-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Novel
by Kim Bohyun
A chilling international debut following a vampire who targets men who have harmed women—in the present, past, and future—and the woman-led task force entrusted with solving the murders.
When a man's body is discovered in a park, Detective Noh Jin-seon is called to the scene, but she soon discovers this case is unlike anything she's seen before. The man, who had been accused of stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend, was killed with startling force, set on fire, and drained of blood. There are no footprints, no murder weapon, and no leads. Weeks later, another man is discovered murdered in the same way.
What follows is a chorus of characters grappling with the emergence of a serial killer. Among them are women haunted by past abuse who become collectively plagued by visceral dreams of vengeance; a female-led police force tasked with solving the perplexing murders; men who fear their own judgement day will come; and, at the center, Geum-hong, a mother reeling from the loss of her only daughter, who had been brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Her daughter is gone and the trial has passed, but her rage remains, simmering and threatening to consume her...
A brisk, lacerating exploration of power, privilege, and the pursuit of justice—and a foray into the dark underbelly of gender-based violence in Korea—Mothersucker reveals just how far a woman will go to avenge the ones she loves.
"A haunting portrait of grief and pain and the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child... In Mothersucker, Kim Bohyun has managed to craft one of the most unique vampire stories you will ever read." —Monika Kim, author of Molka and The Eyes Are the Best Part
"I'm still thinking about Mothersucker long after the last page. Make time for this brilliant, unconventional tale of a mother's depthless grief and the violence that binds too many of us together." —Kiersten White, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide
This information about Mothersucker 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.
Kim Bohyun debuted her literary career in 2011 when her short story "Swan" was awarded Consonant and Vowel literary magazine's New Writer's Award. She has gone on to win other prizes including the Korea Story Contest's Excellence Award for "Peng: When I Lay Dying" and for "Owl Boy," which would go on to be adapted into the 2022 film, Owl. She is the author of three novels. Mothersucker is her first novel to be translated in English.
If you liked Mothersucker, try these:
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
