The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean

A haunting dark urban fantasy set in historical Hong Kong, where ancient myths and local legends combine in a story of ghosts, grief and women who will not forgive.

‘Bound to be an immediate classic’ – Hannah Kaner, Sunday Times bestselling author of Godkiller

‘Will tear out your heart and heal it in the same breath’ – Eliza Chan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Fathomfolk

‘Richly imagined and transportive’ – Olivie Blake, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

‘A haunting story of loneliness, love and loss’ – Gareth Brown, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book of Doors

Mercy Chan is a triad exorcist with a mysterious past. After washing up on the shores of Hong Kong with no memory during World War II, she found a home in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatised civilians. Since the war ended, Mercy has rebuilt her life and found work as a ghost-talker for the local triad, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place.

But the past she can’t remember won’t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost lurks in Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercy – and her forgotten childhood.

As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realise that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.

A haunting dark urban fantasy set in historical Hong Kong, where ancient myths and local legends combine in a story of ghosts, grief and women who will not forgive.

About the Author: Sunyi Dean is an autistic author of fantasy fiction. Originally born in the States and raised in Hong Kong, she now lives in Yorkshire with her children. When not reading, running, falling over in yoga, or rolling d20s, she sometimes escapes the city to wildswim in lonely dales.

Her short stories have featured in The Best of British Scifi Anthology, Prole, FFO, Tor Dot Com, etc.

The Book Eaters is Dean’s debut novel.

07 May 2026
 

The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean ISBN 9780008479503