The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo
4 stars
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions are my own and this did not affect my review in any way.
When I picked this book up I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I only knew this book was about a serial killer and I immediately knew I wanted to read it (I have this weird fascination with serial killers). After reading this book, I still don’t know what to think. I am really having a bad time trying to express my feelings about this book but I will try.
In this book we follow criminal psychologist Seonkyeong who after agreeing to interview one of the most infamous series killers, she starts to realize that there are many shocking connections between this serial killer and her stepdaughter.
Like I said I am still having a hard time trying to figure out what I think of this book. On one hand, I loved it, it was twisted and fast paced, it messed with your head and it had everything I was hoping for a psychological thriller. On the other hand, I hated it, it made me cry and angry and I just wanted to throw this book away because I was so frustrated.
After analyzing what I felt I realized that I had truly enjoyed this book, I read it in one day so that means I was so engrossed in the story. It was fast paced and I grew attached to the characters quickly, I couldn’t stop trying to figure out the plot twist and once I did I was left speechless (the night I finished it I couldn’t sleep because of how messed up it is). So even though this book made me want to read more psychological thrillers and had me hooked all the way through I still couldn’t give it the full 5 stars.
The reason I gave this 4 stars is because 1) the writing is very repetitive and I don’t know if this was a problem of the translation but I got kind of tedious 2) there were many inconsistencies and things that made me go “there is no way that could have happened” 3) This book is not emotional at all, some parts of the story are just narrated as some straight up storytelling, and I am sure that if this book had proper emotional writing I would not have been able to sleep in forever.
In the end I wanted more, I was not satisfied with how certain things ended for certain characters and I felt they deserved more, moreover I would have loved to see a deeper analysis on the serial killer, more interviews, more, more, more. However, I was still so engrossed in the story that I was able to let this things go. I would really recommend this book if you are looking for a fast psychological thriller or if you are at all interested in the topic of serial killers.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.
P.S Trigger warning for child abuse and animal abuse.
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