide, no questions asked, but that is not how Detective Wu operates. Both men set on a race against time, to uncover the truth that connects everything.

This was a very well crafted and enjoyable story. I thought it was well paced, with an engrossing mystery and a satisfying reveal. The writing and story felt very cinematic, and I loved the different settings and food descriptions. Reading this made me realize how much I missed traveling since the pandemic started, because my heart skipped a beat at every mention of a different European city (and there were quite a few mentioned).
All in all, I really enjoyed “The Sniper” and I would absolutely read more in translation by Chang Kuo-Li. Thank you to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Sniper is an intelligent action thriller with bonus points for cultural and culinary content. Alex is a young, Taiwanese stir-fry chef, raised by an adoptive parent who trained him for the military from a very early age. Alex made it onto an elite sniper corps, then served a five-year term with the French Foreign Legion, before "retiring" to civilian life as a fried-rice chef.

He gets a call from his original unit, reactivating him for an assassination. Once Alex carries off the assignment, it becomes clear that someone has been sent to eliminate him. Thus the unassuming chef Alex goes full-bore warrior to find out the who and the why of this betrayal.

The story was based on an actual case in Taiwan during the 1990s, in which the head of naval procurement was murdered to cover up corruption and arms dealing. Author Kuo-Li Chang and translator Roddy Flagg did a great job of illuminating what is unique and what is universal about Taiwanese customs.

I'm a bit sad that the original title, The Stir Fry Sniper, was changed fr the English-language version (although it might then have been mistaken for a cozy, kitchen mystery). I hope to see more of this author's work in translation.

Thanks to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press for an advance readers copy.

Interesting plotline and interesting premise, but the language, humor, and characters fell flat for me. I'm not sure if it's the translation or the original book, but it was hard for me to invest in any of the characters. I did appreciate reading an action novel from Taiwan and seeing Asian characters within this context (rather than stereotypical portrayals of Asians in Western actions).

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press Inc for a copy of this international thriller.

The Sniper is a Taiwan-based international jet setting thriller in the same style as 70's novels by Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth, with a healthy dash of Stephen Hunter gun lore and knowledge tossed in. On and lot about fried rice.

The story is familiar, an assassin completes his assignment, only to find the victim is not who he thought it was, and now finds himself pursued by fellow snipers he once thought of as comrades. Revenge is sworn, violence ensues. Meanwhile in Taiwan a organized crime detective this close to retirement is given a case featuring a fake suicide and a possible gang, hit, but leads to a larger sinister group.

Again it is all familiar but really well told and plotted. The characters are interesting, the locales are different, the gun knowledge is interesting and doesn't bog the story down. There is a mystery that makes sense and the action is fun. Plus there is a lot about food, which was a good way to make the characters not only relatable, but more than human killing machines. The author seems to have quite a few books, I believe this is his first in translation and would like to read more by him. I found this much more interesting than most of the thrillers marketed by that same authors over and over. I would love to read more by him.

This was OK. I think something got lost in translation, which is surprising since he''s an accomplished writer (based on his bio). Although it didn't live up to its description, the story was good overall, and I enjoyed learning a few cultural things along the way. It's interesting that there are some real-life aspect (inspired by actual events), which helped keep me going at times. I hope some of his other novels are translated into English.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

I just could not get into this book. I read about 25% of the way in and had to call it quits.

While it was billed as a Bourne meets McClain action packed story, it was anything but that. The most detailed description was not reserved for characters or setting, but rather the food... fried rice in particular.

The writing style jumped around too much from paragraph to paragraph and failed to craft a coherent story or timeline. I was a never able to connect in any way to any character.

I hate to be this negative in a review, but this needs to be tightened up and redeveloped before it goes to print.

Well, I really liked The Sniper. It is well-written and has a consistent thrill going. The politics of Taiwan, at least from the novel, are also intriguing. Detective Wu is the guy I would want on my case, and sniper Alex is my favorite sniper...at least in the novel! The early interactions between the snipers are interesting, but get better as they start to shoot at Alex. The Chinese names were not such a challenge as I thought they might be, until we got to all of those adoptions, and then the names became a bit hard to process. But I sure like the way that Chang Kuo-Li writes.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.