Monika Kim has officially solidified herself as one of my favorite current authors. In 2024, I devoured her debut novel, The Eyes Are The Best Part in a matter of hours and then shared it with my book club. I was incredibly excited when I was given an ARC of her newest book, Molka, which ended up being another wild ride in less than 300 pages.
Molka is an abbreviation of molrae-kamera, which is a “sneaky camera” hidden to capture images and videos for voyeurs. I had actually never heard of this term before, but like most women, I am very aware of the possibility of being filmed in vulnerable situations without my consent. With this being the title, you can immediately guess what the story is about. Since this is not set to publish until April 2026, I will keep my spoilers to a minimum.
In an unassuming Seoul workplace, IT technician Junyoung’s network reaches throughout the entire building. He sees every entrance. Every lobby. Every bathroom. The women in this building may be cold and dismissive, but he can always pull up his favorite images of them and remember 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, and generous—and she’d do anything to hold on to the happiness he brings her.But when a hidden camera scandal rocks the city’s elites, Dahye’s dreams of a fairy-tale romance twist into a grotesque nightmare. Her boyfriend abandons her. Her parents reject her. Her grip on reality begins to shatter as visions of her dead sister suddenly appear. And as Junyoung’s interest in Dahye turns to obsession, and the truths of their troubled lives are revealed, Dahye must go to extreme lengths to bring the truth to light . . .-description taken from Kensington Books website.
Kim can definitely paint a gruesome picture. Multiple times I found myself grimacing but unable to stop myself from reading. Pretty sure I said something along the lines of, “that was fucked up. I loved it,” to my mom who was sitting in the living room with me at the time when I finally came up for air after 2 hours. She laughed at that, but didn’t question me. She knows that my reading tastes vary, but I have a deep love for horror.
Molka is about the resilience of women, about how we resist and reclaim our dignity, and perhaps most importantly about female solidarity. Even in these troubling times, we have each other. And that means we always have hope. -Monika Kim
The incredibly satisfying retribution that played out in the end of this book is what I love about horror. I have no doubt that women who have experienced situations like this or similar to this have had thoughts of extreme violence. I am one of them. Unfortunately for all of us, real-world consequences in a world that is designed to keep women down are the things that keep us from acting on the violence. That is why books like this exist.
Obviously, I am recommending this book to you. There is a lot to offer in this story and I guarantee it will stick with you long after you’re finished reading.
Frightful Femme 
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