Mrs Shim is a Killer

A hilariously unsettling tale of love, food and one woman's unconventional quest to support her family by becoming a contract killer. For fans of BUTTER and KILLING EVE _____________ 'A kaleidoscopic novel of murder-for-hire, crisscrossing loyalties, self-determinations, and dark humour, this playfully murderous thriller is not soon forgotten' Shelf Awareness 'Bizarre and fascinating' Guardian __________ Recently widowed and unemployed, Mrs Shim and her two children face an empty fridge. As her job options run out, she answers an ad for the Smile Detective Agency. Within weeks, she has turned it around. For Mrs Shim is sharp as a blade, handles business cleanly and is like a padlock when it comes to keeping secrets. By day, she prepares kimchi for her family and her neighbour with dementia; by night Mrs Shim is out on a contract. But what starts as a need for survival escalates into a thirst for vengeance. For Mrs. Shim is done with being everyone’s doormat. Diving headfirst into her new career among petty criminals, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim's past soon comes hurtling towards her. Savage and unexpectedly moving, Kang Jiyoung paints a comedic world of twisted love, unhinged loathing and hopeful reinvention. Among the misfits and the meals is a powerful statement about class, capitalism and the role of women.

A hilariously unsettling tale of love, food and one woman's unconventional quest to support her family by becoming a contract killer. For fans of BUTTER and KILLING EVE _____________ 'A kaleidoscopic novel of murder-for-hire, crisscrossing loyalties, self-determinations, and dark humour, this playfully murderous thriller is not soon forgotten' Shelf Awareness 'Bizarre and fascinating' Guardian __________ Recently widowed and unemployed, Mrs Shim and her two children face an empty fridge. As her job options run out, she answers an ad for the Smile Detective Agency. Within weeks, she has turned it around. For Mrs Shim is sharp as a blade, handles business cleanly and is like a padlock when it comes to keeping secrets. By day, she prepares kimchi for her family and her neighbour with dementia; by night Mrs Shim is out on a contract. But what starts as a need for survival escalates into a thirst for vengeance. For Mrs. Shim is done with being everyone’s doormat. Diving headfirst into her new career among petty criminals, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim's past soon comes hurtling towards her. Savage and unexpectedly moving, Kang Jiyoung paints a comedic world of twisted love, unhinged loathing and hopeful reinvention. Among the misfits and the meals is a powerful statement about class, capitalism and the role of women.

When a middle-aged widowed loses her job at the butcher shop, she's at a loss as to how to provide for her family--until she's offered a position that puts her carving skills to new uses in this darkly humorous bestselling Korean thriller. Mrs. Shim needs money. She's lost her husband and her job, and she's got three mouths to feed at her kitchen table. If she doesn't find work soon, she and her children are going to lose their home. So when she answers a vague job ad for the Smile Detective Agency, Mrs. Shim expects the job will be some kind of cleaning position. But when they only ask her questions about her experience as a butcher and what she can do with a cleaver, she begins to realize they want her to do a very different kind of cleaning--they want her to be an assassin. Too scared not to take them up on their offer, she agrees to the position. And Mrs. Shim soon finds that her new job isn't so different from her old one in the butcher shop, quickly becoming the agency's best contract killer--but her rise to the top hasn't gone unnoticed. Jealous of her talents, her agency's competitors--and even her own colleagues-- begin pointing fingers (and knives) in her direction. If she wants to keep her job, her family, and her reputation intact, Mrs. Shim is going to have to take out the secretive leader of a rival agency. But when she has the chance to strike, she's stunned to find a familiar face at the end of her blade. As it turns out, this just may be one mess she can't cut her way out of . . .

When a middle-aged widowed loses her job at the butcher shop, she's at a loss as to how to provide for her family--until she's offered a position that puts her carving skills to new uses in this darkly humorous bestselling Korean thriller. Mrs. Shim needs money. She's lost her husband and her job, and she's got three mouths to feed at her kitchen table. If she doesn't find work soon, she and her children are going to lose their home. So when she answers a vague job ad for the Smile Detective Agency, Mrs. Shim expects the job will be some kind of cleaning position. But when they only ask her questions about her experience as a butcher and what she can do with a cleaver, she begins to realize they want her to do a very different kind of cleaning--they want her to be an assassin. Too scared not to take them up on their offer, she agrees to the position. And Mrs. Shim soon finds that her new job isn't so different from her old one in the butcher shop, quickly becoming the agency's best contract killer--but her rise to the top hasn't gone unnoticed. Jealous of her talents, her agency's competitors--and even her own colleagues-- begin pointing fingers (and knives) in her direction. If she wants to keep her job, her family, and her reputation intact, Mrs. Shim is going to have to take out the secretive leader of a rival agency. But when she has the chance to strike, she's stunned to find a familiar face at the end of her blade. As it turns out, this just may be one mess she can't cut her way out of . . .