Presentation

Title: 『誓約』
Author: Gaku YAKUMARU 薬丸岳
Edited by 幻冬舎文庫

Gaku YAKUMARU is a well-known author of thrillers and mystery novels in Japan. The Korean translation of『誓約』is a huge hit, it was the top-selling novel of the biggest online and offline bookshops of the country.

Setting

Satoshi MUKAI lives with his wife and daughter and works in the same bar for 15 years. One day, he receives a letter that will bring back an undesired past into his present life…

Why I liked it

『誓約』 was a suspenseful page-turner, and if you buy mystery novels or thrillers to get entertained, this novel completely does its job.

While I liked the book, I cannot help but feel a little disappointed. I think that I had big expectations due to the novel’s success in Korea, but I found that it was just good, not revolutionary good. First of all, there is nothing really new in this novel, it is a classic story of a man whose life is turned apart by a triggering event.

I also found the plot to be a little hard to take in, but this does not prevent the story from being suspenseful and engrossing. To sum up, I found it was a classic thriller, well constructed and efficient, event though it was not very credible.

『誓約』was the first book I read by Gaku YAKUMARU, and I will definitely read his other novels.

Note: I’m going to Japan tomorrow! So this will be my first and last post of the week! See you next week!