The Dead Can't Make a Living

Praise for The Dead Can’t Make a Living

“No one can stop Ed Lin from making a fun work of art! Puzzling and plotting drive this mystery about labor and injustice—the kind of entertainment we need in our troubling, but also activist, times. Grab it now!”
—Gina Apostol, author of Insurrecto

“A heartfelt crime novel that reaches deep into the lives of a rich collection of characters . . . Jing-nan brings along plenty of humor while still following the lives of undocumented immigrants and their living conditions.”
—First Clue Reviews

“A refreshing multinationalism continues to run through the series, which folds Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Australian, Chinese, and Filipino characters into the action. Cheeky humor and a team of investigators you’ll want to hang with.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Lin seamlessly weaves complex details about Taiwanese history and political tensions into the action, paying special attention to social and financial abuses perpetrated against undocumented workers . . . This entertains.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Good guy Jing-nan delivers a clear-eyed, compassionate portrayal of overseas worker abuse in this gritty offering to the rising swell of cozy-adjacent crime fiction. This fifth adventure is another series bar-raiser, delivering well-crafted underworld adventures with humor and sensual immersion in everyday Taipei.”
—Booklist

“This series is lots of fun, with an ebullient protagonist and a cast of entertaining recurring characters . . . Ed Lin addresses serious topics with a light touch. Like many societies, Taiwan relies on cheap foreign labor yet looks down on those who fill those jobs. American readers are likely to see parallels with our own country, though the author doesn’t hammer home a message.”
—Crime Fiction Review

Praise for the Taipei Night Market Series

“A smart, stylish thriller for the mind, heart, and gut. Sex, music, history, politics, food, humor, and just a touch of violence and death—you get it all.”
—Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer

“Marvelously mordant.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A master of Taipei noir. [Ed Lin] proves every good crime novel is a social novel.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A unique blend of tension, charm, tragedy and optimism, with characters you’ll love, and a setting so real you’ll think you’ve been there. Highly recommended.”
—Lee Child

“[An] inventively humanistic work, one with welcome instances of love, religious questioning (through a variety of faiths) and one terrifically effective episode of magical surrealism.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“A sidewalk noodle shop in Taipei’s Shilin Night Market during summer’s Ghost Month is the vivid backdrop . . . The plot twists come fast and furious as the story reaches its climax. Come for the exotic food and fascinating setting; stay for the characters.”
—The Boston Globe

“Lin is an astonishing talent.”
—Junot Díaz