The Midnight Shift

A bestseller in Korea, a biting, unsettling vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness.

IN EVERY CORNER UNTOUCHED BY SIGHT, AND DEPRIVED OF LIGHT, THEY WERE OUT THERE. BREATHING IN THE SCENT OF LONELY BLOOD

Love is the most despicable excuse.

A series of reported suicides at a hospital and care home on the run-down outskirts of Seoul bring a young female detective, Suyeon, and a jaded vampire hunter, Violette, together. The victims were all alone, elderly - forgotten people. When nobody else on the force pays heed to the strange and bloodless nature of the deceased's bodies, these two night owls are forced to work together to pursue justice.

But as the investigation unfurls, it becomes increasingly clear that they, too, are being hunted.

Past and present, romance and loneliness intertwine as the investigation to find an ancient, supernatural culprit reveals a landscape of modern isolation in a dark, nocturnal Seoul.

This genre-bending novel has all the weirdness and darkness of popular translated fiction like Cursed Bunny and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed combined with the smart, insightful social commentary that will appeal to readers of Woman, Eating and A Certain Hunger.

Review

Skillfully translated . . . Cheon's novel is more than a queer paranormal mystery . . . it's an eerie and bleak portrait of societal loneliness, isolation, and marginalization ― firstCLUE

[A]n intricate vampire mystery . . . Skillfully toggles between three heroines, building impressive emotional depth through their interwoven narration. The darkly romantic flashbacks to 1980s France-highlighting Violette's formative experiences with Lily, a charismatic vampire-are particularly mesmerizing, echoing classic gothic tales with a fresh, queer twist . . . [Seon-Ran's] nuanced exploration of loneliness and isolation resonates. K-drama fans, especially those drawn to moody supernatural thrillers and complex, character-driven plots, will eagerly devour this genre-blurring tale ― Publishers Weekly

A fast-moving mystery ― Booklist

About the Author

A lover of sci-fi always dreaming of the universe and waiting for aliens, Cheon Seon Ran made her debut with BROKEN BRIDGE in 2019. She was awarded the Grand Prize in the 4th Korea Sci-Fi Literature Awards for her novel A THOUSAND BLUES. She's continued writing novels since.

Gene Png is a literary translator and illustrator based in Seoul. She was awarded the Grand Prize in Poetry at the 53rd The Korea Times' Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards and is a mentee of Anton Hur (translator of I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki).