It’s time for my first Mini Review Monday of June, the most recent of which was the other week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about The Devoted by Catherine Cho. Thank you to Fourth Estate Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Eunha grows up in a quiet village in Hong Kong with little knowledge of the reputation of her father, a Dragon Head and the leader of a criminal organisation infamous in the city. While her grandmother does her best to shield her from the violence that underpins their lives, Eunha only has her brother Solomon and their one permitted companion, a boy named Kai, for company.
But when Eunha marries into a supposedly respectable Hong Kong family, the veneer of her sheltered life begins to crack. After her young son is kidnapped, she is cast back into the city’s criminal underground and into the orbit of Kai, now a Dragon Head himself. In this world, love and loyalty are stalked by fear and betrayal. Will Eunha finally give in to the life she has strived so hard to rise above or was her future always fated?
Publication Date: 4th June
CW: murder, death, violence, kidnapping, execution, death of a child, abandonment, infidelity, sexism
My Thoughts:
The Devoted is everything I love about literary fiction. It is a brilliant debut that delivers a complex story through a singular voice.
This is a gorgeously written book. The prose sung with beautiful, delicate word choice but always an undercurrent of danger. It’s both the rose and the thorns on display here. Cho is a writer to watch if this debut is anything to go by. There is depth and layers to every aspect of this story, with a thrumming threat running beneath at all times. We open with a scene of violence and unpick the events that led to it. Within this, there’s grappling with tough themes around family, fate and legacy. The timeline moves between past and present deftly, establishing the knotty relationships that define the book. There is love in many forms, with a brilliant exploration of motherhood. You feel the actions of the past reveberate through into the present as the ramifications continue to still be keenly felt.
Eunha’s voice is arresting. She is smart and determined, with a deep-seated drive to protect those she loves by any means. Her life has often been controlled by others and the depiction of this is stark and violent in its own way. That control is vicious and neverending, looped in with generational trauma and the secrets buried within her past. Her character arc over the course of the book is excellent and subtly builds to an explosive conclusion. There’s a lot of tangled relationships and complicated dynamics which we slowly learn more about. I loved the different layers we get to understand of her through the pages.
The Devoted is a detailed, wonderful character study and exploration of motherhood, family and love.
Next up, I’d like to talk about One of the Family by Mark Edwards. Thank you to Michael Joseph for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Patrick couldn’t believe his luck when Holly fell for him. She’s wickedly funny, beautiful – albeit with an intimidatingly successful father, Charles.
So when she invites him to Charles’ mansion for a New Year’s break in Scotland, all he’s hoping is that they’ll accept him as one of the family.
But from the start nothing feels right. Whispers in hallways. Reports of a body that was found nearby the previous year. And something very strange about Charles’ new girlfriend.
Patrick tells himself that every family has its secrets, and all he needs to do is make it through the holiday.
But then one of the family is killed. One of the family goes missing. And Patrick realises that one of the family might just be a killer…
Publication Date: 18th June
CW: death, murder, violence, classism, stalking
My Thoughts:
One of the Family is an excellent thriller that keeps you guessing. It is well-paced, twisty and wields atmosphere like a weapon.
This takes the classic isolated setting, adds in a complicated family and a dead body that may or may not link right back to them. It is an intoxicating combination and Edwards spins this great concept into a compelling story that is hard to pull yourself away from. I loved the references to classic thriller tropes but also how they are reinvented and given a fresh spin. That isolated community with secrets buried beneath the surface and this family who appear to have everything instantly creates a delicious conflict that delves into issues around class, privilege and identity. It is smart and sharp in equal measure with biting commentary. Edwards has a real knack for creating atmosphere that grips you, it feels claustrophobic and heightens the tension even further.
The twists are excellent and genuinely reframe the book in an entirely new perspective. They have tangible consequences and make the story even more complicated. I liked how much hinges on the personal relationships and those fraught dynamics between family, siblings, lovers and parents with children. Everything is a little bit chaotic but hidden behind a facade of perfection. This dovetails with the social commentary and I do love a bit of rich people behaving badly, though there are some brilliant surprises along those lines here. I also enjoyed the way that Patrick’s role as a documentarian, specifically within true crime, comes into play in unexpected ways. It completely dictates the way he views the world and it adds a cinematic flair to proceedings. This is my first read from Mark Edwards but it certainly will not be my last.
One of the Family is a pacy, captivating thriller that dares you to keep reading through until the early hours of the morning. You will get utterly caught up with this family and their secrets, but do remember that appearances can be deceptive.
Finally, I’d like to delve into Slasher Summer by E. L. Chen. Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Back in high school, seven unlikely students were drawn together over one shared love: all things horror.
Years later they come back to their hometown of Cedar Lake Falls to reunite. The town happens to be the setting of a cult classic 80’s slasher film and so what better place to stay than in the very lodge the movie was filmed in.
But then ominous figures are spotted across the lake, members of the group are pulled underwater and a masked killer is unleashed.
Suddenly they realise they’re in the same kind of horror they love to watch, only it’s not so fun being on the other side…
Publication Date: 13th August
CW: death, murder, violence, gore, stalking, sexual assault
My Thoughts:
Slasher Summer had all of the ingredients of the best slashers and it added some new flavours to the mix.
This is just such good fun. It is a brilliant celebration of the classic slasher tropes and a love letter to the genre. Chen has some terrific surprises in store which play with the expectations and tropes of the genre but there is also a tangible care and respect for the genre. Having all these characters come from that place of fandom and live action players of those films adds an interesting dynamic to the story too. It feels very meta and self-referential in a way that feels exciting. This is not a book that holds back either, it is dark and steeped in blood. Seriously, the gore is up to the elbows. The kills are inventive and often have a darkly comic edge. Chen has some excellent twists in store too. They heighten the stakes and add more texture to the story with shocking consequences.
This extends to the characters, all of whom fill certain stereotypes at first glance but have more going on beneath the surface. They’re aware of this with the typecasting they had in the live-action replays and within their own narration. This allows for some wonderful play with expectations and a fast, almost frenetic pacing at times. You flip between their perspectives and start to put together the tiny details from one to another. There is a bigger picture forming and it is jaw-dropping once you get to the conclusion. I loved how distinctive all of their voices were and how their relationships shift and develop over the course of the book.
Slasher Summer is a wickedly dark and meta slasher that delivers the goods. It is fantastically ingrained within the genre but also adds a fresh spin. Summerween never looked better.
A Short Book Lover 