Book Review: The Plotters by Un-su Kim

                                            

 So last year when I wanted to add some translated works to my TBR, I put several audiobooks on hold. They then all started to become available in the past few weeks. So, it looks like I may do better than last year on my books in translation. 

    This is a bit of a hidden gem, I have not heard many people discussing this one, and I found myself to be listening with delight as this Crime noir/thriller unfolded.   It is also a beat the back-list type of novel as it was first published in 2018.  This is one novel that I could see as a television mini-series. 

     So without spoilers- this is a novel about assassins, and the people (or plotters) behind the assassins. Our main character is a likeable, well read young man who was raised unconventionally by Old Raccoon, who is essentially a kingpin in the Assassin world in an alternative by contemporary South Korea.  Our main character follows orders, he pulls triggers when asked, and otherwise lives a quiet and bland life. He is, however, thoughtful, and observant. Eventually he carries out a plan, but doesn't quite follow the instructions to a T, and finds himself privy to a bizarre scheme put into motion by the most unexpected of players. Will he join them, or remain a cog in the machine?  I really was rooting for our main character, because, after all, who can dislike a man with cats named Desk and Lampshade? And He's a man who takes care of those cats. 

  I really loved this one. There's a lot of dark humor, and wry commentary on the state of life in general, the plot has a lot of twists and turns and goes places that I didn't imagine it would. While I did find the ending to be less satisfying than I would have liked, it certainly fit the story. 

The translator is Sora Kim-Russell, and they have done a wonderful wonderful job. Sarcasm, suspense, dry humor, and implied tones are difficult to translate, and I felt that I didn't miss any of that in this novel, it was all there, in spades. 

  Now I've seen people say if you enjoy Han Kang, you'll enjoy this, but I don't think that's necessarily the case.  The two writers are very different. I see this more as a novel for folks who love the noir genre and want to explore it in other cultures other than the sort of UK/USA area. For me, I really enjoyed it as it was so well plotted, grabbed me in the beginning, held me through the middle and had me on the edge of my chair for the end! 

                                 First Published :  August 2018

Pages: 310

Available as an Audio Book : Yes  

Trigger Warnings: death, death of dog, death of child,  classism, medical issues, body horror, misogyny.

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)

Book Review: Swimming With Manatees by Bill Bennett

 This is clearly a passion project of Bill Bennett, an independent author. 

 I would like to thank NetGalley for the advanced digital copy to read and review. 

I was initially attracted by the title and attractive cover, as well as the Florida setting. I do love a Florida setting.  In addition, I did hope to finish this in 2025 as part of my water theme, but I got... Water logged with books, so here we are in January. 

We're given the Story of Ava Martinez, a tough and savvy detective  who is somewhat new to the force she's working on in the Everglades area of Florida. This case is personal, because in a small town, almost everyone knows everyone. 

Readers experience multiple points of view as they read and unravel the mystery of who killed multiple people, and why. The author brings in current uses and interest in marine life as a source of new medical treatments, and was able to hold my attention with some action scenes interspersed with cerebral sleuthing. 

The book is written with a heavy heavy noir style which many descriptions ending in a comparison.  This is an area which Bennett excels. It was repetitive, but I did enjoy reading the prose which took me right into the nostalgic feel of Noir novels and films from days gone by. 

That said, I did not fall in love with any of the characters- I could see how the author attempted to cobble in a backstory - especially for Ava Martinez, but unique as her backstory was, it didn't seem to really influence her current character or do anything to make her seem more real. I found her partner to be much more interesting, and that partner perishes early on!

The mystery of the murders revolves around a fascinating plot of the possibility of new biologics for disease treatment.  For most readers, this is going to be great.  For me, given my career, there were some errors that made it seem less real, but again, that has to do with my familiarity with the subject at hand. 

   I did think that it was a bold move for this male author to chose to create a female main character with a very specifically Hispanic/Latina name. To his credit  ( or discredit?) the only thing female or Hispanic/Latina about this character is the name.  I feel like the book could have had a male main character with the name of John Smith and it would have felt the same.  

So is this a book for everyone?  I suspect there are readers out there who will find this to be a good read. Unraveling the mystery was quite fun, and I enjoyed the description of the Everglades. Other readers may find it a bit difficult to follow, and to be somewhat tedious with heavy prose. 

STATS

First Published : 10/30/2025

Pages: 479

Available as an Audio Book :  No

Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, medical situations, murder, guns,  (not a complete list- be responsible!)

Book Review Esperance by Adam Oyebanji

  Many thanks to Astra Publishing House/Daw books for the gift copy of Esperance to read and review.

  As seems to always be the case for this reader, a great cover sucked me right in! 

Small attempt at a synopsis: Detective Ethan Krol is called to an apartment in Chicago where a father and son are deceased with their lungs oddly full of sea water. Ethan knows this is strange, but he begins his investigation rather normally. Soon, he is swept wholly into the investigation leading him to Providence RI, and Edinburgh Scotland. 

A second story line introduces us to Abidemi Eniola who arrives in England from parts unknown. She hooks up with a modern gal, Hollie Rogers to help her along her way. Abidemi is super smart and has a lot of cool technology that Hollie's never seen, but sometimes seems like she doesn't quite understand how basic things like, airplanes, or pawn shops work. Abidemi states she has inheritances for several people she has to find and Hollie - who's at a loose end- decides to go along for the ride. 

What Hollie doesn't know is that the inheritances are for Descendants of a Rhode Island Merchant and Ship owner from back during slave trading days. 

Chaos ensues. 

