Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

A Corpse in the Koryo

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

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.

  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 31, 2006
      In an impressive debut that calls to mind such mystery thrillers as Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park
      , the pseudonymous Church, a former intelligence officer, provides a rare look into one of the world's most closed societies, North Korea. When Inspector O, a state security officer, is called on the carpet for botching a sensitive surveillance assignment, O soon realizes that competing forces in the military and intelligence hierarchies set him up to fail and that his personal and professional well-being depend on his walking a tightrope. The detective's pragmatic if unwavering commitment to the ideals of pursuing justice in the face of serious obstacles makes him a heroic figure who's well suited to carry future entries in what one hopes will be a long-lived series. Despite the exotic setting, Hammett and Chandler would have had no problem appreciating this hard-boiled narrative.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Set in North Korea, this novel combines detective fiction with a glimpse into a society and culture that will be unfamiliar to many listeners. When the main character, Inspector O, botches an assignment, he finds himself drawn into a feud between conflicting intelligence units. Narrator Feodor Chin successfully voices the rich cast of Korean characters using subtle inflections, giving an accent only to the Irish character. He delivers equal weight to the characters who are essential to the plot and the lesser players whose appearance helps create an authentic atmosphere. Chin's pace is perfectly pitched, and his soft delivery style allows the plot to gently unfold. K.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading