Focusing on the unsolved murder of teenage girl, this literary novel offers insights into gender, class and privilege in Seoul, and marks the English-language debut for award-winning Korean author, Kwon Yeo-sun.

This is not a murder story. It is the story of those left behind. Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three women haunted by a brutal, unsolved crime. In the summer of 2002, Kim Hae-on was killed in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold. Seventeen years pass without justice, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she's lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened. Shifting between the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on's classmates, Lemon ostensibly takes the shape of a crime novel. But identifying the perpetrator is not the main objective here: Kwon Yeo-sun uses this well-worn form to craft a searing, timely exploration of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and how we live with the wrongs we have endured and inflicted in turn. Praise for Lemon: 'Discovering whodunnit isn't really the point here; Lemon is a subtle, often intense meditation on the after-effects of violence' Guardian 'Chilling, suspenseful and disconcerting... I couldn't put it down and read deep into the night until I finished it, with my heart hammering' Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

"A haunting literary crime story... Razor-sharp observations of class, gender and privilege in contemporary Korea, this page turner is one for fans of Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories'" - Cosmopolitan

"Though the narrative takes the form of a detective novel, it becomes a meditation on envy, grief and, this being South Korea, plastic surgery. Understated yet lingeringly eerie" - Guardian

"It's a sly, subtle piece of literary crime, carefully playing on its shifting perspectives to unsettling effect. An intriguing read" - Wiltshire Living

"Had me gripped from the start... The author's skill is to drop a hint as to who did the deed, but then retain our interest through deft portrait-painting of the different characters in the story (narrators and otherwise), presenting us with motivations and suspicions that conflict with our provisional view'" - London Korean Links

"A darkly thriller-ish tale... With no motive and no culprit, the crime remains a mystery, and Yeo-sun teasingly leaves her reader to join these and other dots. However, it is the (apparently) incidental details that linger longest, and most unsettlingly, in the mind'" - Daily Mail

"Strangely absorbing... Where Lemon really shines is in its portrayal of grief and guilt, which feels so raw and complicated – as it is in real life. It doesn't offer up any real closure or resolution either, but perhaps that's just like life too'" - Culture Fly

"Some beautiful prose, and interesting statements to make about grief, guilt and tragedy... In fact, in a book where the catalyst is a mysterious unsolved murder, the murder is actually the least interesting thing about the whole story'" - Cultured Vultures

"Parasite meets The Good Son. Lemon is not just about finding the culprit but it also explores privilege, trauma and loss" - Tatler

"A piercing psychological portrait that takes the shape of a crime novel and is a must-read novel of 2021" - London Korean Links

"Discovering whodunnit isn't really the point here; Lemon is a subtle, often intense meditation on the after-effects of violence" - Guardian

"From award-winning Korean author Kwon Yeo-sun, Lemon is an atmospheric crime novel that addresses wealth, privilege, grief, and the power to take matters into one's own hands... A disconcerting yet powerful narrative unfolds'" - Happy Mag

"A multilayered whodunit that's so much more – and that's the genius of this well-crafted short work by Korean author Kwon Yeo-sun... Kwon is not so intent on ferreting out the killer as she is examining gender, social status, advantage, jealousy, religion, and revenge in the High School Beauty Murder, a cold case from 2002'" - The Woven Tale Press

"A masterfully crafted novel of grief's maddening proportions" - Asymptote Journal

"A compelling read which exposure class gender and privilege in contemporary Korea" - Arbutarian

"Tension galore in this Korean-set crime drama... Award-winning author Kwon Yeo-Sun's first English-language novel, this is exactly the sort of wintry noir to curl up by the fire with as the nights start drawing in. Just the thing for the true-crime lover in your life' Stylist." - Stylist

"A headscratcher, ideal for those who like to emerge from a book full of doubts as to what just happened" - Strong Words