Jeong You Jeong

Yu-Jin awakens early one morning feeling as though something is wrong. He can’t remember anything that happened last night. As he goes to get out of bed he realizes that he is covered, head to toe, in blood. His brother, Hae-Jin, is soon calling him to see if everything is okay. Their mother called him in the middle of night and now he cannot reach her. Yu-Jin soon discovers what has happened. She is lying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood.

For years, twenty-six-year-old Yu-Jin show more has been medicated. When he was young he was placed on medication for epilepsy and while he has had few seizures in his lifetime, he does seem to have pronounced issues with his memory. Despite knowing that he needs his medication to stay alive, Yu-Jin will periodically stop taking it. His mother knows this and whenever she discovers he has stopped taking his pills she guides him back onto the correct path. Now with the discovery of his mother’s body, Yu-Jin must work to put the pieces together of what happened last night. The logical answer is that he did this, after all he’s the one covered in blood, but why would he murder his mother? What would cause Yu-Jin to lose his mind?

THE GOOD SON starts off with an enthralling first chapter. The reader is immediately waking up with Yu-Jin, in his blood-soaked clothes, with his dead mother at the bottom of the stairs. It’s clear that Yu-Jin is guilty, but are you sure because Yu-Jin certainly isn’t. Alongside Yu-Jin the reader will come to realize that not everything about this family is what it seems. The path of the book and the chain of events are in a span of a few days, which creates a sense of urgency between the reader and story. The use of longer chapters with few page breaks continues to aide in building tension and fueling the reader to continue reading. One of my favorites features of this story was the use of journal entries to tie together the past with present events. THE GOOD SON is not your typical take at crime fiction, but an inside study into the mind of Yu-Jin. I think the back cover sums this story up best with the line: “Who can you trust if you can’t trust yourself?”. THE GOOD SON is a chilling read that should be making its way to your TBR! show less

Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, which may not suit every reader but does allow for a lot more depth in trying to understand the characters and, by extension, our own psyches. Don't read this just to go from event to event, read this to think and consider what we do and why.

I was caught up in the story from the beginning. By that, I mean that almost immediately I found myself wondering what pieces were missing from both what happened that show more fateful night and what these characters were thinking. I am the type of reader that will get as much, or more, enjoyment from a book where I am considering the psychology of why the characters do what they do as from one where I am simply trying to figure out how or why someone physically committed an act. One why can simply be because they stepped on my toe and didn't apologize, the other why is because all my life I have been invisible to people who have walked all over me and when that privileged person stepped on my toe, I snapped.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy reading stories with a dark, ominous feel to them but don't just stay on the surface of that feeling. What mystery there is here is almost secondary to the immersion we experience in a claustrophobic and seemingly bare existence. Though I would recommend coming up for air periodically.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Goodreads First Reads. show less

Yu-jin wakes up one morning to find himself covered in blood and he has no memory of why. He sees that his home is blood-splattered and as he investigates he finds the body of his mother dead with her throat cut. Yu-jin is scared as he has had a blackout caused by him stopping taking his medication. As relatives start to express concern about his mother Yu-jin decides to clean up but on finding his mother's journal his memory starts to come back and he realises that his medication is hiding show more more than epilepsy.

This is a short and very sharp book which completely grips the reader. The start suggests that Yu-jin has been set up and he appears a victim but as the plot progresses the reader realises that there is more to Yu-jin than first appears. The tone shifts incrementally as the horror increases and I found myself hooked to find out what happens next. It's obvious but deliciously macabre. The writing is so spare I can forgive the glaring holes in the narrative because the book is just brilliant. show less

This whole book is an awesome work that fiercely holds the brain in a psychological grip and keeps slowly squeezing and releasing. The narration is A+; this is one of my top favorite thriller audiobooks, especially when working on projects or sitting on the porch late at night. While not "creepy", it's psychologically intense and there are creepy mental moments as the writing paints all these scenes so vividly, the surreal storyline sinks in deep, the slow-pace keeps it cerebrally chaotic, show more and the narration tops this gift with another talented bow. While I'm sure this book would also be excellent if you physically read it, something about the narration ups it a level and perfectly complements it. show less