ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE 'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • A fantastical crime novel set in an alternate Seoul where assassination guilds compete for market dominance. " The Plotters ’s first convenient comparison may be to the ever-expanding John Wick movies" -- Los Angeles Review of Books Behind every assassination, there is an anonymous mastermind--a plotter--working in the shadows. Plotters quietly dictate the moves of the city's most dangerous criminals, but their existence is little more than legend. Just who are the plotters? And more important, what do they want? Reseng is an assassin. Raised by a cantankerous killer named Old Raccoon in the crime headquarters "The Library," Reseng never questioned anything: where to go, who to kill, or why his home was filled with books that no one ever read. But one day, Reseng steps out of line on a job, toppling a set of carefully calibrated plans. And when he uncovers an extraordinary scheme set into motion by an eccentric trio of young women--a convenience store clerk, her wheelchair-bound sister, and a cross-eyed librarian--Reseng will have to decide if he will remain a pawn or finally take control of the plot. Crackling with action and filled with unforgettable characters, The Plotters is a deeply entertaining thriller that soars with the soul, wit, and lyricism of real literary craft. "Editor's Choice" New York Times Book Review "9 New Books We Recommend This Week" New York Times "The Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2019" CrimeReads “Most Anticipated Books of 2019” Lit Hub "This Winter's Best Thrillers"  Chicago Review of Books "Picks of the Week"  Publishers Weekly "The Best Books of the Week" New York Post " The Best Reviewed Books of the Week" Book Marks “[A] powerhouse of a novel. . . . It reads as if Haruki Murakami rewrote  The Day of the Jackal .” -- Locus Magazine " The Plotters  tells the story of Renseng, a jaded assassin who startles himself by realizing—somewhat belatedly—that he has a moral code, a sense of honor, a soul.  All of these will prove to be perilous liabilities in his world.  Un-Su Kim is a tremendous writer, and he’s crafted a smart, stylish, and surprisingly moving thriller.” Scott Smith, author of  A Simple Plan  and  The Ruins “The Plotters , translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell, is a lot of fun. Criminal underworlds are the playground of writers and filmmakers of every brow level, and Un-su Kim’s is a wild tour… The Plotters walks in the traditions of the noble detective and the samurai while spinning some new chewy bits probably best not mimicked. By the end, heroism rises out of the carnage to trump the nihilistic capitalism in a rousing climax.” Los Angeles Review of Books "It would be hard to accuse The Plotters , a raucous extravaganza of assassins and lunatics by the lauded Korean writer Un-Su Kim, of conforming to any template." New York Times Book Review “[A] powerhouse of a novel, full of melancholy and gore, philosophy and brutality, dark humor and pathos. It reads as if Haruki Murakami rewrote  The Day of the Jackal , or as if David Lynch remade Alain Delon’s  Le Samouraï , or as if Park Chan-wook reimagined  Suddenly  (Frank Sinatra as sniper)...Kim (brilliantly translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell) moves among his engaging, thickly limned characters with the ease and insight of a master psychologist and strategist.” Locus Magazine "The Plotters, rendered in English by Sora Kim-Russell, is an unusual book: a violent action-thriller that could also be a parable, a fable of good and evil stitched together with poignant threads.” Wall Street Journal “[A] gripping portrait of a killer for hire … The Plotters  is no primer for a visit to Korea. What it does offer is a vivid portrait of a mesmerizing central character — the stoic Reseng. It will also keep readers delightfully off-balance. In The Plotters  Kim has mixed bookishness, crackpots and commissioned murder into a rich and unsettling blend." The Washington Post "Pleasingly deadpan, The Plotters manages to be both humorous (Reseng’s cats are called, delightfully, Desk and Lampshade) and violent, and sometimes even wise." The Guardian "Dark and clever."  New York Post "Unpredictable, often grotesquely funny, piled with corpses and dark as a dungeon... The Plotters is also a compulsive page-turner." Maclean's " The Plotters is deeply funny and, surprisingly, full of heart. There are moments of transcendence and heartbreak mixed in with the knife fights and shootouts, and Kim balances it all beautifully." CriminalElement (dot com) "The winner of prestigious prizes in Korea, Kim makes his anglophone debut, thanks to Kim-Russell, who captures his dark, dark wit and searing sarcasm in an irresistible sociopolitical parable designed to delight and dismay." Booklist (Starred review)   “Korean author Kim makes his U.S. debut with a powerful, surreal political thrille