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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Big-time The Good Son Macaulay Culkin vibes in this Korean thriller. The author tries to weave together two plots surrounding our female criminal psychologist: an incarcerated serial killer requests her presence for interviews, and her stepdaughter comes to live with her after the girl's grandparents die in a house fire. I don't think they meshed completely well, but the ending did take me off-guard. A perfunctory translation without much elegance to the language also marred this crime novel for me. Serviceable, compelling, but ultimately kind of forgettable.
Audio
The bones were strong but the meat was meh.
It always confuses me why people who have been trained in personality studies don't see the clues RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. It's not like there aren't plenty of jobs/careers that could be used in place of a profiler. This has shades of We Need to Talk about Kevin and The Bad Seed, except in those, the mom is the one that sees what's wrong before everyone else. This stepmom is slow to the game, even though she is interviewing a serial killer. Dad is pretty much checked out except to question his wife's motives.
The bones were strong but the meat was meh.
It always confuses me why people who have been trained in personality studies don't see the clues RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. It's not like there aren't plenty of jobs/careers that could be used in place of a profiler. This has shades of We Need to Talk about Kevin and The Bad Seed, except in those, the mom is the one that sees what's wrong before everyone else. This stepmom is slow to the game, even though she is interviewing a serial killer. Dad is pretty much checked out except to question his wife's motives.
The Only Child is a translation of a Korean thriller featuring a criminal psychologist Seongkyeong who suddenly gets a phone call that a serial killer who has kept quiet for years suddenly wants to talk, but only to her.
The same day this inexperienced criminal psychologist interviews Yi Byeongdo, she is surprised to find that her husband has brought his daughter from a previous marriage to live with them after her grandparents die after a fire that Hayeong was the lone survivor of.
As the story progresses and Syongkyeong interviews Yi Byeongdo more, she starts to see parallels between her 11 year old stepdaughter and the serial killer. Is it possible that young Hayeong has the traits to one day become a serial killer herself?
This slow burn thriller is more character driven than plot driven and at times it doesnt flow too well, I'm guessing that's from the translation though. Once you get used to the rhythm of the translation, it didn't really bother me too much though. Overall, the story was enjoyable and the exposure to Korean culture was interesting. If you like slow burn suspense or character driven novels, this one is worth a look.
My thanks to HarperCollins, author Mi-ae Seo, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
The same day this inexperienced criminal psychologist interviews Yi Byeongdo, she is surprised to find that her husband has brought his daughter from a previous marriage to live with them after her grandparents die after a fire that Hayeong was the lone survivor of.
As the story progresses and Syongkyeong interviews Yi Byeongdo more, she starts to see parallels between her 11 year old stepdaughter and the serial killer. Is it possible that young Hayeong has the traits to one day become a serial killer herself?
This slow burn thriller is more character driven than plot driven and at times it doesnt flow too well, I'm guessing that's from the translation though. Once you get used to the rhythm of the translation, it didn't really bother me too much though. Overall, the story was enjoyable and the exposure to Korean culture was interesting. If you like slow burn suspense or character driven novels, this one is worth a look.
My thanks to HarperCollins, author Mi-ae Seo, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
medium-paced
I would prefer this if it was advertised as an entertaining thriller, I thought it was going to be a clever horror. If it became a series I would 100% read all the books, it ended it a perfect way where we could continue to follow these characters lives.
This one was just ok. I liked the little twist at the end but couldn’t believe the main characters actions at the very end, especially as a criminal psychologist. Very fast read.
Thrillers are one of my favorite genres. I can’t watch anything scary or tense (AT ALL) on tv or in film, but give me the darkest, most gruesome crime novel, and I will eat it up. The best author of this genre, I believe, is Kanae Minato, but I’ve already read the only two of her TWENTY novels to have been translated into English, so I’m always on the prowl for other good ones. Mi-ae Seo is definitely in the same camp. What I really find interesting about these books is how they investigate the causes, the trauma, the context—what could push a human into such evil? Plus it’ll scare your socks off. I liked this book, tore through it in a couple hours, and actually had a few surprises. If you like the genre, you’ll like the book.
Uh, holy crap. This book is bonkers! That ending!
A seriously messed up psychological thriller that begs the questions: what makes a killer?
A seriously messed up psychological thriller that begs the questions: what makes a killer?
Seonkyeong, a criminal psychologist, has received an unexpected phone call. It seems serial killer, Yi Byeongdo, known for a series of gruesome murders that shocked the world, would like to be interviewed. He feels that the time has finally come for him to share his story and the only person he is willing to tell is Seonkyeong. Out of curiosity she agrees to meet.
On that same day Hayeong, her husband’s eleven-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, shows up at their door. Her grandparents have passed away after dying in a house fire that Hayeong narrowly escaped. As Seonkyeong works to make Hayeong feel at home she starts to discover that the young girl is prone to strange behavior. Seonkyeong starts to see worrisome similarities between the serial killer and her stepdaughter, but is it all in her imagination?
The minute I read the premise for THE ONLY CHILD I knew that I wanted this book in my reading lineup. I absolutely love stories that focus on criminal psychologists, serial killers, and children, so when they’ve all been mixed together it sounds like the perfect combination. As publication day got closer and closer I started to see a series of mixed reviews for this book, which made me hesitate to pick it up. Most of the reviews pointed to the pace of the story and lack of action as a source of their dislike, so I opted to consume this book via audio in an attempt to mitigate that issue. The result? I absolutely loved this story!
