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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
I received am ARC of this book from NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my open. I ended up disliking by this book from the first chapter. The writing was poorly done, being too wordy and making the story drag. A lot of the storyline was borrowed from Silence of the Lambs, and I found the plot to be enormously predictable. On top of that, I could my get myself to root for any of the characters, and the villain the main character visits was terribly annoying and his story went absolutely nowhere.
Thank you to Edelweiss for a digital ARC. The following review contains opinions that may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, and distributor.
This review contains spoilers.
I wasn't sure about this one. Yeah, the summary sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for a crime novel, especially one from a different country than my own, but blurbs act as movie trailers do: they highlight the best parts of the book and probably don't reflect what's really inside of it. For instance, the blurb for All the Stars and Teeth doesn't even begin to touch on how good the writing and characters are, and inversely, the blurb for Twilight sounds fascinating. But alas.
Imagine my surprise when I actually ended up enjoying this. Sometimes crime novels can be a little kitschy, but I only ended up frustrated because the characters felt real and did things that legit felt frustrating. Jaeseong, for one. He takes in his daughter and then says, "Oh, by the way, my new wife may not agree to you living here."
DUDE. For real. Way to lead into a welcome-home. He totally blows things out of proportion because he's a grade-A drama queen, and Seonkyong, his wife, is like, "Whoa, now. Calm yourself."
Speaking of Seonkyong, I loved her. She was real to me, and she made it clear that her husband wasn't going to order her around like a Stepford wife. And she's educated without sounding like she's poorly written. It's part of her character, not her defining trait. Reading through where she gives lectures and conducts her interviews with the serial killer, Yi Byeongdo, I wanted to take classes with her.
The author, Mi-ae Seo, did a fantastic job of making us rethink our assumptions and suppositions. I had a feeling I knew what was going on, but then instead of getting that sensation I was right, she smashes it home with a box of dead birds and a bottle of poison. I didn't even think that there was foul play when the fire happened in the beginning of the book, just because sometimes people do die peacefully in fires due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Suspecting Haeyong was not high on my priority list.
Which is another point to be said for the story: subtlety. This book gives you that creeping feeling under your skin. It builds up your expectations into a head that explodes, and the only way to scratch that itch is to keep reading. The only bit I think I'm having a hard time with is the ending. We could have used a tiny bit more resolution, but at the same time, I understand where that uncertainty comes into play. We'd need a whole other book to explore what happens if Haeyong succeeded at poisoning Seonkyong. Juxtaposed with Yi Byeongdo, we get a scary and accurate picture of the Before and After of serial killer formation. If Haeyong succeeded at the end, that would claim her fourth victim by the age of eleven. If she didn't, how would the pursuit of justice go? It would be an interesting exploration for a second book, and I would totally read it. But will the author do it? Maybe not. That would be okay too.
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, and I know our patrons are going to enjoy it too. I can't wait to get into their hands.
This review contains spoilers.
I wasn't sure about this one. Yeah, the summary sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for a crime novel, especially one from a different country than my own, but blurbs act as movie trailers do: they highlight the best parts of the book and probably don't reflect what's really inside of it. For instance, the blurb for All the Stars and Teeth doesn't even begin to touch on how good the writing and characters are, and inversely, the blurb for Twilight sounds fascinating. But alas.
Imagine my surprise when I actually ended up enjoying this. Sometimes crime novels can be a little kitschy, but I only ended up frustrated because the characters felt real and did things that legit felt frustrating. Jaeseong, for one. He takes in his daughter and then says, "Oh, by the way, my new wife may not agree to you living here."
DUDE. For real. Way to lead into a welcome-home. He totally blows things out of proportion because he's a grade-A drama queen, and Seonkyong, his wife, is like, "Whoa, now. Calm yourself."
Speaking of Seonkyong, I loved her. She was real to me, and she made it clear that her husband wasn't going to order her around like a Stepford wife. And she's educated without sounding like she's poorly written. It's part of her character, not her defining trait. Reading through where she gives lectures and conducts her interviews with the serial killer, Yi Byeongdo, I wanted to take classes with her.
