miracle creek – angie kim

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Standalone
Published April 16th 2019 by Sarah Crichton Books
Genre: adult, mystery, thriller, contemporary, ownvoices, mental illness

rating: ★★★★

summary:

How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies?

In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.

A showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe?

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i picked up miracle creek because it had the same vibes as everything i never told you and little fires everywhere by celeste ng. in miracle creek, there’s a family of korean immigrants who is trying to provide the best for their daughter. the book explored on their struggles as immigrants who aren’t familiar with the english language and the racism they had experienced while being in america. the portrayal of the controversial treatment for disability and the mentally challenged characters were well done.

the book is narrated through multiple point-of-views which i absolutely enjoyed. it was interesting to discover what they were thinking while someone else was on the stand during the trial. since it’s a mystery thriller, the various perspectives also helped me to realise how dissimilar their testimonies were and try to connect the dots even though everyone was hiding something.

the timeline of the book was something that i particularly enjoyed. instead of writing the book while the incident happened, angie kim decided to narrate the story during the trials. there’s a mixture of flashbacks while someone was testifying and present ongoings while each person goes through the notion of the trials.

miracle creek showed me the worst in people. the hideous inner thoughts they had, things people did to make their life easier or better. the lies they spoke that are covered by more lies which are getting more entangled. family secrets are tearing people apart. but the truth always comes out.