An assassin must fulfill the requirements of the job they are hired to do. Reseng knows this because he was raised by and now works for one of the most famous killers of all time, Old Raccoon, who runs a murder for hire business at The Library. He had never questioned anything asked of him before, so why couldn’t he complete the job as requested? He knew, of course, that plotters controlled the activities of the criminal guilds in South Korea carefully plotting the removal of people for their own ends, but what were those ends and who were these plotters was something that no one, not even Old Raccoon, seemed to know or was willing to talk about.

But after Reseng, botched his job, the carefully calibrated plans of the plotters begins to unravel, and with it their anonymity. When Reseng discovers the plotters are three eccentric women, a convenience store clerk, her wheel chair bound sister and a cross-eyed librarian who have set in motion  an extraordinary operation, he must decide whether to join them in fulfilling their operation or whether he should finally take control of the plot.

This is an intriguing and extraordinary novel. The writing is lyrical at times, but the content is brutal and menacing. Morality shifts in this book, and it is disconcerting and unbalancing. You are both drawn to and repulsed by the characters and fiercely hope that the part of you that is drawn to them does not mean that you have the potential to be a killer yourself.  Un-su Kim is a celebrated author in South Korea and although this is the first of his books to translated into English, I sincerely hope it will not be the last. Sora Kim-Russell’s translation is extraordinary, balancing the need for English clarity with the subtlety that pervades Asian cultures and the lyricism that Kim uses in unexpected moments.

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Ken, Sharon, and Marian.

book Study worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.