Molka by Monika Kim | A Sharp and Unsettling Thriller

Please note this book was provided ahead of release by NetGalley.

“The term “Molka” originated from a 1990s South Korean television show that featured hidden camera pranks and harmless practical jokes. As a result, to this day the word maintains a playful, light-hearted connotation to many Koreans, despite the fact that hidden spy cameras are being used in Seoul and elsewhere in sinister ways…”

If you didn’t know what Molka meant like I didn’t before going into this, then the author note sets the scene with this opener before the story even starts.

Monika Kim does not hold back when it comes to showing the ugliness of misogyny & violation. This is not a cosy thriller you snuggle under a blanket for with some herbal tea. You should be in a well lit place with chocolate!

We follow Dahye, who thinks she’s landed a fairy-tale romance with Hyukjoon, a rich and charming heir, only for things to go spectacularly wrong when a hidden camera sex video goes viral. At the same time, there’s Junyoung, an IT technician in her building whose voyeurism and growing fixation on Dahye add a whole extra layer of creepiness! Especially when we learn that this man ID’s woman based on their underwear type and colour.

As the story progresses, we get insight into how Korean society can treat men & women differently. Sadly this is sometimes not too dissimilar from the dynamic in the western world. Where male discretions can be treated as “men being men” with very little consequence, whilst women have a high “standard” of rules they are expected to follow & when they are seen as pushing against those rules, they are punished more harshly or simply ignored.

This tale was grim to say the least! My skin crawled at the depravity of the men we follow & how they thought & acted. It is dark and disturbing, but also completely addictive!

Rating:⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Expected release date: 28th April 2026

Buy this book on Amazon (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3NGBeH8