Page turning murder mystery

An exciting page turner. The author, June Hur, knows a lot about the Joseon dynasty, and it looks like most of her books are based in this time period. This is the first book I’ve listened to by this other. It is also the first time I listened to a murder mystery book. It was very exciting to investigate the case with the main characters, yearning to learn more. It’s not too scary, otherwise I would not read or enjoy it. It does describe wounds and deaths, but it’s not done in a way to terrify you. The book is not too long, and very easy to finish in just a couple days.

Having studied some Korean, lived in Korea and watched k-dramas, I could imagine all the palaces, outfits, and characters well. I almost wish I could see it all in a movie, too. I loved that the book included Korean words and references such as “ye/예,” a formal yes reply, the hierarchical terms between the characters such as “seja jeoha/세자 저하,” crown prince and “naeuri/나으리”l, a way to refer to people of higher status but same daegam/age, and so on. I’m not sure if this would really make sense to someone without some knowledge of Korean language and culture without explanation though. I think these references add a lot of context and information in the story, and are important to understand. Or perhaps it’s not vital to understand, rather, one misses the “full experience.”

I loved how at the end, the author explains the historical facts her book was based on, and her intention in how she chose to write the story. She also mentions where to learn more about the historical events. She is clearly very passionate and made a lot of efforts researching to make the story as realistic as possible, while still honouring it’s fiction genre. She wanted to respect Korean history as well she could as as part of the Korean diaspora.

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