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Molka

Author Monika Kim
Hardcover
$28.00 US
| $37.99 CAN
Kensington | Erewhon Books
On sale Apr 28, 2026 | 288 Pages | 9781645661269
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From the author of The Eyes Are the Best Part, praised by The New York Times Book Review as “violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original,” a provocative exposé into the hidden world of spy cameras, sexual shaming, and vengeance pursued with a very sharp kitchen knife.

Molka: an abbreviation of molrae-kamera, a “sneaky camera” hidden to capture covert images and videos for voyeurs.

In an unassuming Seoul workplace, IT technician Junyoung’s network reaches throughout the whole office. Every entrance. Every lobby. Every bathroom. The women in this building may be cold and dismissive, but whenever they disrespect him, he calls up his favorite images and remembers who holds the real power. Until one, Dahye, sets herself apart from the rest.

Dahye, ever the romantic, yearns to be cherished after years of living in the shadow of her perfect older sister, who tragically drowned years ago. Only her boyfriend seems to appreciate Dahye. He’s rich, handsome, famous, and generous—she’d do anything to hold on to the happiness he brings her.

But when a celebrity hidden camera scandal rocks the city, Dahye’s dreams of fairy-tale romance sour into a grotesque nightmare. Her boyfriend abandons her. Her parents reject her. Her dead sister appears as a lank-haired, demon-eyed ghost, desperate to reveal a long-hidden secret. As Junyoung falls into obsession with the troubled Dahye, more and more illusions are stripped away, until Dahye turns to extreme lengths to satisfy her own lust for revenge . . .

From the innovative imagination of rising horror star Monika Kim, Molka is an all-too-real snapshot of surveillance, power, and one woman’s justified rage.
Praise for Monika Kim:

“As brilliant as it is provocative, perverse, and deeply unsettling, Molka is the novel I've been waiting for...A rage-soaked interrogation of power that finally confronts our twinned cultures of surveillance and shame-I couldn't put it down. No one writes the monstrosities of man like Monika Kim, and even though this book lays bare the devastating consequences of nonconsensual voyeurism, I wouldn't hesitate to peek into Kim's brain.“ —Ling Ling Huang, Award-winning author of Immaculate Conception

“Brutal and unflinching, Molka is a wild ride through a world of dark obsession, drowned ghosts, and long-overdue revenge. You won’t be able to look away as this book cuts you to pieces.” —Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

“Violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original, this novel pulls readers into a horrific world of murder and cannibalism while also critiquing misogyny, exploring Asian fetishization and stereotypes, sharing what it’s like to navigate two cultures and telling a touching story of a family in turmoil.” —New York Times Book Review on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“[An] inventive… terrifying tale of misogyny, Asian fetishization, and cannibalism.” —TIME magazine, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 for The Eyes Are the Best Part

"I was enticed from the first line and entertained throughout. The Eyes Are The Best Part is a quirky, engaging read." —Oyinkan Brainthwaite, bestselling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The perfectly executed pacing ensnares readers even as the story’s palpable anxiety evolves into repulsion, daring them to pull their eyes away. Ji-won will stay with readers whether they want her to or not. With obvious nods to the serious issues that underpin Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and clearly inspired by Gillian Flynn’s seminal Gone Girl, Kim has written a novel that every library needs to own.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Obsessive, grotesque, and never predictable, this is a horror debut to sink your teeth into.” —Emily M. Danforth, bestselling author of Plain Bad Heroines on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Visceral, disgusting, glorious. I loved this book and every character in it. Monika Kim’s sentences are superb, and I was riveted and nauseated from the very first page. Keep your eyeballs fixed on Kim, she’s without a doubt one to watch!” —CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“A deliciously disturbing dive into a mind warped by pain, anger, and a most unusual craving.” —Johnny Compton, author of The Spite House on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Kim's talent buoys her tale. . . and distinguishes her as a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“A new voice in horror tells a gripping psychological story about how one woman is driven to do the unthinkable . . . Horror fans will enjoy getting to know this new author, and readers of thrillers will enjoy the unreliable narrator and the pace.” —Booklist on The Eyes Are the Best Part
Monika Kim is an acclaimed, Sunday Times bestselling author of “violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original” (The New York Times Book Review) horror novels. Her debut, The Eyes Are the Best Part, was a TIME Magazine, New York Times, B&N, and Kobo Best of the Year, as well as a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and a Bram Stoker Award nominee. A second-generation Korean American, she learned about eating fish eyes and other Korean superstitions from her mother, who immigrated to California from Seoul in 1985. She lives in Los Angeles’s Koreatown and can be found online at Monika-Kim.com.
Monika Kim View titles by Monika Kim

About

From the author of The Eyes Are the Best Part, praised by The New York Times Book Review as “violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original,” a provocative exposé into the hidden world of spy cameras, sexual shaming, and vengeance pursued with a very sharp kitchen knife.

