- Overview
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This is the story about a man on the edge of life and death after suffering the loss of his wife and daughter.
- Book Intro
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'People often think, what if I can go back in time to a specific moment? They talk as if they can right all their wrongs if they can be given that chance. But even if that were to happen, would everything else return to the way they were? Even if we can go back in time to the moment we believe our lives started falling apart and we made a different choice, would the results be any different?'(from page 377)
Three years ago, Woojin lost his daughter in an unfortunate, mysterious accident. His wife, who had been his sole source of comfort as he struggled to escape his deep slump, also passes away.
Woojin, with nothing left in his life, falls into despair after his wife's funeral. But then, he discovers something that gives him purpose. It’s a letter that someone has left him that contains just one sentence: "The real culprit is elsewhere." Standing at the precipice of his life, Woojin is given this one clue to solve the mysteries behind his wife and daughter’s deaths, and this gives him hope to continue on. As he digs into the death of his late daughter, he comes across several people who had ignored the truth and remained silent. When a crime has been committed by a minor, it becomes impossible to hold that person accountable. How will the victim find closure? Woojin, in his pursuit of his wife and daughter's killer, does not necessarily want revenge against the culprit or do what the state couldn’t. In the midst of heavy despair, he is after one thing only. He constantly asks himself questions about the past and what happened. But who should he turn to? What must he ask? What he is really after is not the culprit, but the truth.
- About the Author
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Seo Mi-ae
As a child, the author loved reading more than playing with friends; in the end, she grew up to become a writer. While in college, at the young age of 20, her work was selected in a Spring Literary Contest, which launched her career as an author. She also became involved in TV broadcasting.
When Suh turned 30, she began writing for TV dramas and mystery novels; her somewhat shockingly titled Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband garnered her a Spring Literary Contest award. Since then, for over 20 years, she has worked in various media including TV, mystery novels, and film before establishing herself as a professional mystery author. She prefers Miss Marple over Sherlock Holmes, and psychological crime thrillers over tricks. These preferences are evident in her works.
Suh’s major works include The Night Your Star Disappeared; The Only Child; and the short story collections A Welcome Murderer; Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband; and The Orbit of the Stars. For The Doll’s Garden, she received the 2009 Korea Mystery Literature Award. Some of her works including A Welcome Murderer and Thirty Ways to Kill Your Husband have been adapted for television, film, and theater.
