Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama. I don’t think I’ve ever read a courtroom procedural type of book before, but I loved it. The case is about the explosion of an oxygen chamber called the Miracle Submarine. The chamber was owned by a family of Korean immigrants, and two patients died in the explosion. The book follows days of testimony in the case where the mother of one of the victims, an autistic child, is the defendant.
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I loved the courtroom set up. It made the pace fast, and I loved getting to hear about the events of the night of the explosion from different perspectives. The story took so many twists and turns, too. I was certain one person was guilty, then I was certain it was someone else, and so on! It kept me guessing. The set up and writing made it fast with an almost thriller-like feel since I couldn’t put it down and had to know what happened, but it didn’t have the dreaded typical thriller anxiety or tropes.

Just calling this book a page-turner, though, doesn’t do this book justice. It also explored themes of motherhood, parenting of special needs children, and the unique struggles of immigrant families, and felt authentic in doing so. I was totally engrossed by both the plot and the characters.

I feel a little bit bad teasing this book so early because it doesn’t come out til April 16, so you might have to wait a little while to snag a copy. But it’s worth the wait! I highly recommend it.