Diary Of A Murderer

An ageing former serial killer losing his memory to dementia narrates the title story of this Korean collection. Kim Young-ha writes crime that leans literary, and the pressure in these stories comes from psychology rather than procedure. Memory, guilt, identity and the unreliable account a person gives of their own life sit at the centre of the book, while the shorter pieces alongside the title novella extend those concerns into family, obsession and betrayal. Readers of translated fiction will find the prose spare and the atmosphere sustained, with suspense generated by doubt rather than by incident. Inside the covers: • A title novella narrated by a killer whose memory is failing • Further stories on family, obsession and identity • Literary crime writing rather than conventional detection • Korean fiction in translation, restrained and controlled in style Suited to readers of literary thrillers and translated fiction, and stocked by Boipoka.