What do you think?
Rate this book
Yellowthread Street #2
The Hatchet Man
Chief Inspector Harry Feiffer of Hong Bay's Yellowthread Street Station is on the trail of the fearsome Hatchet Man--a maniacal killer terrorizing the city and offering few clues to his identity. Hilarious, rough, heart-pounding and always breathlessly entertaining fiction.
191 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
8 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
William Marshall
258 books29 followersWilliam Marshall (or William Leonard Marshall) (born 1944, Australia) is an Australian author, best known for his Hong Kong-based "Yellowthread Street" mystery novels, some of which were used as the basis for a British TV series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 4, 2016
This is the continuing saga of Chief Inspector Harry Feiffer and his team. Living and working in Hong Cong comes with its own set of problems .. mainly all the different cultures that lead to all kinds of misunderstandings, comic and otherwise.
The Hatchet Man, so called by the news media, is a man who is targeting the theaters. He enters, finds a target, sits behind them, and when the time is right, shoots them in the back of the head. Making very little noise, he then pockets his gun and strolls out … it’s time for him to get ready to go to work.
This is a case that CI Feiffer really hates … no clues, no witnesses, no motive. Unable to find a link between the victims, finding a random killer is like looking for a needle in the haystack.
As a reader, I seldom think about comic relief in the course of looking for a serial killer. The author does a bang up job of combining the solemnness of the crime and its victims with the humor infused from solidly written characters.
There is not a lot of forensics involved in this case….just a lot of solid investigating techniques. Having read the first of this series, YELLOWTHREAD STREET, I enjoyed meeting up again with familiar characters who seemingly bungle their way through solving crime, big and small.
I look forward to watching this author and hopefully further adventures of CI Harry Feiffer.
Many thanks to the author / Prelude Books / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
The Hatchet Man, so called by the news media, is a man who is targeting the theaters. He enters, finds a target, sits behind them, and when the time is right, shoots them in the back of the head. Making very little noise, he then pockets his gun and strolls out … it’s time for him to get ready to go to work.
This is a case that CI Feiffer really hates … no clues, no witnesses, no motive. Unable to find a link between the victims, finding a random killer is like looking for a needle in the haystack.
As a reader, I seldom think about comic relief in the course of looking for a serial killer. The author does a bang up job of combining the solemnness of the crime and its victims with the humor infused from solidly written characters.
There is not a lot of forensics involved in this case….just a lot of solid investigating techniques. Having read the first of this series, YELLOWTHREAD STREET, I enjoyed meeting up again with familiar characters who seemingly bungle their way through solving crime, big and small.
I look forward to watching this author and hopefully further adventures of CI Harry Feiffer.
Many thanks to the author / Prelude Books / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
July 18, 2016
This is actually one of those sui generis sequels that is an improvement upon the original. It is entirely possible it's just a personal subject preference due to the fact that this book deals with a serial killer and the first one had more to do with gangsters. But this book also didn't try as much to be funny, it was as entertaining and light as a book about a serial killer can be, but not in your face joke after joke sort of thing. Policing the British colony of Hong Kong has never been easy, but the detectives in the story manage, all while maintaining a good humor and utilizing solid procedural work. Fun, enjoyable, very quick read.
July 9, 2016
Book 2 in the Yellowthread Street series and it's just as good as the first!
Murder and mayhem abound with some humour dotted about to form together to make a great read.
The character development is slow and steady, with 19(?) books in the series you can understand why it's at a steady pace but you still have all the information needed to enjoy the book as it is.
I'm enjoying this series and I'm glad I have the 3rd, Gelignite, to jump into soon.
*Huge thanks to William Marshall, Prelude Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*
Murder and mayhem abound with some humour dotted about to form together to make a great read.
The character development is slow and steady, with 19(?) books in the series you can understand why it's at a steady pace but you still have all the information needed to enjoy the book as it is.
I'm enjoying this series and I'm glad I have the 3rd, Gelignite, to jump into soon.
*Huge thanks to William Marshall, Prelude Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*
August 3, 2010
The second of Marshall's Yellowthread Street mysteries. Someone is shooting cinema-goers in the back of the head. . .and the Yellowthread Street detectives have to try to guess where it will happen next, while simultaneously dealing with other baffling but lesser crimes. This book firmly established the series elements from the first novel, setting the tone for the next 14 books.
