Set in rural Virginia, Miracle Creek starts with an explosion at an HBOT facility, owned and operated by Pak and Young Yoo, Korean immigrants. Sealed inside the chamber are four patients undergoing treatment, and their caregivers. Tragically, 8-year-old Henry and the mother of another patient perish in the fire.
When it becomes apparent that the explosion wasn't an accident, but an act of arson, Pak You is the primary suspect. With an airtight alibi and solid evidence that suggests otherwise, he is eventually cleared by police—but the evidence that helped clear Pak incriminates Henry's mother, Elizabeth.
This powerful story unfolds during a four day trial. Told through multiple voices, it becomes apparent that everyone is hiding something. The reader must sift through evidence, betrayals, secrets, lies, and confessions, to find out who is responsible.
After reading the first few pages of Kim's debut, I thought I had been duped into reading a science fiction novel. But after googling "hyperbaric oxygen therapy" (also known as HBOT), I was shocked to learn that not only it is in fact an actual treatment, but Kim's own son underwent 40 dives for ulcerative colitis. Patients are delivered a high concentration of oxygen in a pressurized chamber, much like a submarine. The treatment is used for: autism, carbon monoxide poisoning, skin burns/injuries, infertility, cerebral palsy, and depression.
As beautifully written as this book was, there is also an innate sadness that I wasn't expecting. There is a desperation from many of the characters, not only in the lengths that they will go to for the health and well-being of one of their loved ones, but also to clear their names. This is also an honest portrayal of the challenges of caring for someone with special needs—Kim doesn't shy away from the sometimes harsh realities that these caregivers face.
The trial testimonies are the perfect vehicle for this story. Kim's writing is razor sharp and relentless in these passages. You can see the influence of her former career as a litigator with the impeccable dialogue in the courtroom scenes.
Kim's writing and originality is what kept me going through this book. While I didn't love it, I genuinely liked it, and do feel compelled to point out again what an extraordinary author she is. The mystery aspect was both captivating and thrilling. But it was the characters themselves that were the negative, perhaps that was the point... Even with the unlikeability factor, the actual character study/character descent is something to be acknowledged, especially in a debut.
ANGIE KIM moved from Seoul, Korea, to Baltimore as a preteen, and attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, then practiced as a trial lawyer at Williams & Connolly. Miracle Creek is her debut.
Kim lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and three sons.
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