Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang.jpg
Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang.jpg

Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang

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Hardcover:

In the heart of a quiet town, a young woman tends to her plant shop, but beneath the surface of her lush, green sanctuary lies something far darker....

Will you dare to disrespect her plants?

Tucked away in the corner of a neighborhood in Dosan, South Korea, is the Plant Shop. Shop owner Yoohee has started anew, and her meticulously grown foliage thrives under her tender care. To both her customers and herself, Plant Shop is a refuge, where petunias and marigolds bloom and the air itself is like an elixir of peace.

By day, Yoohee dispenses advice on gardening, but she also finds herself offering a special service off the clock. Women who are at their wits’ end come to her about a man they hope might disappear from their lives. Pulling extra hours is taxing, but Yoohee has encountered—and dealt with—these kind of men in her own life, men who treated her (and her beloved plants) with utter disrespect. So as night falls, Yoohee trades her apron for a shovel and a hoe and disappears into her moonlit garden. There, she buries not just the remains of the day, but also the bloody remnants of a few unfortunate encounters.

As men begin to disappear…will anyone ever suspect the Plant Lady?

A highly acclaimed novel from South Korea, Plant Lady brings atmospheric tension and delicate humor to a story of obsession and misogyny that will keep you rooted right to its simmering last page.

In the heart of a quiet town, a young woman tends to her plant shop, but beneath the surface of her lush, green sanctuary lies something far darker....

Will you dare to disrespect her plants?

Tucked away in the corner of a neighborhood in Dosan, South Korea, is the Plant Shop. Shop owner Yoohee has started anew, and her meticulously grown foliage thrives under her tender care. To both her customers and herself, Plant Shop is a refuge, where petunias and marigolds bloom and the air itself is like an elixir of peace.

By day, Yoohee dispenses advice on gardening, but she also finds herself offering a special service off the clock. Women who are at their wits’ end come to her about a man they hope might disappear from their lives. Pulling extra hours is taxing, but Yoohee has encountered—and dealt with—these kind of men in her own life, men who treated her (and her beloved plants) with utter disrespect. So as night falls, Yoohee trades her apron for a shovel and a hoe and disappears into her moonlit garden. There, she buries not just the remains of the day, but also the bloody remnants of a few unfortunate encounters.

As men begin to disappear…will anyone ever suspect the Plant Lady?

A highly acclaimed novel from South Korea, Plant Lady brings atmospheric tension and delicate humor to a story of obsession and misogyny that will keep you rooted right to its simmering last page.

  • Publisher: Berkley

    Title: Plant Lady

    Author: Minyoung Kang (translated by Shanna Tan)

    On Sale Date: August 4, 2026

    ISBN 13: 9798217187577

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $28.00

    BISAC: Suspense & Thriller; Women's Fiction

    Page Count: 208 pages

    Dimensions: 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches

  • Minyoung Kang is a South Korean novelist and the editor-in-chief of the film magazine CAST — a background that shows in Plant Lady's cinematic, scene-by-scene tension. The book began as a short story before growing into a novel that became a phenomenon with Korean readers, especially women in their twenties and thirties, and is now being translated into nine languages. Kang is also the author of the novel Don't Let Me Freeze Up and the essay collection Ride a Bicycle and Keep Going.

  • Critics are calling it exquisite, twisted, suspenseful:

    • "Ripe for a sequel, it offers a twisted kind of escapism, and healing." — Mary Marge Locker, The New York Times Book Review

    • "An exquisite ode to female rage." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    • "A suspenseful and satisfying tale." — Shirley Quan, Library Journal

    • "A strong message about men's abuse of women." — Booklist (starred review)

This book is for you if

  • You want a thriller with a satisfying dose of vigilante justice.

  • You're drawn to quiet, ordinary settings that hide something much darker underneath.

  • You like a protagonist who's impossible to root against, even when you probably should.

  • You appreciate fiction that takes violence against women seriously without losing its sense of humor.

  • You're curious about Korean fiction right now and want to start with something stylish and savage.

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