100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Fast overnight NZ delivery πŸš€ Don't forget Father's Day is this Sunday πŸ“…

In the Dark

By Mai Jia
Series: Penguin Modern Classics – Crime & Espionage
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
The thrilling international bestseller by 'China's answer to John le Carre' (Financial Times) Hidden deep in the mountains, the recruits at Unit 701, China's secret services, operate in a dark, shadowy world. There is the 'wind-listener', a blind surveillance officer who can hear sounds from miles... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3500
Pre-order
Releases 17th November 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "In the Dark" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The thrilling international bestseller by 'China's answer to John le Carre' (Financial Times)

Hidden deep in the mountains, the recruits at Unit 701, China's secret services, operate in a dark, shadowy world. There is the 'wind-listener', a blind surveillance officer who can hear sounds from miles away; the beautiful, unstable maths genius who meets a violent end; the old man who deciphers codes in his dreams; the spy who recounts a dangerous mission from beyond the grave.

In this story of conspiracies, geniuses, revolutionaries and terrible moral choices, people sacrifice everything for a world of secrets β€” until, ultimately, it destroys them.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241811382

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 August 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Christopher N. Payne

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 326g

Pages: 464

Collections

Classic Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Mai Jia Penguin Books Penguin Classics Penguin Classics: General Fiction Pre-order Books Pre-order General Fiction Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Series: Penguin Modern Classics – Crime & Espionage

About the Author

Mai Jia (Author) Mai Jia is one of China's most successful writers. He has won almost every major award in China, including the prestigious Mao Dun Award, and is hailed as the forerunner of Chinese espionage fiction.

Also by Mai Jia

View all
  • The Colonel and the Eunuch
    The phenomenal #1 Chinese bestseller, with over 4 million copies sold. This is a searing exploration of what makes a hero: a literary masterpiece, available in the English language for the very first time. The boy grows up in a small village in south China listening to stories about the Colonel: some say he was a legendary army doctor during...
    By Mai Jia
    Paperback
    $5499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Colonel and the Eunuch
    The phenomenal #1 Chinese bestseller, with over 4 million copies sold. This is a searing exploration of what makes a hero: a literary masterpiece, available in the English language for the very first time. The boy grows up in a small village in south China listening to stories about the Colonel: some say he was a legendary army doctor during...
    By Mai Jia
    Hardback
    $5499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Decoded
    Pre-order
    Decoded
    The international bestseller by China's foremost thriller writer Decoded tells the story of Rong Jinzhwen, one of the great code-breakers in the world. A mathematical genius, Jinzhen is recruited to the cryptography department of China's secret services, Unit 701, where he is assigned the task of breaking the elusive 'Code Purple'. Jinzhen rises through the ranks to eventually become China's...
    By Mai Jia
    Paperback
    $3500
    Pre-order
    Out 17 Nov 2026
  • The Colonel and the Eunuch
    The phenomenal #1 Chinese bestseller, with over 4 million copies sold. This is a searing exploration of what makes a hero: a literary masterpiece, available in the English language for the very first time. The boy grows up in a small village in south China listening to stories about the Colonel: some say he was a legendary army doctor during...
    By Mai Jia
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Buy to Win
    New Release
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl seriesβ€”now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Big Little Truths
    Parenting teens is not for the faint of heart but Madeline, Jane and Celeste have been through worse. It's been a decade since the school trivia night that changed their lives forever and now they're living blissfully ordinary suburban lives. But when an anonymous grisly package arrives at the local high school, and a man in a green Volvo is...
    By Liane Moriarty
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    On Sale
    17% off
    Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    By Andy Weir
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set
    Embark on a journey through Middle-earth with J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless masterpieces, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These enthralling tales recount the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a modest hobbit whose life is turned upside down when he unwittingly becomes entwined in a perilous quest involving dragons, wizards, and the fate of the world. Alongside iconic characters such as...
    By J. R. R. Tolkien
    Box Set
    $7199
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    A Forsaken Prophecy
    In a world of high-class magic and gangster grit, a star-crossed couple must decide where their loyalties lie in the sizzling romantasy follow-up to BookTok star Stacey McEwan's New York Times bestseller A Forbidden Alchemy. In Belavere Trench, the Artisans and the Craftsmen are at war. Patrick, the last Alchemist, and Nina, the world’s only known earth Charmer, have been...
    By Stacey McEwan
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Whistler
    FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING, PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF The Dutch House AND Tom Lake 'One of the most beloved authors of her generation'Sunday Times When Daphne notices an older gentleman following her around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she doesn’t expect it to be Eddie – her former stepfather. Married to her mother for a short time when...
    By Ann Patchett
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3899
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all