Description: A gripping and incisive psychological gameshow drama from one of the biggest stars in Korean fiction, author of million-copy bestseller The Dallergut Dream Department Store.
Brief description: Sandy Joosun Lee is a Korean-to-English translator based in Seoul. She studied Literature/Writing in University of California, San Diego. Her translations include Won-pyung Sohn's Almond (HarperVia, 2020) and Miye Lee's DallerGut Dream Department Store duology (Wildfire, 2023). She also works in animation, translating and developing animated content, which includes The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021) and Star Wars: Visions (2023). She is a member of the translator collective Smoking Tigers.
Review Quotes:
"Intriguing . . . On the surface, this is a quirky story about reality TV and people behaving badly, but Lee gets the prize for turning it into a tale of relatable workaday characters attempting to understand how other people perceive them, and why people act the way they do . . . You won't feel like a traitor if you pick up this insightful reality-show thriller." --Kirkus Reviews
"After the charming sweetness of her globally best-selling Dallergut duology, Lee pivots toward the dark side . . . Lee interweaves plenty of heartfelt poignancy, deftly earning Ice Cube an empathetic audience." --Booklist "Lee captures the gossipy appeal of reality TV as her characters size up perfect strangers in the name of lining their pockets. Concise, thought-provoking, and entertaining, this goes down smooth." --Publishers Weekly "Trapped in a tense psychological game . . . the contestants are forced to confront an unsettling question: Who among them is truly the villain?" --Book Bub, "The Best Mysteries and Thrillers of Spring 2026" "Packs a punch . . . You'll definitely see your colleagues in a different light after reading this." --The Express (UK) "A fantastical narrative." --CNN on THE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE "All things are possible in Lee's captivating world." --Shelf Awareness on THE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE "A comforting story of dreams, lives, and the ways people process all that reality offers them." --Kirkus Reviews on THE DALLERGUT DREAM DEPARTMENT STORE