Molka: an abbreviation of molrae-kamera, a “sneaky camera” hidden to capture covert images and videos for voyeurs.

In an unassuming Seoul workplace, IT technician Junyoung’s network reaches throughout the whole office. Every entrance. Every lobby. Every bathroom. The women in this building may be cold and dismissive, but whenever they disrespect him, he calls up his favorite images and remembers who holds the real power. Until one, Dahye, sets herself apart from the rest.

Dahye, ever the romantic, yearns to be cherished after years of living in the shadow of her perfect older sister, who tragically drowned years ago. Only her boyfriend seems to appreciate Dahye. He’s rich, handsome, famous, and generous—she’d do anything to hold on to the happiness he brings her.

But when a celebrity hidden camera scandal rocks the city, Dahye’s dreams of fairy-tale romance sour into a grotesque nightmare. Her boyfriend abandons her. Her parents reject her. Her dead sister appears as a lank-haired, demon-eyed ghost, desperate to reveal a long-hidden secret. As Junyoung falls into obsession with the troubled Dahye, more and more illusions are stripped away, until Dahye turns to extreme lengths to satisfy her own lust for revenge . . .

From the innovative imagination of rising horror star Monika Kim, Molka is an all-too-real snapshot of surveillance, power, and one woman’s justified rage.

Reviews

Praise for Monika Kim:

“As brilliant as it is provocative, perverse, and deeply unsettling, Molka is the novel I've been waiting for...A rage-soaked interrogation of power that finally confronts our twinned cultures of surveillance and shame-I couldn't put it down. No one writes the monstrosities of man like Monika Kim, and even though this book lays bare the devastating consequences of nonconsensual voyeurism, I wouldn't hesitate to peek into Kim's brain.“ —Ling Ling Huang, Award-winning author of Immaculate Conception

“Brutal and unflinching, Molka is a wild ride through a world of dark obsession, drowned ghosts, and long-overdue revenge. You won’t be able to look away as this book cuts you to pieces.” —Kylie Lee Baker, author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng

“Violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original, this novel pulls readers into a horrific world of murder and cannibalism while also critiquing misogyny, exploring Asian fetishization and stereotypes, sharing what it’s like to navigate two cultures and telling a touching story of a family in turmoil.” —New York Times Book Review on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“[An] inventive… terrifying tale of misogyny, Asian fetishization, and cannibalism.” —TIME magazine, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 for The Eyes Are the Best Part

"I was enticed from the first line and entertained throughout. The Eyes Are The Best Part is a quirky, engaging read." —Oyinkan Brainthwaite, bestselling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The perfectly executed pacing ensnares readers even as the story’s palpable anxiety evolves into repulsion, daring them to pull their eyes away. Ji-won will stay with readers whether they want her to or not. With obvious nods to the serious issues that underpin Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and clearly inspired by Gillian Flynn’s seminal Gone Girl, Kim has written a novel that every library needs to own.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Obsessive, grotesque, and never predictable, this is a horror debut to sink your teeth into.” —Emily M. Danforth, bestselling author of Plain Bad Heroines on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Visceral, disgusting, glorious. I loved this book and every character in it. Monika Kim’s sentences are superb, and I was riveted and nauseated from the very first page. Keep your eyeballs fixed on Kim, she’s without a doubt one to watch!” —CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“A deliciously disturbing dive into a mind warped by pain, anger, and a most unusual craving.” —Johnny Compton, author of The Spite House on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Kim's talent buoys her tale. . . and distinguishes her as a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly on The Eyes Are the Best Part

“A new voice in horror tells a gripping psychological story about how one woman is driven to do the unthinkable . . . Horror fans will enjoy getting to know this new author, and readers of thrillers will enjoy the unreliable narrator and the pace.” —Booklist on The Eyes Are the Best Part

Author

Monika Kim is an acclaimed, Sunday Times bestselling author of “violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original” (The New York Times Book Review) horror novels. Her debut, The Eyes Are the Best Part, was a TIME Magazine, New York Times, B&N, and Kobo Best of the Year, as well as a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and a Bram Stoker Award nominee. A second-generation Korean American, she learned about eating fish eyes and other Korean superstitions from her mother, who immigrated to California from Seoul in 1985. She lives in Los Angeles’s Koreatown and can be found online at Monika-Kim.com.
Monika Kim View titles by Monika Kim

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