Seven Years of Darkness

April 6, 2020
When Choi Sowon, the narrator of this riveting novel from Jeong (The Good Son), was 11 years old in 2004, Sowon’s father, Choi Hyonsu, the head of security at Seryong Dam, was arrested for killing his wife and an 11-year-old girl and her father—and for causing more deaths after opening the dam floodgates above Seryong Village. Hyonsu was convicted of mass murder and sent to prison, and an uncle in Seoul adopted Sowon. Seven years later, when Sowon receives a mysterious manuscript in the mail purporting to tell what really happened in 2004, Sowon realizes he faces a serious threat. Readers may think they know the full story, but the atmospheric plot unfolds in unexpected directions. Jeong does a good job making the unlikable Hyonsu deserving of sympathy, though some may wish she focused less on the past and more on Sowon’s current predicament. A rushed ending also disappoints. But these are minor flaws. This twisty tale reinforces Jeong’s place as the queen of South Korean thrillers. Agent: Barbara Zitwer, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency.

April 15, 2020
Questions, and plenty of secrets, still linger seven years after the murder of 11-year-old Oh Seryong kicked off a series of events that destroyed the lives of so many. In 2004, Choi Hyonsu, who was head of security at Seryong Dam, was convicted of killing Seryong; Seryong's father, who owned much of the property around the dam; and his own wife, then opening the dam's floodgates, destroying nearly the entire Seryong Village. The scandal followed Hyonsu's 11-year-old son, Sowon, as he was passed around to numerous family members. Eventually, Mr. Ahn, a security guard who worked for Hyonsu at the dam, takes Sowon in. Now, the two make a living diving for clams in the waters surrounding the island where they live in tiny Lighthouse Village. Their quiet existence is shattered when they help retrieve a group of people missing after a diving accident and Sowon's past is exposed. Sowan then receives a manuscript written by Mr. Ahn, detailing the events of 2004, and he begins to wonder if his father is actually guilty of the crimes that led to his incarceration on Seoul Prison's death row. Bestselling Korean author Jeong sprinkles Sowon's narration and excerpts of Mr. Ahn's manuscript throughout, and eerie interludes, such as a night dive by Mr. Ahn that reveals the largely intact underwater village that was previously flooded to create the dam, add a sense of dreamlike beauty. Each character's motivations are examined, such as Sowon's bond with his troubled, hard-drinking father and Seryong's treatment by her cruel father, the details of which are rendered even more potent by the author's frank descriptions. Missing and dead girls are a prolific staple of crime fiction, but Jeong's portrait of Seryong, a young girl unforgivably betrayed by the very people whose job it was to keep her safe, saves her from being just one of many. Readers will think they know what actually happened to Seryong long before Sowon does, but they should be prepared for a few final twists. A moody and multifaceted psychological thriller.

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Starred review from May 1, 2020
Seven years ago, Sowon, 11 at the time, became the unwitting pawn of a psychopathic killer. When Sowon's father, Hyonsu, accepted the position of head of security at a reservoir in South Korea, the family moved into a shared company apartment with his employee, Sungwhan Ahn. Hyonsu and Sowon's close friendship with Ahn becomes a beacon in their steadily darkening tale; things begin to deteriorate almost immediately after the battered body of a young girl who lived next door, Seryong, is found wedged in the dam, and Sowon's father begins drinking heavily and sleepwalking through the forest. In a swirl of events that Sowon barely remembers, his mother and Seryong's father disappear, and Hyonsu is convicted of the girl's murder. Stigmatized by his past, Sowon is shuffled between relatives until he eventually finds peace in an isolated coastal village with Mr. Ahn. But, the Seryong Lake tragedy won't stay buried. Mr. Ahn suddenly disappears, and Sowon receives a mysterious package containing his story's missing pieces and a clear warning that he will have to match wits with a vengeful enemy if he hopes to survive his past. A dark exploration of human connections, this beautifully written redemption story holds strong appeal for fans of Yrsa Sigurard�ttir's haunting, atmospheric thrillers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)