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A review by plumpaperbacks
The Red Palace by June Hur 허주은
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
[Early copy provided by Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions/review.]
Historical murder mystery with a dash of romance is my new favorite, oddly specific genre. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this, but The Red Palace absolutely blew me away. Hur’s writing, though never bad, has improved since her debut, and she excels at writing clever female characters you can’t help but root for.
Hur did an incredible job with this mystery, with feeding the reader scraps of evidence periodically, but evidence that only answered questions with more questions. The clock is ticking for our protagonist, as if Hyeon can’t figure out who’s behind these heinous murders, her mentor will be killed as a scapegoat, the case closed while the true killer goes free. Every theory I came up with was wrong; I never suspected who was behind it all, and was positively floored when Hyeon and Eojin put the pieces together.
Speaking of Hyeon and Eojin, be still my heart. They!! Are!! Adorable!! The slow-burn drove me up the wall in the very best way, with all the small gestures and self-doubt and will-they-won’t-they. One minute I was squealing because there was FINALLY a romantic moment, the next, my heart was in my throat because I had no clue what the hell was going on. That’s not an exaggeration, either.
Props to June Hur for balancing both the mystery and romance storylines; neither ever overshadowed the other. Even with the latter being secondary, being less prominent, it was still very well-written.
Props, too, for making the setting so immersive, despite it being a real place. Her descriptions and attention to detail only added to what was already a brilliant story, and everything was also easily understandable to those (like me) not very familiar with Korean history and culture.
Honestly, I don’t think any review I write can do this book justice, as is almost always the case with my favorite books. But The Red Palace is definitely a new favorite, one I’ll be shouting about far and wide, because it deserves all the hype. I can’t wait to see what Hur does next!
Historical murder mystery with a dash of romance is my new favorite, oddly specific genre. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this, but The Red Palace absolutely blew me away. Hur’s writing, though never bad, has improved since her debut, and she excels at writing clever female characters you can’t help but root for.
Hur did an incredible job with this mystery, with feeding the reader scraps of evidence periodically, but evidence that only answered questions with more questions. The clock is ticking for our protagonist, as if Hyeon can’t figure out who’s behind these heinous murders, her mentor will be killed as a scapegoat, the case closed while the true killer goes free. Every theory I came up with was wrong; I never suspected who was behind it all, and was positively floored when Hyeon and Eojin put the pieces together.
Speaking of Hyeon and Eojin, be still my heart. They!! Are!! Adorable!! The slow-burn drove me up the wall in the very best way, with all the small gestures and self-doubt and will-they-won’t-they. One minute I was squealing because there was FINALLY a romantic moment, the next, my heart was in my throat because I had no clue what the hell was going on. That’s not an exaggeration, either.
Props to June Hur for balancing both the mystery and romance storylines; neither ever overshadowed the other. Even with the latter being secondary, being less prominent, it was still very well-written.
Props, too, for making the setting so immersive, despite it being a real place. Her descriptions and attention to detail only added to what was already a brilliant story, and everything was also easily understandable to those (like me) not very familiar with Korean history and culture.
Honestly, I don’t think any review I write can do this book justice, as is almost always the case with my favorite books. But The Red Palace is definitely a new favorite, one I’ll be shouting about far and wide, because it deserves all the hype. I can’t wait to see what Hur does next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
Torture is mentioned but not seen/inflicted on-page.