Honestly, I did not know it was possible to write a cohesive novel that brought together classic noir detective fiction, supernatural sci-fi elements, Nigerian spirits/spirituality - the concept of debt to be paid (gbese) and historical events, I would have said that this might be a step to far, but somehow Oyebanji has put it all together into a bit of a Cyperpunk, Sci-fi, Detective Noir and Historic fiction novel that reads nicely and makes sense. 

Is this a book for everyone? No, it really is not.  I think it falls into the weird genre for me and will appeal to Sci fi readers, those who like weird stuff and those interested in cybertech.     I expect readers who enjoy Blake Crouch, or Rob Hart would find this appealing! Could it have a wider readership? It could because it's well written and easy to follow! 

STATS

First Published : May 2025

Pages: 432

Available as an Audio Book :YES

Trigger Warnings: Violence, police action, murder, references to slave trade, medical situations, blood, and injury. distant parent, parent death, child death.  As always this is likely not a complete list, so please read responsibly. 

Book Review: Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi

 Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi came out in April, and I was lucky to get an advanced listener copy to review. 

This is such a unique novel, I'm not even sure what to think of it! I enjoyed it, 5/5 stars!  Onyebuchi is a master, so I knew I'd be getting a well constructed story-line. I did not anticipate the story AT ALL! 

For me Noir has been a genre that I kind of like, but also kind of don't.  I'm a huge fan of the gritty, no frills characters, but I am not always a fan of the utter desperation that pervades the genre. Onyebuchi  strays from the usual noir narrative by adding in a pinch of magical realism, which adds just enough of the supernatural to sort of lighten the general noir darkness. Add in a unique setting  (post colonial West Africa), and I was sat in my seat listening to this one! 

No Spoiler summary (because spoilers are the baddest thing ever!) Boubacar is a former soldier, former police man, turned private eye for hire in a post-colonial West African country (possibly Mali, possibly not).  Work is not going well, and he's ready to hang it up- deal with his expenses and wait as the Harmattan comes in. The world, however, has other plans for Boubacar. A seriously injured woman stumbles into his home/office and disappears, only to be seen again in a most peculiar circumstance and Boubacar is drawn in to a intense investigation.  He, and the reader, are taken on a grand adventure across the city where he encounters terrifying enemies and unexpected allies. It's quite the mash - up of genres, and for it worked very well. 

   I was attracted to the novel because of the author, but also the title...as my first trip to West Africa was during a Harmattan, which was memorable. It's hard to describe, but that year the dust was so thick, our plane had to land in a different country- which was exciting- except for the lack of Visa for that country. It is easy to imagine the events of the story unfolding in that heavy dust which does sometimes just swirl around a person. 

Dion Graham narrated and his rich clear voice brought the character of Boubacar to life for me! 

STATS

First Published : May 2025

Pages: 336

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, death, grief, racism, (not a complete list- be responsible!)

Book Review- Midnight Water City 3.5/5 stars

 I finished this book quite some time ago- as part of my water themed reads. I was hoping I'd discovered a new series that I'd love.  In the end, while I think it's a book and series for someone, it isn't one for me. That said, it might be for you! 

This is an action packed story set in the future, where cities no longer scrape the sky, but instead are built down into the sea. The reader is treated to a unique mix of Sci-Fi, Noir crime, and horror as they follow a sprightly - but world weary- 80 yr old detective as he seeks to discover the murderer of a woman known as the savior of the world. 

Published in 2021, McKinney - a Hawai'ian author, seems to draw some inspiration from the Covid-19 pandemic in the early days - when people were spilt about the virus- was it a pandemic, was it a media plot to disseminate panic? Was the vaccine real or imagined?  But instead of dragging out an imagined disease (THANK YOU Chris McKinney- we had ALOT of Pandemic fiction) he Shows us a natural disaster - averted by technology that's not well understood- leaving all the same questions. Was the disaster real? Was it made up to terrify folks? Did the technology work or was it just a ploy to control the population?  

Now, I couldn't find anywhere that he said this exactly, so, it's really my own conjecture and reaction to the novel - He did say to  KHPR (Hawai'i Public Radio) in an interview that 

"I think a part of it was sort of the lockdown, and just not wanting to write about the world in its present state, and sort of pressing my imagination to speculate what all of this looks like 100, 150 years in the future" 

 

What I loved about this book?

- Well written. McKinney  does a nice job of showing, rather than telling the world he created that's essentially lived underwater, Set obviously in Hawai'i but not in any specific Island or area. 

-Unique story line - I cannot recall reading anything exactly similar to this. I've read a lot of water books- people that dwell under the sea, mermaids, sirens, you name it.  This was unique, and since it was also well imagined and written it was painless to read. 

- Atypical characters.  There's no clear cut Hero/ine in this novel.  I do read a lot of romance, and some days- I'm mighty tired of the orphan who discovers they have special powers and only they can save the world. And that orphan is excited to "do or die" immediately.  Instead, McKinney's characters are flawed, imperfect and relatable to an extent. In some ways they are so bad, they give the reader a sense of relief, as we know in comparison we're pretty good! 

What I didn't love about the book? 

Well, essentially I won't be continuing because for whatever reason, I really just couldn't connect with any of the characters. In the end, it was an interesting story, but I found I didn't feel the itch to get the next book. All of the characters were fairly unlikeable (to me) and so with an opportunity to read more, I sort of tabled the idea. I mean, I might still go for it.  I think I liked it more than I disliked it overall! 

Who do I think would love this book? 

Readers who enjoy both Noir, and Sci-Fi with a side of body horror. This is most definitely the book for that reader, especially if they don't need the character connection that I apparently want! 

STATS

First Published 2021

Pages: 305

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  Medical situations, Murder, natural disaster, child death, death, gun violence, parent death, prison, environmental disaster, terrorism. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)