Lemon Book Review

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In 2002, Kim Hae-on was murdered. While there were two suspects, the police couldn’t find enough evidence for either of them and the case went cold. Seventeen years later, Da-on, Kim Hae-on’s sister is still stricken with grief and can’t move off from the tragedy of her sister’s death. So she resolves to find out who did it…

If you go into this thinking it’s going to be a conventional thriller/mystery, then you will probably be disappointed. When I first started reading Lemon, I was a little bewildered, but thankfully, by the time you get to the end, everything does come together.

With a tagline “This is not a murder story. It is the story of those left behind.” you have to digest it with the outlook that this isn’t about solving a murder, it’s about how that murder impacts the people still living. We do get snippets of a ‘crime’ genre, such as police interviews and the events of the murder itself, but ultimately, this is about the emotional journey of the characters in the book and how this tragedy has affected them.

While this won’t leave you with a satisfied ending like a classic whodunnit, it leaves you satisfied enough and also with a new perspective on a murder mystery. The depth of grief and emotion in this book is truly unlike anything I’ve read, and for such a short read, it packs a punch (though you may only realise after you’ve turned the final page!)

If you’re looking for a gripping thriller, Lemon might not satiate you, but I promise it will leave you intrigued and feel unlike any other book you’ve read before.