As the ripples of Parasite settle and the afterglow of Squid Game dims, lovers of thrillers might find themselves craving more gripping Korean tales to get that jolt of adrenaline we all know and love. If that sounds familiar, this is the list for you.

Dive into these eight thriller books by Korean authors to get your pulse racing, palms sweaty, and mind scrambling to keep up with the wily twists and turns these books have in store for readers. 

The Plotters by Un-su Kim (trans. Sora Kim-Russell)

Un-su Kim’s The Plotters takes place in an alternate version of contemporary Seoul. Here we meet Reseng, an assassin who has been raised to be a hitman since he was a child by his caretaker and mentor, Old Raccoon.

In the Seoul of The Plotters, assassination has become a privatized industry, and hitmen are hired by “plotters.” These plotters direct the hitmen to carry out the wishes of a powerful class of politicians and businesspeople who keep their hands clean through contracts. Reseng, seemingly entrapped in this world of capitalist assassins, finds himself in danger when he strays from protocol. 

Through the form of a thriller, The Plotters delves into corruption, agency, and responsibility in a capitalist society. Readers who enter into Kim’s shady world will find action as well as humor as they meet offbeat characters with eccentric personalities.

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

If you’re looking for a thriller set in Korea hundreds of years ago, The Forest of Stolen Girls might be the book for you.

In June Hur’s historical mystery, the two sisters Hwani and Maewol—who have been separated for five years—work together to solve the case of thirteen girls who have gone missing on Jeju Island in 15th century Joseon Dynasty Korea. Their father, detective Min Jewoo, disappeared himself when he set off to investigate the case one year prior. When Hwani and Maewol realize that there’s a connection between a traumatic incident from their past and the current case of missing girls, they endeavor to get down to the bottom of things.

A suspenseful work that always has danger lurking around the corner, Hur’s novel will keep you turning the pages with its twists and turns. Thematically, it explores sisterhood, the relationships between fathers and daughters, and women’s experiences in 15th century Korea.

Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong (trans. Chi-Young Kim)

In Seven Years of Darkness, Choi Sowon is the son of Choi Hyonsu, a man convicted of mass murder. When Sowon was 11 years old, Hyonsu was sent to prison for the deaths of his wife, a girl, her father, and others who were killed when the floodgates of the Seryong Dam were opened onto a village.

Because of his father’s reputation, Sowon is ostracized by society, even as he attempts to conceal his identity. When he receives a package that claims to reveal the truth of what actually happened at Seryong Lake with his father, Sowon learns about how the past struggle between his father and two other men led to disaster.

The majority of You-Jeong Jeong’s twisted novel depicts Hyonsu and the two other men struggling to outmaneuver each other through psychological games and manipulation. As it follows their feuding, Seven Years of Darkness explores the tricky boundaries that delineate criminality and violence.

Diary of a Murderer by Young-ha Kim (trans. Krys Lee)

Young-ha Kim’s Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories is not a single novel but a collection. The book contains the title novella, “Diary of a Murderer,” as well as three additional short stories by the author.

In the novella, an aging serial killer begins to experience the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Though he has ceased his murdering for the time being, he has one last victim in mind: his daughter’s new boyfriend. Suspecting the new boyfriend is a rival serial killer, he fights against his deteriorating memory as he attempts to protect his daughter.

“Diary of a Murderer” is smart story full of shocking surprises that emerge from a fog of confused memories. Though the three other stories in Diary of a Murderer are great bonus content for readers, the twisting “Diary of a Murderer” is really the main content of the book for thrill seekers.

Version Zero by David Yoon

Who doesn’t wish they could just shut down the entire internet sometimes? In Version Zero by David Yoon, 26-year-old programmer Max Portillo teams up with two friends to take down Wren, a massive social media company.

After Max finds out about a diabolical data-mining scheme that Wren has in the works, he becomes determined to hack and debilitate the company with the help of Akiko Hosokawa, his best friend. The two are joined by Akiko’s boyfriend, Shane Satow, as well as Pilot Markham, a billionaire who has his own bone to pick with tech companies and the internet culture they’ve spawned.

Version Zero is a dystopian novel that aims its critiques at the tech industry and the damaging effects of social media. Pick up this gripping and humorous novel to uncover a vast and villainous conspiracy overseeing fictional proxies of Silicon Valley’s tech giants.

The Investigation by J. M. Lee (trans. Chi-Young Kim)

In J. M. Lee’s The Investigation, Watanabe Yuichi is a young prison guard working at Fukuoka Prison. The setting is Japan, 1944. When Sugiyama—another guard who was known for being particularly cruel to the Korean inmates in his ward—is killed, Watanabe is the one who has to investigate.

Once Watanabe begins to interview the prisoners, he learns that the prison isn’t what it seems from the outside. He gets to know the inmates, and, as a lover of literature, he develops a particular fondness for the prisoner Yun Dong-ju, a Korean poet. With World War II in the background, Watanabe tries to protect the poet from the atrocities committed within the prison’s walls. 

Author J. M. Lee weaves twentieth-century history as well as poems by Yun Dong-ju—a real historical figure—into The Investigation. As much as this novel focuses on war, cruelty, and complicity, it also makes considerable room for resistance, poetry, and hope.

The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo (trans. Yewon Jung)

In The Only Child, the protagonist Seonkyeong is a criminal psychologist. She’s offered a unique opportunity when Yi Byeongdo, a notorious, tight-lipped serial killer, requests to be interviewed by no one else but her, specifically.

On the same day that she meets Yi Byeongdo, Hayoung—Seonkyeong’s step-daughter—comes to live with Seonkyeong and her husband after her grandparents are killed in a fire. Seonkyeong finds that Hayoung is a troubled child, and as she gets to know both Yi Byeongdo and Hayoung better, she begins to see parallels between the two. Could Hayoung be showing the early behaviors of a serial killer?

Mi-ae Seo’s creepy novel explores criminality, childhood trauma, and domestic violence. This is a book that can leave you feeling deeply unsettled.

The Law of Lines by Hye-Young Pyun (trans. Sora Kim-Russell)

In Hye-Young Pyun’s The Law of Lines, the stories of the two women Se-oh and Ki-jeong intertwine as they independently investigate the deaths of loved ones. Se-oh’s father was killed in a gas explosion in their home. Ki-jeong learned that her half-sister’s drowned body had been found.

Both cases are considered suicides, but neither woman is convinced by the explanations. Se-oh suspects that a debt collector has something to do with her father’s death, while Ki-jeong uncovers a predatory company that her sister was involved with before her death.

While attempting to get to the bottom of things, both protagonists grasp at vengeance while entertaining violent fantasies of their own. Check out The Law of Lines for a riveting story about debt and revenge that wades into the in-between zones of morality.