THE GOOD SON is the first of South Korean writer You-jeong Jeong’s books to be made available to English-speaking audiences—and it’s a must-read, plain and simple. With harrowing precision and unflinching bluntness, Jeong draws readers into the mind of her tormented main character, Yu-jin - a young man with a faulty memory and some very dark secrets. THE GOOD SON will shock with blood and guts as much as it will delight with originality and unpredictability. In Jeong’s masterful hands, this story of memory loss and familial secrets is nothing short of spectacular. All I can hope for (beyond my hope that you pick up a copy of this book upon its release) is that more of Jeong’s work will be translated into English as soon as possible -- I, for one, will be waiting!
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Book Review: YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS by Michelle Sacks
Why do we love to observe catastrophe? It happens every day, in big ways and in small. We slow down to observe an accident on the side of the road; we seek out with fascination news stories involving all manner of unthinkable events; we pick up crime books like Michelle Sacks’ sharp-edged YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS. Sometimes I’m sure we do these things to better understand our world and all its dark corners—sometimes I’m sure we do it for no reason other than morbid curiosity. In Sacks’ caustic novel of secrets and lies, readers explore the everyday catastrophes of interpersonal relationships. There’s jealousy, revenge, insecurity, betrayals, and a whole lot more to be found within these pages, and it’s this potent blend of all too human experiences that give YOU WERE MADE FOR THIS its bite.
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Book Review: LYING IN WAIT by Liz Nugent
What an absolute talent Liz Nugent is. The Irish crime writer made a splash with her debut UNRAVELING OLIVER, and this June, her sophomore effort releases in the US. LYING IN WAIT is every bit a propulsive, compulsively-readable psychological suspense novel. You would be hard pressed to find another psychological suspense author who writes with the same unfussy dexterity as Nugent—her clean, to-the-point prose and candid observations of human nature come together here to deliver a truly outstanding summer read.
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Book Review: MACBETH by Jo Nesbø
Raw, gritty, and rough around the edges, Jo Nesbø’s MACBETH captures the ageless dark heart of Shakespeare’s original work, and packages it in the razor-sharp crime writing only Nesbø can deliver. Revenge, love, guilt—themes that permeate Nesbø’s own works are perfectly reflected in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and come together in Nesbø’s remake to pitch-perfect effect. It takes a masterful writer to deliver what Nesbø does here: a remake as fiercely original and as it is faithful to its inspiration. MACBETH is a must-read for readers of Shakespeare and fans of Nordic Noir alike.
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Book Review: PAPER GHOSTS by Julia Heaberlin
What do you get when you cross the sweeping terrain of Texas with a road trip to recover a serial killer’s lost memories? Julia Heaberlin’s PAPER GHOSTS. In an inventive and immersive story of suspense, Heaberlin takes readers along for the ride as a young woman seeks answers to her sister’s disappearance... and does so in the form of a cross-state adventure with the man she suspects of killing her. A strong addition to the spring reading list of those looking for an atypical take on the serial killer novel.
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