Local author Peter Gregoire has recently released “The Devil You Know”, a political thriller set in 2017’s post-Occupy Hong Kong. It’s his second book, following the success of his award-winning debut “Article 109”, a legal thriller about a conspiracy to cause the downfall of a Hong Kong business tycoon.
In the new novel, lawyer-turned-private-detective Scott Lee is hired by Rufus Lam, a media tycoon, to find his missing business partner. But Lee soon realizes he’s caught up in the second wave of the Umbrella Movement, as Lam is set to spearhead it.
Though many are sure to be surprised by the story’s incredibly timely topic, Gregoire (a lawyer himself) has actually been writing the book for almost two years.
He had already written the plot, which centres around the nominating committee’s process to select a chief executive candidate in 2017, when the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) announced in Aug. 2014 that Hong Kong would only be able to pick from two or three candidates.
“I thought, ‘Oh my god, it’s coming true’,” he recounted over email.
Despite his apparent clairvoyance, he didn’t expect the scale of the Umbrella Movement.
“No way!” he said.
As he folded in the protests into his novel’s later drafts, he found that it was a natural progression of the plotlines he had already put into place, and that it gave a “sharpened edge” to it.
“It also left me wondering what this amazing generation of students would be like in two years’ time, and it was interesting to incorporate some of that into the plotline,” explains the author.
The book centres around politics, but Gregoire insists that he’s “absolutely not” trying to make a political statement.
“This is fiction and I am a thriller writer,” he maintained.
“My only purpose with this book is to entertain readers with a plot-line that will grab them, reel them in and not let go until they have read the last line.
Finally, we asked him what he learned.
“I found out that if you want to learn how to pick a lock, there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube to tell you… And I learned about a fabulous restaurant called One-Thirty One in Sai Kung, situated in the most awesome setting of Three Fathoms Cove. (It’s where some of the pivotal scenes in The Devil You Know take place).”
For a thrilling read, a lesson in Hong Kong politics, and some good eats, grab a copy of “The Devil You Know” and go check out that restaurant.
You can buy “The Devil You Know” in local book shops, from Chinese University Press, and on Amazon.com (Kindle version available).
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