The author, Mi-ae Seo, did a fantastic job of making us rethink our assumptions and suppositions. I had a feeling I knew what was going on, but then instead of getting that sensation I was right, she smashes it home with a box of dead birds and a bottle of poison. I didn't even think that there was foul play when the fire happened in the beginning of the book, just because sometimes people do die peacefully in fires due to smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Suspecting Haeyong was not high on my priority list.
Which is another point to be said for the story: subtlety. This book gives you that creeping feeling under your skin. It builds up your expectations into a head that explodes, and the only way to scratch that itch is to keep reading. The only bit I think I'm having a hard time with is the ending. We could have used a tiny bit more resolution, but at the same time, I understand where that uncertainty comes into play. We'd need a whole other book to explore what happens if Haeyong succeeded at poisoning Seonkyong. Juxtaposed with Yi Byeongdo, we get a scary and accurate picture of the Before and After of serial killer formation. If Haeyong succeeded at the end, that would claim her fourth victim by the age of eleven. If she didn't, how would the pursuit of justice go? It would be an interesting exploration for a second book, and I would totally read it. But will the author do it? Maybe not. That would be okay too.
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, and I know our patrons are going to enjoy it too. I can't wait to get into their hands.
ARC provided from Edelweiss.
Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who like page-turner thrillers. The multiple perspectives characters were well developed, and I especially love a bit of a creepy kid as a character. It was also interesting to read a thriller set outside of the US and UK and it was cool to see some of Korea through the novel. The twists were good and several times when I thought I'd figured it out, the author twisted it again on me, which is my favourite thing in a thriller.
There were a few issues that brought the book down for me. A lot of thrillers involve suspending belief for something or another, and that did happen here with some of the decisions made by Seonkyeong, the main protagonist. I was left confused as some of her decisions didn't seem to make sense given the context of her character. Aside from those confusing points, she was a great character and I loved being in her head as she tried to navigate events in her work and home life. I also wish the book was longer and that we got to spend some more time in the heads of the other perspective characters to sort of stretch out parts of the plot I thought could have been made more suspenseful and impactful. I would have loved more segments inside the head of Heyeong, the 11-year-old girl, as I thought the author did a great job of switching voices between the characters.
This was a good thriller that kept me so engaged that I flew through it. If you like mystery thrillers check this one out when it comes out tomorrow 11 Feb 2020.
Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who like page-turner thrillers. The multiple perspectives characters were well developed, and I especially love a bit of a creepy kid as a character. It was also interesting to read a thriller set outside of the US and UK and it was cool to see some of Korea through the novel. The twists were good and several times when I thought I'd figured it out, the author twisted it again on me, which is my favourite thing in a thriller.
There were a few issues that brought the book down for me. A lot of thrillers involve suspending belief for something or another, and that did happen here with some of the decisions made by Seonkyeong, the main protagonist. I was left confused as some of her decisions didn't seem to make sense given the context of her character. Aside from those confusing points, she was a great character and I loved being in her head as she tried to navigate events in her work and home life. I also wish the book was longer and that we got to spend some more time in the heads of the other perspective characters to sort of stretch out parts of the plot I thought could have been made more suspenseful and impactful. I would have loved more segments inside the head of Heyeong, the 11-year-old girl, as I thought the author did a great job of switching voices between the characters.
This was a good thriller that kept me so engaged that I flew through it. If you like mystery thrillers check this one out when it comes out tomorrow 11 Feb 2020.
This Korean thriller is perfect for anyone who likes crime mysteries. Seangkyeong is a criminal psychologist invited to interview an enigmatic serial killer, and at home, her husband brings home his stranger daughter from his previous marriage. The similarities between her work and home life grow increasingly uncanny as the narratives unravel.
I wish I could read this in its original language, because my only gripe is that aspects of the translation disrupted the flow of the novel. It burns particularly slow and it ends up being a little straightforward (predictable).
I wish I could read this in its original language, because my only gripe is that aspects of the translation disrupted the flow of the novel. It burns particularly slow and it ends up being a little straightforward (predictable).