“Ingeniously twisted.” —Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”“Will leave even the most seasoned crime fiction readers guessing.” —CrimeReads“[Jeong] maintains suspense about her inhuman-seeming protagonist’s fate until the bitter end.” —The Wall Street Journal Finalist for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s “Summer Reads” Book ClubThe Talented Mr. Ripley meets The Bad Seed in this breathless, … Club
The Talented Mr. Ripley meets The Bad Seed in this breathless, chilling psychological thriller by the #1 bestselling novelist known as “Korea’s Stephen King”
Who can you trust if you can’t trust yourself?
Early one morning, twenty-six-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange metallic smell, and a phone call from his brother asking if everything’s all right at home – he missed a call from their mother in the middle of the night. Yu-jin soon discovers her murdered body, lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs of their stylish Seoul duplex. He can’t remember much about the night before; having suffered from seizures for most of his life, Yu-jin often has trouble with his memory. All he has is a faint impression of his mother calling his name. But was she calling for help? Or begging for her life?
Thus begins Yu-jin’s frantic three-day search to uncover what happened that night, and to finally learn the truth about himself and his family. A shocking and addictive psychological thriller, The Good Son explores the mysteries of mind and memory, and the twisted relationship between a mother and son, with incredible urgency.
Named a Must-Read Book of the Summer by Elle, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, Bustle, CrimeReads, Lit Hub, The Millions, Electric Literature, and Brit + Co
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Yu-jin at 26 trusts no one–least of all himself. He has good reason to distrust his aunt, a psychiatrist who diagnosed him as a psychopath at age 6. She and his mother collude to convince him he has epilepsy and must remain on a strong drug to avoid seizures. He, of course, goes off his meds. Reality and memory collide over a three-day period when he decides to dig up all the family secrets. A scene toward the end, leading to the climax, tests reader credulity. But … the conclusion may be even harder to believe despite writing that owns the page.
Twisty, unreliable, disconcerting. You can’t help but root for the protagonist even when you’re not sure you really should… Stunning on audiobook. I listened to the whole thing in one day on 1.5x speed because I had to know what happened next.
Scary and fascinating. Couldn’t put it down
The Good Son is filled with tension, mystery, and questions. Yu-jin, wakes up in his room covered in blood. He suffers from seizures. He has vague memories of the night before. It is a gripping, disturbing tale that ramps up as he pieces together the events that led him here. Bestselling Korean author Jeong succeeds in getting the reader’s blood pumping.
Hmmm , I think I was expecting a thriller and a “OH!” moment while reading this book but as others have described, it’s more of a slow burning psychological study than a traditional thriller. It starts with a murder and goes backwards to unravel what has happened. It had some interesting reveals but it felt a little too slow paced and ho-hum to me.
This book kept me engaged ina way that was both disturbing and sympathetic. In some instances I felt a bit sorry for the main character but then would quickly realize how disturbed he actually was. Ultimately a creepy read.
Didn’t like this book only because the main character was the bad guy!!
A gripping, atmospheric, edge-of-your-seat thriller, The Good Son is moody and dark in the best way, with an unreliable narrator you won’t soon forget. I loved it.
This book will pull you in; as you devour it, you may find yourself chilled to the bone by its unflinching depiction of the evil coiled within us.
I can’t rate this because I never finished it. I started it twice but was bored to tears both times. My first attempt I made it through 1/3 of the book. The second time I made it through 1/2.
“I suddenly realized what I was attracted to. I was attracted to someone feeling fear.”
Damn but I enjoyed this merry walk through psychopath lane. You have to appreciate a book that starts drenched in blood.
With a slow befuddled beginning, I cranked the audio accompaniment to 2x and the story went faster, and faster, and faster!
This is less a murder mystery than a blood-soaked weekend of personal discovery.
What I loved!
Heart pounding buildup, tension, and escalating action.
What I appreciated:
A psychopath story with no rape, sadism, or animal violence.
The pace.
The length.
The ending.
”There was no way to return once you’d crossed a line you shouldn’t.”
I couldn’t put it down. It is sad and surprising.
This is an interesting book. Lots of action. It wasn’t as unpredictable and suspenseful as I had hoped, but still kept me interested.