I think this may be my first South Korean novel ever, in any genre. It’s definitely my first South Korean thriller, and it has for sure piqued my interest in the genre.

The Plotters is a crime thriller at its heart, but it is the slowest of slow burns. The plot meanders back and forth a ton. We visit Reseng’s childhood in The Doghouse, his attempts at leaving the assassin lifestyle, the loss of friends, all interspersed into his present situation following an assassination where maybe he hasn’t followed the provided plot to the letter. And the plotters aren’t fond of twists in their stories.

That probably doesn’t sound like the most exciting of stories, but it completely hooked me. The action here tends to come in extremely slow build-ups followed by short, explosive bursts of violence, but the character development between those explosions was more than enough to keep me engaged. The writing is incredibly wry and witty. There’s a surreal edge to how Reseng’s experiences are presented, and a sort of deadpan humour carries throughout the novel. For a book with a pretty dark, depressing premise, I found myself chuckling a few times at the absurdity of Reseng’s situation and actions.

The characters are charming as all get out, and I especially loved the relationships that Reseng builds with some of the other rather unexpected players in his game. I won’t say much more than that regarding these relationships for fear of spoiling, but they’re bizarrely pure and innocent given that this entire cast of characters (minus one or two and a couple of cats with silly names) is up to no good.

This was a totally unique read, and I had a blast with this book. I’m sure that Reseng et. al. will stay with me for quite a while. I’d absolutely recommend this one if you’re looking for a thriller that falls way outside the genre’s typical box!

A complex and amazing novel! I've not read anything like this before, although the closest would be Haruki Murakami. Hard to describe -- twisty and dark.