A Corpse in the Koryo

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What to expect

Sit on a quiet hillside at dawn among the wildflowers; take a picture of a car coming up a deserted highway from the south.

These seen simple orders for Inspector O, until he realizes they have led him far, far off his department's turf and into a maelstrom of betrayal and death. 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 that he has been sent into the chaos. This is a world where nothing works as it should, where the crimes of the past haunt the present, and where even the shadows are real.

Author James Church weaves a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart after decades as an intelligence officer.

Critics Review

  • “James Church does a better job of describing the isolated, impoverished, corrupt, and out-of-touch life in the North than anything I have seen.”

    Newt Gingrich

  • “This is a fine, intelligent, and exciting story that takes us into the netherworld of contemporary North Korean communism. Inspector O is a particularly wonderful creation, a true mensch attempting to hold onto his humanity in a world where humanism is under constant attack. Subtlety is the method, and the result is a fantastic work that should mark the beginning of a brilliant career for James Church.”

    Olen Steinhauer, New YorkTimes bestselling author

  • “A gripping story of mystery and intrigue. The laconic Inspector O follows in the traditions of Inspector Arkady Renko, operating in a world of complexity and danger we’re meeting here for the first time.”

    Don Oberdorfer, author of Tet!

  • “Impressive…the author has crafted a complex character with rough charm to spare, and in eternally static North Korea, he has a setting that will fascinate readers for sequels to come.”

    Time magazine, Asia edition

  • “A crackling good mystery novel, filled with unusual characters involved in a complex plot that keeps you guessing to the end.”

    Washington Post

  • “A new offering that reminds you of why you started reading mysteries and thrillers in the first place.”

    Chicago Tribune

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