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.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"Sunyi Dean returns with a complex, time-twisting, and intensely vivid tale of grief and redemption in historical Hong Kong-with ghosts! I loved it." - Nicholas Binge
"Sunyi Dean's storytelling is gripping and sure, her characters complex and cathartically vengeful, her worlds richly imagined and transportive. The Girl with a Thousand Faces contends with all manner of ghosts, and beautifully examines the nature of grief, rage, and all that must be put to rest in order to truly live." - Olivie Blake
"The Girl With a Thousand Faces gripped me from the start and refused to let go. It is a mystery, a war story, a tragedy, but more than anything, it is a haunting story of loneliness, love, and loss. The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction." - Gareth Brown
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces will tear out your heart and heal it in the same breath. Sunyi Dean's hauntingly unique ghost story refuses to be pinned down. Combining the very real horrors of Hong Kong's occupation with one family's female rage and trauma, the story twists and turns with as many faces as the eponymous girl herself." - Eliza Chan
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is haunting and tense in the very best way. Sunyi Dean has flawlessly blended a vivid historical fantasy with enveloping horror." - Scott Drakeford
"In a masterful blend of entertaining and tragic, Dean weaves a gripping tale of war-torn families, aggrieved ghosts, and intergenerational trauma through her signature dual timelines and twists." - Essa Hansen
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a heart-rending ghost story that masterfully examines the brutalities of trauma and war. This story held me in its spectral thrall and I can't recommend it enough. An absolute must-read!" - Alexis Henderson
"The Girl with A Thousand Faces is dark and compulsive, and liable to break your heart and steal the pieces. If you like tales of horror and hidden pasts, this one is for you. Sunyi Dean is a master of the art of storytelling, and this book is bound to be an immediate classic." - Hannah Kaner
"In this beautiful and enthrallingly dark fantasy, Sunyi Dean expertly weaves horror, history, and just the perfect amount of whimsy into one of the most original tales I've ever read." - Liz Kerin
"In The Girl with a Thousand Faces, the fantastical and historical come together in a skillfully woven narrative filled with vengeful ghosts, grief, and intergenerational trauma. Dean's atmospheric writing takes you deep into the shadows of the walled city, daring you to find a way out." - Monika Kim
"A visceral, haunting tale of rage, revenge, and forgiveness, set in an irresistibly vivid and mesmerising alternative Hong Kong. I ate it up!" - Hildur Knútsdóttir
"A twisting supernatural mystery hardened by the haunts of war. With alluringly monstrous women and a deep dive into memory, Sunyi Dean digs vividly into the unstable nature of a mid-century Hong Kong caught between ghostly and colonial powers alike." - Wen-Yi Lee
"Part ghostly mystery and part meditation on the traumas of war, The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a haunting exploration of identity, loss, and what it means to forgive." - Amber A Logan
"With beautiful prose that haunts you well past its conclusion, The Girl with a Thousand Faces breathes new life into the Ghost Story. Dean captures the grief and trauma trapped within Kowloon Walled City and Hong Kong in the wake of WWII without ever letting the personal wounds of familial afflictions escape you. You find yourself deeply moved by the flaws of Mercy and Siu Yin and the stories they shape for each other. This ghost story is not one you soon forget." - Ryan Rose
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is astonishing and clever, unfolding in layers that cross time and space and identities. Dean has crafted a tale that explores-with wisdom and empathy-the devastating effects of conflict and the ghosts it leaves behind." - Andrea Stewart
"Creepy and compelling-a masterfully crafted nesting doll of a story, embedding intergenerational trauma and the ghosts of war into an atmospheric and absorbing slice of Hong Kong Gothic." - Catriona Ward
"Sunyi Dean's storytelling is gripping and sure, her characters complex and cathartically vengeful, her worlds richly imagined and transportive. The Girl with a Thousand Faces contends with all manner of ghosts, and beautifully examines the nature of grief, rage, and all that must be put to rest in order to truly live." - Olivie Blake
"The Girl With a Thousand Faces gripped me from the start and refused to let go. It is a mystery, a war story, a tragedy, but more than anything, it is a haunting story of loneliness, love, and loss. The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction." - Gareth Brown
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces will tear out your heart and heal it in the same breath. Sunyi Dean's hauntingly unique ghost story refuses to be pinned down. Combining the very real horrors of Hong Kong's occupation with one family's female rage and trauma, the story twists and turns with as many faces as the eponymous girl herself." - Eliza Chan
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is haunting and tense in the very best way. Sunyi Dean has flawlessly blended a vivid historical fantasy with enveloping horror." - Scott Drakeford
"In a masterful blend of entertaining and tragic, Dean weaves a gripping tale of war-torn families, aggrieved ghosts, and intergenerational trauma through her signature dual timelines and twists." - Essa Hansen
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a heart-rending ghost story that masterfully examines the brutalities of trauma and war. This story held me in its spectral thrall and I can't recommend it enough. An absolute must-read!" - Alexis Henderson
"The Girl with A Thousand Faces is dark and compulsive, and liable to break your heart and steal the pieces. If you like tales of horror and hidden pasts, this one is for you. Sunyi Dean is a master of the art of storytelling, and this book is bound to be an immediate classic." - Hannah Kaner
"In this beautiful and enthrallingly dark fantasy, Sunyi Dean expertly weaves horror, history, and just the perfect amount of whimsy into one of the most original tales I've ever read." - Liz Kerin
"In The Girl with a Thousand Faces, the fantastical and historical come together in a skillfully woven narrative filled with vengeful ghosts, grief, and intergenerational trauma. Dean's atmospheric writing takes you deep into the shadows of the walled city, daring you to find a way out." - Monika Kim
"A visceral, haunting tale of rage, revenge, and forgiveness, set in an irresistibly vivid and mesmerising alternative Hong Kong. I ate it up!" - Hildur Knútsdóttir
"A twisting supernatural mystery hardened by the haunts of war. With alluringly monstrous women and a deep dive into memory, Sunyi Dean digs vividly into the unstable nature of a mid-century Hong Kong caught between ghostly and colonial powers alike." - Wen-Yi Lee
"Part ghostly mystery and part meditation on the traumas of war, The Girl with a Thousand Faces is a haunting exploration of identity, loss, and what it means to forgive." - Amber A Logan
"With beautiful prose that haunts you well past its conclusion, The Girl with a Thousand Faces breathes new life into the Ghost Story. Dean captures the grief and trauma trapped within Kowloon Walled City and Hong Kong in the wake of WWII without ever letting the personal wounds of familial afflictions escape you. You find yourself deeply moved by the flaws of Mercy and Siu Yin and the stories they shape for each other. This ghost story is not one you soon forget." - Ryan Rose
"The Girl with a Thousand Faces is astonishing and clever, unfolding in layers that cross time and space and identities. Dean has crafted a tale that explores-with wisdom and empathy-the devastating effects of conflict and the ghosts it leaves behind." - Andrea Stewart
"Creepy and compelling-a masterfully crafted nesting doll of a story, embedding intergenerational trauma and the ghosts of war into an atmospheric and absorbing slice of Hong Kong Gothic." - Catriona Ward
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