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A bestseller in Korea, a biting, fast-paced vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness.
When four isolated elderly people commit suicide back-to-back at the same hospital by jumping out of the sixth-floor window, Su-Yeon doesn't understand why she's the only one at her precinct that seems to care. Dismissing the case as a series of unfortunate events due to the patients' loneliness, the police force doesn't engage. But Su-Yeon doesn't have the privilege of looking away: her dearest friend, Grandma Eun-Shim, lives on the sixth floor, and Su-Yeon is terrified that something will happen to her next.
As Su-Yeon begins her investigation alone, she runs into a mysterious woman named Wanda at the crime scene. Wanda, hot on the trail of her ex-lover, Lily, gives Su-Yeon the answer to her investigation: a vampire did it. Su-Yeon is skeptical at first, but then a fifth victim jumps from the window and her investigation reveals the body was completely drained of blood. Desperate to discover the cause of the deaths, Su-Yeon considers Wanda's explanation-that something supernatural is involved.
The Midnight Shift is a gripping mystery, overflowing with commentary about societal isolation and loneliness, the sharp knife of grief, and the effects of marginalization, perfect for readers of Cursed Bunny; Woman, Eating; and A Certain Hunger.
"[A]n intricate vampire mystery...Skillfully toggles between three heroines, building impressive emotional depth through their interwoven narration...[Seon-Ran's] nuanced exploration of loneliness and isolation resonates. K-drama fans, especially those drawn to moody supernatural thrillers and complex, character-driven plots, will eagerly devour this genre-blurring tale." —Publishers Weekly
"A fast-moving mystery." —Booklist
This information about The Midnight Shift was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Cheon Seon-Ran is the award-winning author of several novels and short-story collections. She has a master's degree in creative writing from Dankook University and lives in Seoul.
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