In Taipei, Taiwan, the kidnapping of a Mainlander billionaire throws national media into a tizzy—not least because of the famous victim’s vitriolic anti-immigration politics. Jing-nan has known Peggy Lee, a bullying frenemy who runs her family’s huge corporation, since high school. Peggy’s father has been kidnapped, and the ransom the kidnappers are demanding is not money but IP: a high-tech memory chip that they want to sell in China.   Jing-nan feels sorry for Peggy until she starts blackmailing him into helping out. Peggy is worried the kidnappers’ deadline will pass before the police are able to track down the chip. But when the reluctant Jingnan tries to help, he finds himself deeper and deeper in trouble with some very unsavory characters—the most unsavory of whom might be the victim himself. Praise for 99 Ways to Die " 99 Ways to Die  immerses readers in urban Taiwan . . . Come for the dark world of the night market, and stay for the unpredictable, entertaining characters."  —Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine  "Stellar . . . Lin effortlessly blends humor, plausible plot twists, and the politics and economics of contemporary Taiwan." —Publishers Weekly,  Starred Review "Lin’s books are most appealing for the insider’s look at Taiwanese culture, the motley crew of supporting cast and the multiple laughs per page." —BookPage "Lin takes readers on a whimsical ride along with the reluctant Jing-nan, the overbearing Peggy, and some very shady characters, deftly mixing comedy, mystery, and drama in a page-turning story . . . This will appeal to readers who enjoy dark comedy, drama, and some very unexpected plot twists." —Library Journal "Top-notch international crime fiction that will have readers dreaming of a visit to the Taipei market." —Booklist "What a wonderful, wild ride this is." —The Shawangunk Journal "It'll definitely keep you guessing, and it'll keep you laughing from start to finish." —BookBub "[Lin] twist[s] his crime fiction in marvelous ways that incorporate almost as much humor as the master Donald E. Westlake." —Kingdom Books "Well-plotted." —Stop, You're Killing Me! Praise for the Taipei Night Market Novels   “A stylish, smart 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. And when you're done, you’ll beg for more.” —Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of  The Sympathizer     “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.” —Lee Child “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   “Covers Taiwan’s complicated political identity and relationship with mainland China, all during one of the most remarkable times of the year: Ghost Month.” — To the Best of Our Knowledge “Pure and perfect suspense and a book that is almost impossible to put down.” — Crimespree Magazine   Ed Lin is a journalist by training and an all-around stand-up kinda guy. He’s the author of the Taipei Night Market series, Ghost Month and Incensed ; his literary debut, Waylaid ; and his Robert Chow crime series, This Is a Bust , Snakes Can’t Run , and One Red Bastard . Lin, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. Lin lives in New York with his wife, actress Cindy Cheung, and son. CHAPTER 1 When my old classmate Peggy called me I didn’t recognize her voice because I’d never heard her cry before.      I’d never seen her shed a tear and now I was listening to double-lung sobs that were clipping out the audio. If my phone hadn’t indicated that the call was from her office phone, I would’ve thought I had a direct line to a cub at the black-bear pen at the zoo.      I clamped the phone against my left ear until the cartilage buckled and stuck a thumb in my right ear. Foot traffic at the night market was beginning to wind down but it was still loud as hell all around me. Honestly, though, I’m usually the noisiest thing in my vicinity, coaxing and cajoling tourists in English to come to my stand, give me money and eat my food in exactly that order if not in those exact terms.       “Peggy,” I said. “Catch your breath. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”      I heard Peggy drop the phone, hack out phlegm and blow her nose roughly. She came back on the line and croaked, “Someone kidnapped my daddy, Jing-nan!”      I crouched and felt behind me as I eased into a seat. Her father, Thomas Lee Tong-ming, was the landlord of nearly every stand at the Shilin Night Market, including the best one, Unknown Pleasures, which I happened to own. On top of that, I