What readers think of Miracle Creek, plus links to write your own review.

Read in one sitting. loved it!

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book but enjoying I did. The characters were so well developed and the story will have you on the edge of your seat. You will not find out the truth till the very end. The premise of the medical chamber to help cure all the different ailments of each of the patients made the reading very interesting. But when an accident occurs a d everyone wants some one to blame we all wind up in court. The legal added so much to the book. I would highly recommend.

I was definitely not convinced that I would love this book, but I did nonetheless. I was in my 8th month of pregnancy with my first child and the themes of parent/child relationships and of mothers never feeling like their best was good enough were horrifying and addictive. I'd love to re-read this 10-20 years down the road and see if I feel the same amount of fear and trepidation in reading it again.

Don't let the lengthy character list inside the front cover discourage you from reading this novel. The plot is truly unique and covers a wide range of emotions. Reviews which label this book as a courtroom drama simply do not do it justice; it would like saying the television series BREAKING BAD is about a science teacher with a health problem or that To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of an older dad who is a widower in a small town. Author Angie Kim weaves together the struggling Korean immigrant couple (the Yoo family) whose teenage daughter Mary is not totally thrilled with her new country. Still, Mary's lack of friends at school and privacy at home, particularly at her age, make her sympathetic.There is also a mixed-race couple (Matt Thompson and wife Janine Cho) who are enjoying their financial success as medical professionals despite a traumatic injury to radiologist Matt. However, characters whose names are further down on the list (which extends to a second page) have pivotal roles as well. There are some small town elements such as gossip, competitiveness among the mothers (who"mothers" best?) and emotional struggles while raising children with autism, cerebral palsy and ADHD. The characters' lives become more deeply involved as a result of the experimental hyperbaric oxygenation treatment center. No character is left unaffected by the tragic event, and no reader will progress through the chapters without experiencing changing loyalties toward the characters. This is a book that lends itself to intense book club discussions.

Angie Kim's novel hooked me with the opening line! This is a murder mystery, but also it examines the life of families with special needs children as well as immigrant families in the US. Both play a major role in the story. As a mom of a daughter with autism and it forced me to go and remember the feelings I experienced in the past. I know of the intensity of daily life and the struggles, the need to feel like your child can be like other kids--especially if you can find the "right" treatment. I know that parents will do most anything to help their child and this book helped me to examined my own feeling about that as a parent. This need is also reflected in the families of the special needs children and the immigrant family. But this also is a murder trial where many people have secrets and partial truths they have revealed. I liked that it was told from multiple perspectives, which increased the clues of how the tragedy occurred and how they suspected one another. So many people had enough reasons to be the actually murderer. I was hooked from the first page to the last!

This is a rare court room drama that caused me to feel empathy for all of its flawed characters- immigrants trying to give a daughter a chance for success in America, teen rebellion, the cultural strictures for Korean women, the mothers seeking experimental treatments for their disabled children, the guilt & hope they feel, even the protestors trying to shut the operation down. The story is told from multiple perspectives with each chapter peeling away another layer of onion. There is a lot of heartache. I thought this was an excellent first book.

Miracle Creek is a complex courtroom suspense story that explores how many small acts, inaction, mistruths, lies of omission, etc. can combine to make one huge shit storm. I liked it. The novel focuses on 4 days of a trial as everyone's motives and stories unravel. I was pulled in enough to consume the book over 2 days. Some may not find it action-packed enough - it is an exploration of the human psyche - motivations and the stories we tell ourselves and others to justify our behavior. It leaves every single character exposed and flawed, and not necessarily likable. If this intrigues you then you will probably enjoy the book.

The author is a lawyer - and her attention to detail was noticeable and appreciated.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-written, but very sad book about the aftermath of an explosion with deaths at a hyperbaric clinic. All of the characters are suffering and dissembling in some form and the reader feels their pain and sympathizes.
While this book deserves more praise than I am giving it, I would not recommend reading it during a shelter-in-place quarantine (as I did) because it is a bit suffocating.