A Corpse in the Koryo

In a "crackling good mystery novel," a North Korean state detective is drawn into a murder case in a page-turner "that keeps you guessing to the end" (The Washington Post). Sit on a quiet hillside at dawn among the wildflowers; take a picture of a car coming up a deserted highway from the south.

Simple orders for Inspector O, until he realizes they have led him far off his department's turf and into a maelstrom of betrayal. North Korea's leaders are desperate to hunt down and eliminate anyone who knows too much about a series of decades-old kidnappings and murders—and Inspector O discovers too late he has been sent into the chaos.

A corpse in Pyongyang's main hotel—the Koryo—pulls Inspector O into a confrontation of bad choices. A blue button on the floor of a hotel closet, an ice blue Finnish lake, and desperate efforts by the North Korean leadership set Inspector O on a journey to the edge of a reality he almost can't survive.

A Corpse in the Koryo introduces a perplexing universe seemingly so alien that the rules are an enigma to the reader and even, sometimes, to Inspector O.

Former intelligence agent James Church weaves a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart. A chilling portrayal that, in the end, leaves us wondering if what at first seemed unknowable may simply be too familiar for comfort.

"An outstanding crime novel." —Library Journal (starred review)

"An impressive debut that calls to mind such mystery thrillers as Martin Cruz Smith's GorkyPark." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

© 2006 Minotaur Books (Ebook): 9781429936552

Release date

Ebook: 17 October 2006