A bestseller in Korea, a biting, unsettling vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness.

IN EVERY CORNER UNTOUCHED BY SIGHT, AND DEPRIVED OF LIGHT, THEY WERE OUT THERE. BREATHING IN THE SCENT OF LONELY BLOOD

Love is the most despicable excuse.

A series of reported suicides at a hospital and care home on the run-down outskirts of Seoul bring a young female detective, Suyeon, and a jaded vampire hunter, Violette, together. The victims were all alone, elderly – forgotten people. When nobody else on the force pays heed to the strange and bloodless nature of the deceased’s bodies, these two night owls are forced to work together to pursue justice.

But as the investigation unfurls, it becomes increasingly clear that they, too, are being hunted.

Past and present, romance and loneliness intertwine as the investigation to find an ancient, supernatural culprit reveals a landscape of modern isolation in a dark, nocturnal Seoul.

This genre-bending novel has all the weirdness and darkness of popular translated fiction like Cursed Bunny and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed combined with the smart, insightful social commentary that will appeal to readers of Woman, Eating and A Certain Hunger.