I ended up disliking by this book from the first chapter. The writing was poorly done, being too wordy and making the story drag. A lot of the storyline was borrowed from Silence of the Lambs, and I found the plot to be enormously predictable. On top of that, I could my get myself to root for any of the characters, and the villain the main character visits was terribly annoying and his story went absolutely nowhere.

Chilling creepy horrific what is the connection a psychologist discover between a serial killer and her step daughter.A book that is haunting terrifying unputdownable.#netgalley#harpercollins

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I was not expecting that at all- got me sleeping with one eye open and watching my kids a little differently.

Definitely different and super creepy, but worth it. Don’t want to say more and spoil, if you enjoy creepy twisted mess you'll Love this

THE ONLY CHILD is a very dark book that explores the mind of a fictional serial killer while contrasting his behavior with Hayeong, the main character’s stepdaughter. Seonkyeong is a criminal psychologist who is summoned to prison to interview the notorious killer Yi Byeongdo. As she delves deeper into his mind through his stories, she notices how his mannerisms mirror that of 11-year-old Hayeong, who has recently come to live with her and her husband after a fire destroys her house.
The story is told from multiple points of view, with a concerted effort to make Byeongdo appear somewhat sympathetic. Hayeong is a manipulative little girl and I disliked her immediately. Seonkyeong’s husband brings his daughter into the house and soon becomes an absentee father, only seeing the “good” side of the girl.
The plot could have used a bit of tightening up, as it takes a while to establish Hayeong’s dark side. There is a longish portion regarding the “punishment” of a cat which could have been shorter and still convey the latent evil that was lurking that day. There is also a series of dithering by Seonkyeong in which she alternately fears the girl, then feels sorry for her due to the tragedies that have befallen her. She seems almost blind to the danger that Hayeong poses to her family.
Most of the action occurs around the last 15% of the book, as the serial killer escapes jail while the tension between the psychologist and the girl comes to a head. The ending itself is a shocker yet I felt it wasn’t a surprise.
None of these characters are truly given life; I am not sure if it is due to the original work being translated, or if it is the writer’s style. There is only the briefest of backstory and Seonkyeong is not portrayed as a strong female character. Certainly someone of her background would have better sense regarding Hayeong’s penchant for evil. Again, this could be due to the culture, as Asian women are not known for taking the lead and being dominant. In any case, I wish she had been given more of a backbone, especially as she began discovering Hayeong’s secrets.
I would like to see a sequel to this book to see what happens next with the characters. The ending does leave room for another story, and I can imagine different plot twists taking place. All in all, not a bad read.