Review: Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim

Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim

MacMillan Audio  - 2019

Thriller - Courtroom / Literary Fiction

Audiobook

Narrated by Jennifer Lim

13 Hours, 53 Minutes

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This may very well be the best courtroom thriller I have read in some time, maybe ever!

The story starts with a lie. Not a big one, just a small lie, but when things go wrong, the consequences are huge. 

The story has many characters, but focuses mainly on Young and Pak Yoo, who immigrated from Korea to America, in search of the American dream for themselves, and more importantly their daughter Mary. 

Pak is a certified hyperbaric technician. Pak and Young run Miracle Submarine - not really a submarine but a private facility offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy to patients seeking help with anything from autism, to cerebral palsy, to infertility. There are strict rules to make sure each "dive" is conducted safely - as oxygen is highly explosive, but one day there is an explosion at Miracle Submarine and two people die - one of them a child. Pak and Mary are both injured. Ultimately, a single mother of one of the patients is put on trial for murder.

From here, Kim paints a picture of that day's events in multiple points of view, by exploring the perspectives of each of the characters in regards to the specific events of that day - the motivations and secrets, and the tensions leading up to explosion. Kim's approach to revealing the events of that day is so delicate and intricately woven, it really is a work of art. No one character holds all the answers of what went so terribly wrong, and each character's story overlaps with other character's in some way, and holds information that seems insignificant until pieced together correctly. Slowly and delicately a clear picture emerges.

While Kim's experience as a trial lawyer shines in the courtroom scenes, the real heart of this story lies in its emotional depth. The characters in this story are incredibly well written, defined, and so incredibly human - as are the interactions between different characters. Each has their own struggles, motivations, passions and secrets that affects not only how they perceive and interpret information, but how they choose to act and react to it. 

This is one of those stories that is difficult to summarize and review because it is difficult to discuss some of the most intense aspects without risking spoilers. This book really hit me in the feels. There is love, hope, joy, pain, loss, forgiveness, disappointment, anger, jealousy, you name it.

Naration was provided by Jennifer Lim and was absolutely on point. She was well suited to the story and performed with very good range of emotion and character. Lim's performance made listening to this stunning story an absolute pleasure.

I expect that the hype around this book is still building, and regardless of how hyped it may become in the future, and when you may be reading this review, trust me when I say - it IS worth the hype!

Happy Reading,

Christine