Perfect Happiness

With unparalleled psychological precision, master of crime and suspense fiction You-Jeong Jeong weaves a domestic nightmare centered on Yuna Shin: wife, mother, sister-and covert narcissist.

Everyone in Yuna’s life is desperate to keep her happy: her partners, parents, and terrified six-year-old daughter. Even when she’s not blaming or hitting, the threat of her mood keeps her family from bonding, touching, or even speaking long enough to realize she’s playing them against each other. But when little Jiyoo’s feverish memories of loons hint at a troubling crime, Yuna’s estranged sister and guilt-ridden husband begin to reconstruct her movements, the unexplained tragedies in Yuna’s history, and the lies she’s told for years. For the first time, Yuna’s traumatized family members will have to confront the truth of her depravity and learn that no one--no matter how young--is safe from her wrath.

After all, Yuna believes that happiness requires subtraction. And she wants nothing less than perfect happiness.

Known as South Korea’s Stephen King, You-Jeong Jeong is an award-winning and bestselling author of psychological thrillers and crime fiction, including The Good Son and Seven Years of Darkness. Her work has been translated into seven languages and is read throughout the world.

Sean Lin Halbert is a recipient of the GKL Translation Award, the LTI Korea Award for Aspiring Translators, and the Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Award. His translations of Korean authors Yun Ko-eun, Park Sang Young, Kim Soom, and others have appeared in Azalea and Korean Literature Now. His major translations include Kim Un-su’s novel The Cabinet and Yun Ko-eun’s ＂The Chef’s Nail.＂ He currently lives in Seoul, where he works as a full-time translator.