A Twist of Fate
- Judith D Collins
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
By: Se-Ah Jang
Narrators: Michelle H. Lee, Shannon Tyo
Translated by S. L. Park
ISBN: 9780593875148
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 07/29/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
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Two women meet on a train. Each is running from a deadly secret. When one disappears, the other decides to take her place—for better, or for worse.
Jae-Young has just left everything she’s ever known, not that it was much: her thankless job, her infested apartment, and her abusive boyfriend—who happens to be dead on the kitchen floor. Murder was never the way she envisioned leaving, but times were desperate. Now on a train to the bustling city of Seoul, Jae-Young is hoping to escape her transgressions and just become invisible—safe.
On the train, she meets a chatty mother fleeing with her infant son from an unfaithful husband and hoping to find refuge with the in-laws she’s never met. To avoid further conversation, Jae-Young excuses herself for a moment. When she returns, the woman is nowhere to be found. But her crying child remains with a note, pleading with Jae-Young to take him to his father’s family in a remote province far from Seoul. It’s not an ideal pit stop, but for the sake of the child, she can’t ignore the request.
When Jae-Young arrives, the house takes her by surprise. It’s a gated manor oozing with opulence and the finest luxuries—the kind of place she could only dream of setting foot in. What’s more, the family assumes Jae-Young is their daughter-in-law and invites her to stay. She imagines an easy life in their care, free of worry and fear. And Jae-Young realizes: There’s nothing more invisible than becoming someone else.
But both women have ghosts in their pasts. Though unaware of the rot lurking beneath the shiny veneer of her new life, Jae-Young will do whatever it takes to make sure she never goes back.
My Review
Se-Ah Jang's (S.L. Park Translator) smashing Korean thriller debut, A TWIST OF FATE, is utterly captivating with more twists than you can imagine. Move over—The Girl On The Train and Gone Girl — this sizzling knockout will leave you shocked over and over, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the satisfying explosive finale. (loved)!
"TOP BOOKS OF 2025!"
A TWIST OF FATE is like NO other thriller you will read. You will be hooked from the front cover, the first page, and every jaw-dropping twist.
Trust me, I have read 299 books in 2025 YTD (mostly thrillers) and this is STAND OUT! Wildly creative, unpredictable, atmospheric, full of suspense, and TWISTY. I simply could not put it down and stayed up all night to finish. (still have not slept). I had to find out the why, how, who dunit, and how all the characters are connected.
About...
Two strangers meet on a train. Each woman is running from a deadly secret. When one disappears, the other decides to take her place—for better, or for worse.
Jae-young, the narrator of this brilliantly crafted thriller, has escaped her abusive boyfriend in a run-down basement, barely escaping her life, and he may be dead, but she does not stick around to find out.
She wants nothing more than to escape the past and start fresh where no one knows her. If he is still alive, he will come for her.
On the train to the city of Seoul, she meets another young woman, Hyojin Cha, about her age, with a 3-month-old son. She sounds like she is going to visit her inlaws even though her husband has moved in with his mistress.
Both women have dark secrets... How will they connect?
However, when Jae-young goes to the restroom and returns to find the woman gone, she has left her baby with a note instructing her to take care of her baby and deliver him to her in-laws.
Strange, she does not know what to do, but decides she will grant the woman her wish and drop off the baby with the in-laws. However, upon arrival, she discovers this is a very wealthy family. When someone mistakes her for the daughter-in-law and they invite her to stay, she makes a split decision to keep quiet and go along with the deception.
Will she be able to keep this secret? However, she has no clue how deep the secrets go, and the danger she is in, as well as the baby.
She deserves this life. An orphan, putting up with abuse and in financial need, and desiring a haven. Where else can she go and live surrounded by luxury with a family and staff to help with the baby? A grandfather will do anything for his new grandson. She must pretend she is the baby's mother and she is the daughter-in-law.
But what happens if the long-lost son and the baby's father show up, or the real mother?
From the handsome younger brother, the cars, shopping, luxury accommodations, gourmet food, the gated property, staff ready to help, plus the wealth, they all entice her, and she tries to ignore all the things that could go wrong.
She soon discovers this family has dark secrets, and will she be able to escape? Has she made a deal with the devil? There are so many layers, and how will she figure out how all is connected?
She can't go on like this forever, and she knows it is a matter of time before she goes insane or someone discovers the truth.
My thoughts...
OMG! A TWIST OF FATE is addictive, binge-worthy, riveting, high-adrenaline, and a heart-pounding, wild roller coaster ride, with so many plot twists you do not see coming. With every page turn, there is darkness lurking, and you do not know whom to trust.
There are many layers to be unraveled, so carve out the time, as you will not be able to put this one down!
From unreliable narrators to twists to unexpected twists, Se-ah Jang delivers a smart, searing psychological thriller that will have readers dying to see this played out on the wide screen and anxiously awaiting her next novel.
A dark gripping thriller with all the Hitchcockian vibes, noirish mysteries, and chilling events with each page turn. The remote mansion is unsettling, atmospheric, and spine-chilling. Each character is full of surprises and hidden agendas.
Recs...
For thriller fans of books and movies -Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, mysteries, and smartly written psychological thrillers! A smashing debut! I can't wait to see what comes next from this talented author. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy for my honest thoughts. I also purchased the audiobook narrated by Michelle H. Lee and Shannon Tyo, and the hardcover copy.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My rating: 5 Stars +
Pub date: July 29, 2025
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About the Author
Se-Ah Jang has worked as a marketer for a luxury brand and is now running a book review channel, Love-or-Hate Prescriptions for Readers.
She writes under multiple pseudonyms and covers a variety of genres, from web novreels to fashion photo books.
A Twist of Fate is her first full-length novel published under this name. It was selected as a book-to-film project by South Korea’s biggest bookstore, Kyobo, and was optioned for film only weeks after its original publication.
About the Translator
S. L. Park is the translator of If YouLive to 100, You Might as Well Be Happy by Rhee Kun Hoo. Her work has won the Indiana Review Fiction Prize and the Writer’s Digest fiction award. Under her full name, she has also written one poetry collection and a forthcoming chapbook. Born and raised in South Korea, Park holds a bachelor of arts in English from New York University and a master of fine arts in poetry from the University of Texas at Austin. Her translations of Korean literature have appeared in the Cincinnati Review, the Los Angeles Review, and the New England Review, among others.
