With her first offering in the Chronicles of the Threlphax series, Dooley delivers an emotional and immersive debut that grapples with identity, family, and the paranormal. It’s been decades since Tae-hee Kim has seen her twin brother Tae-soo; the last time she was with him, she was burying his ashes next to their mother’s. So, when a man by the name of Kit approaches her on the bus and claims to be Tae-soo, hoping to reconnect and affectionately calling her “dongsaeng”—a Korean greeting between siblings—she is unable to reconcile this stranger with the brother she once knew. But as Kit reveals details of their past that only the two siblings would know, Tae-hee hesitantly accepts that he may be telling the truth.
With her brother now back in her life, Tae-hee takes Kit to KSH House—a small business dealing in antiques and vintage artifacts—to meet her friends, including her best friend, Jong-hyun Park, who Kit feels an immediate connection to. As Kit adjusts to life at KSH House, secrets about his and Tae-hee’s past—as well as KSH House—surface, and a deeper mystery relating to alien life known as the threlphax comes to light—a mystery that reveals shocking truths about Tae-hee and Kit’s heritage. Meanwhile, Kit and Jong fall into a heady romance, one that feels rushed at times but is nonetheless irresistible to follow, particularly when their relationship is challenged by the presence of the threlphax.
Beyond the novel’s romantic developments, the complex relationships between the members of KSH House promise an emotional read and serve as a credit to Dooley’s carefully layered characterization. That strength is complimented by rich world-building, and, when explored in tandem with the development of the book’s larger conflict, makes Of Kith and Kin a solid work of speculative fiction perfect for readers who favor character-driven, plot heavy storylines.
Takeaway: Emotional, immersive debut promising paranormal intrigue and romance.
Comparable Titles: Maurice X. Alvarez’s Return to Averia, Sophie Kim’s The God and the Gumiho.
- BookLife (by Publishers Weekly)