A review by katiemcgregor
The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

There was a point where I actually considered 'dnf-ing' this book... and that's something I rarely do. Honestly, there isn't much inherently wrong with The Silence of Bones but, for whatever reason, I was really bored in the first half of the book. I think the main issue lies with the fact that I never grew especially attached to any of the characters. I don't know if this is just a me thing or if it has to do with Hur's writing.

Luckily, things picked up in the second half so even with my lack of attachment, I became more interested in the plot. While I was able to predict who the killer was around the 45% mark, this didn't really hinder the rest of my reading experience since there were so many other things also going on at the same time (at least, after the slow start).

This is my first time reading a book that takes place during the Joseon dynasty so that was definitely fun (my previous knowledge is limited to what I've seen K-dramas), but in the end this book fell a little flat for me.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings