The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo is a good read that's almost great. Almost as it's a bit slow to get going and not entirely convincing with a rather simplistic writing style,possibly down to the translation from the original Korean.
Criminal psychologist Seonkyeong gets the chance to interview a serial killer who refuses to speak to anyone else about his crimes while at the same time her husband turns up with a daughter from his previous marriage that she was unaware existed. The killer,, Yi Byeongdo , and the newly-discovered step-daughter, Hayeong, have a couple of things in common, including abusive mothers. Seonkyeong struggles both with the game-playing murderer and the obviously disturbed new presence in her house and it's almost as if the author is trying to knit the scripts of Silence of the Lambs (which get a nod of acknowledgement ,and The Omen, albeit with a female "Damien" . Surprisingly it works quite well and is very entertaining, if more than a bit "busy" as the 2 story threads are juggled before coming together. Seonkyeong is a decent person who tries to help and understand people while the author shows that both the killer and the step-daughter from hell are victims made the way they are by their upbringing. The only character I wasn't convinced by was the husband ,why anyone would marry him baffles me,let alone 2 women,he's selfish, completely inconsiderate and wrapped up in his work to the exclusion of his loved ones.
I really enjoyed the book,it's a bit different and once it gets into it's stride a quick and easy read. The writing isn't fantastic ,at times reading a bit like the synopsis of a movie script, but it is a translation so that's possibly a tad unfair.
Thanks to Mi-ae Seo, Oneworld Publications and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