The book opens with the introduction to two events, Seonkyeong meeting with serial killer, Yi Byeongdo, and Hayeong losing her grandparents. At first I had no idea where the author was planning to connect these two timelines together, but after about 100 or so pages I started to find my groove between the two and their merger. Once the storylines joined into one, with Seonkyeong walking the reader through her daily life they started to make more sense. I think unfortunately that this delay in connection will scare off a few readers, but I do think pushing through in this book is worth it.
The pacing, which I mentioned earlier, is certainly slower than most books being published in the crime fiction genre these days. I think it’s important to point out that this is a translated work by a Korean author. Two years ago I read THE GOOD SON by You-Jeong Jeong and noticed that this book was much slower in pace and much like THE ONLY CHILD, instead of thrills, the author wrote more in the style of a character study.
If you’re curious about THE ONLY CHILD, but want to use some caution on if you’ll love this one, I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. Greta Jung truly brings the characters and story to life through her narration. I also highly recommend starting this book with the mindset that this is not a thriller and a suspenseful character study.
A huge thank you to Ecco Books for sending me a free copy of this book!
On that same day Hayeong, her husband’s eleven-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, shows up at their door. Her grandparents have passed away after dying in a house fire that Hayeong narrowly escaped. As Seonkyeong works to make Hayeong feel at home she starts to discover that the young girl is prone to strange behavior. Seonkyeong starts to see worrisome similarities between the serial killer and her stepdaughter, but is it all in her imagination?
The minute I read the premise for THE ONLY CHILD I knew that I wanted this book in my reading lineup. I absolutely love stories that focus on criminal psychologists, serial killers, and children, so when they’ve all been mixed together it sounds like the perfect combination. As publication day got closer and closer I started to see a series of mixed reviews for this book, which made me hesitate to pick it up. Most of the reviews pointed to the pace of the story and lack of action as a source of their dislike, so I opted to consume this book via audio in an attempt to mitigate that issue. The result? I absolutely loved this story!
The book opens with the introduction to two events, Seonkyeong meeting with serial killer, Yi Byeongdo, and Hayeong losing her grandparents. At first I had no idea where the author was planning to connect these two timelines together, but after about 100 or so pages I started to find my groove between the two and their merger. Once the storylines joined into one, with Seonkyeong walking the reader through her daily life they started to make more sense. I think unfortunately that this delay in connection will scare off a few readers, but I do think pushing through in this book is worth it.
The pacing, which I mentioned earlier, is certainly slower than most books being published in the crime fiction genre these days. I think it’s important to point out that this is a translated work by a Korean author. Two years ago I read THE GOOD SON by You-Jeong Jeong and noticed that this book was much slower in pace and much like THE ONLY CHILD, instead of thrills, the author wrote more in the style of a character study.
If you’re curious about THE ONLY CHILD, but want to use some caution on if you’ll love this one, I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. Greta Jung truly brings the characters and story to life through her narration. I also highly recommend starting this book with the mindset that this is not a thriller and a suspenseful character study.
A huge thank you to Ecco Books for sending me a free copy of this book!
This story and the main character drew me in at the beginning of this novel. I really enjoyed the different relationship that she has with her husband and how surprised she was to find out he had a child nearby. There were a few different mysteries to solve in this story, but I did have a hard time getting through the story. I liked hearing about her stepchild and all those issues because I enjoy hearing about “bad” or “evil” kids. But it did get quite repetitive and I started to look forward to the chapters with the interviews. Overall, not a huge fan of this one, but I could see how many people could enjoy it.
what an underwhelming book lol
the beginning sucked you right in, but stagnates after the first fourth. this honestly would have been much better as a short story, and honestly if all the repetitive sentences have been cut, it probably would be 50 pages shorter. the synopsis is literally ALL that the story is about and the “twists” can be guessed by chapter three. idk if it was a translation thing but MAN the writing was just....bad. it would explain what was happening, the characters would think what had happened, and then the book would reference that same thing 5 more times. things that you think will matter, don’t, and the things that you think were already explained ended up being the ACTUAL “twist.” also this book tried to be like “the silence of the lambs” SO bad. like this references that book at least 10 times in the first half alone. like we get it lol
✔️ fifth challenge of the reading rush done! this completed the challenge to read a book set on another continent, and this was set in Korea! while this was a very disappointing read, i’m still looking forward to reading other Korean thrillers in the future.
the beginning sucked you right in, but stagnates after the first fourth. this honestly would have been much better as a short story, and honestly if all the repetitive sentences have been cut, it probably would be 50 pages shorter. the synopsis is literally ALL that the story is about and the “twists” can be guessed by chapter three. idk if it was a translation thing but MAN the writing was just....bad. it would explain what was happening, the characters would think what had happened, and then the book would reference that same thing 5 more times. things that you think will matter, don’t, and the things that you think were already explained ended up being the ACTUAL “twist.” also this book tried to be like “the silence of the lambs” SO bad. like this references that book at least 10 times in the first half alone. like we get it lol
✔️ fifth challenge of the reading rush done! this completed the challenge to read a book set on another continent, and this was set in Korea! while this was a very disappointing read, i’m still looking forward to reading other Korean thrillers in the future.