Read
February 6, 2022there's a super appealing tension here b/w some starkly realistic aspects (ppl talk like ppl, all hard-boiledness kept to a minimum; the investigation progresses painfully slowly as they e.g. vacuum sweets wrappers off the floor of a crime scene & sift for clues) and the outlandish particulars of the murders: somebody's bumping ppl off at movie theaters during the freakin movie, using a lil bb handgun w/ 4 barrels. <3 that kinda mix always... where this gets some minor demerits: w/o getting overly spoilery, partway thru it becomes clear that the killer's occupation is X bc his pockets are full of Y. clear to me at least; it took the squad like another 50pp to figure it out. i always thought mystery fans were, like, bragging about their deductive skills when they complained about this, but I Get It Now. will be checking out gelignite and the ny detective books 4sure
November 27, 2024
It was silly and corny, I loved reading it on a rainy night
July 30, 2016
Love these books, they are just so fantastic to read - brutal storylines but nothing offensive or to gory. The have a strange pull in them that you just want to read more and more of them. In fact they have a type of humour in them which is endearing.
Set in Hong Kong prior to the hand back, it really captures the times and the atmosphere in a very readable way. William Marshall was born in Sydney in 1944 and lived in various places including Hong Kong, so he is well placed to write the about the way of life and culture. Unfortunately he died in Australia in 2003 - such a loss.
This book was provided to me in return for an honest and unbiased review
Set in Hong Kong prior to the hand back, it really captures the times and the atmosphere in a very readable way. William Marshall was born in Sydney in 1944 and lived in various places including Hong Kong, so he is well placed to write the about the way of life and culture. Unfortunately he died in Australia in 2003 - such a loss.
This book was provided to me in return for an honest and unbiased review
May 9, 2025
Nail-bitingly tense. If Se7en was in Hong Kong.
June 29, 2016
Secondo volume della serie "Yellowthread Street", vede i poliziotti della più malfamata stazione di polizia di Hong Kong alle prese con un misterioso assassino, che uccide in modo del tutto casuale, nel buio di una sala cinematografica. Non ci sono testimoni, non ci sono indizi, finché, quasi per caso, il cerchio comincia a stringersi ed emerge il ritratto di un uomo che passa talmente inosservato da sfuggire persino a se stesso, così inosservato da essere lui stesso una vittima.
Il romanzo inizia in modo un po' confuso, un po' sottotono, poi ingrana e torna ai consueti livello di pirotecnica assurdità linguistica.
Ringrazio Prelude Books e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Second volume of the 'Yellowthread Street' serie, it sees the policemen of the most infamous police station in Hong Kong dealing with a mysterious murderer who kills completely random, in the darkness of a movie theater. There are no witnesses, no clues, until, almost by accident, the circle begins to narrow and comes to light the portrait of a man who goes so unnoticed that slips away even to himself, so unnoticed to be himself a victim.
The beginning of the novel is somewhat a little confused, a little off, then engages and returns to the usual level of pyrotechnic linguistic absurdity.
Thanks Prelude Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Il romanzo inizia in modo un po' confuso, un po' sottotono, poi ingrana e torna ai consueti livello di pirotecnica assurdità linguistica.
Ringrazio Prelude Books e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.
Second volume of the 'Yellowthread Street' serie, it sees the policemen of the most infamous police station in Hong Kong dealing with a mysterious murderer who kills completely random, in the darkness of a movie theater. There are no witnesses, no clues, until, almost by accident, the circle begins to narrow and comes to light the portrait of a man who goes so unnoticed that slips away even to himself, so unnoticed to be himself a victim.
The beginning of the novel is somewhat a little confused, a little off, then engages and returns to the usual level of pyrotechnic linguistic absurdity.
Thanks Prelude Books and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 26, 2016
Hong Kong, although Chinese, became a major crossroads of the Far East and thus a melting pot for all nationalities and races. Set amid this potpourri of humanity the fictional Hong Bay police station of Yellowthread Street is the focus of an investigation into a serial killer. With the subtle humor and ensemble cast of a Hills Street Blues* this remains an exquisitely rendered police procedural--a timeless must read.
*An American TV show which ran in the 1980s, a bit later than the events of this series: Hill Street Blues (TV Series 1981–1987) - IMDbhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081873/
*An American TV show which ran in the 1980s, a bit later than the events of this series: Hill Street Blues (TV Series 1981–1987) - IMDbhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081873/
May 3, 2017
This is a great series.
I was delighted to find them in the stacks, way back when.
Not sure what reminded me of these books. I'm guessing I read them about 25 years ago.
I was delighted to find them in the stacks, way back when.
Not sure what reminded me of these books. I'm guessing I read them about 25 years ago.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews