Stephanie Jane reviewed The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong
Gory, but gripping
4 stars
I recently spotted Ova's The Good Son review on her blog Excuse My Reading which encouraged me to get to reading my ARC of this book sooner rather than later. It's narrated in the first person by Yu-jin who is a brilliantly unreliable narrator. A chilling character, he fascinated me (much like watching a snake) and loved the uncertainty of never knowing whether what I was discovering was The truth, his truth or whether he was spinning me a tale! The novel isn't particularly fast-paced, but it was always so tense that, for me, it felt like it flew by. I had to keep putting the book aside from time to time to make sure I had absorbed everything that was happening.
The story spirals around key moments for Yu-jin and his family, each revisited with the reader having a little more information to help them gauge the real story. …
I recently spotted Ova's The Good Son review on her blog Excuse My Reading which encouraged me to get to reading my ARC of this book sooner rather than later. It's narrated in the first person by Yu-jin who is a brilliantly unreliable narrator. A chilling character, he fascinated me (much like watching a snake) and loved the uncertainty of never knowing whether what I was discovering was The truth, his truth or whether he was spinning me a tale! The novel isn't particularly fast-paced, but it was always so tense that, for me, it felt like it flew by. I had to keep putting the book aside from time to time to make sure I had absorbed everything that was happening.
The story spirals around key moments for Yu-jin and his family, each revisited with the reader having a little more information to help them gauge the real story. I was convinced I had sussed it out quite early on, but was very wrong. Twice! Thinking back over the story now, I would say potential readers might need to be wary of The Good Son for it's blood level. I'm often squeamish and there were a few scenes here that I slightly skim-read to avoid the strongest imagery. This is a psychological thriller that, for me at least, leant more towards horror than crime fiction. If you don't mind blood splatter though, it's one I would highly recommend.
