A Twist of Fate

The overstuffed debut thriller from Jang nods to the work of Patricia Highsmith. A woman named Jae-Young boards a train bound for Seoul to escape her troubles—chiefly the dead body of her abusive boyfriend, Hyun-Wook, which is lying on the floor of her apartment. Soon after the train departs, a young woman named Hyojin rushes into Jae-Young’s compartment with a baby in her arms. The two converse, and Hyojin confides that she is taking her son for their first visit to the home of his wealthy grandfather, Hyojin’s father-in-law. Jae-Young then steps away for a few minutes; when she returns, Hyojin is gone, but her baby remains, along with a note asking Jae-Young to deliver the child to his grandfather. When Jae-Young arrives at the old man’s mansion, everyone assumes she’s Hyojin, and she seizes the opportunity to slip into a new identity. Soon, however, she finds that her escape was too good to be true, with Hyojin’s secrets tied more closely to Jae-Young’s than she could’ve imagined. Jang smothers her rich (if familiar) premise under an avalanche of far-fetched twists and cardboard characters. Readers will be baffled. Agent: Barbara J. Zitwer, Barbara J. Zitwer Agency. (July)