{"product_id":"9780312601294","title":"Bamboo and Blood : An Inspector O Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eBamboo and Blood\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): James Church\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eA Corpse in the Koryo \u003c\/i\u003ebrought readers into the enigmatic workings of North Korean intelligence with the introduction of a new kind of detective---the mysterious Inspector O. In the follow-up, \u003ci\u003eHidden Moon,\u003c\/i\u003e O threaded his way through the minefield of North Korean ministries into a larger conspiracy he was never supposed to touch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow the inspector returns . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the winter of 1997, trying to stay alive during a famine that has devastated much of North Korea, Inspector O is ordered to play host to an Israeli agent who appears in Pyongyang. When the wife of a North Korean diplomat in Pakistan dies under suspicious circumstances, O is told to investigate, with a curious proviso: Don't look too closely at the details, and stay away from the question of missiles. O knows he can't avoid finding out what he is supposed to ignore on a trail that leads him from the dark, chilly rooms of Pyongyang to an abandoned secret facility deep in the countryside, guarded by a lonely general; and from the streets of New York to a bench beneath a horse chestnut tree on the shores of Lake Geneva, where the Inspector discovers he is up to his ears in missiles---and worse. Stalked by the past and wary of the future, O is convinced there is no one he can trust, and no one he can't suspect. Swiss intelligence wants him out of the country; someone else wants him dead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce again, James Church's spare, lyrical prose guides readers through an unfamiliar landscape of whispered words and shadows, a world wrapped in a level of mystery and complexity that few outsiders have experienced. With Inspector O, noir has a new home in North Korea, and James Church holds the keys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Inspector O is a complex, nuanced figure who understands that the regime he serves is corrupt, brutal and mendacious, but he remains loyal.... I think many North Korean officials today are an echo of the conflicted nationalist Inspector O.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Church once again does a brilliant job of portraying the dysfunctional, paranoid society of modern North Korea in his third novel to feature Inspector O....While the espionage elements compel, the book's main strength, as with its predecessors, derives from the small details that enable the reader to imagine life in North Korea--and from O's struggles to maintain his principles and integrity.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review) on the Inspector O Series\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eHidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e] . . . is like nothing else I've ever read. . . . Church creates an utterly convincing, internally consistent world of the absurd where orders mean the opposite of what they say and paperwork routinely gets routed to oblivion.” —\u003ci\u003eHalle Ephron, The Boston Globe on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The book's often sharp repartee is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler's dialogue, while the corrupt North Korean bureaucracy provides an exotic but entirely convincing noir backdrop. . . . Like Marlowe and Spade before him, Inspector O navigates the shadows and, every now and then, finds truth in the half-light.” —\u003ci\u003eMarina Malenic, The Wall Street Journal on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Church uses his years of intelligence work to excellent advantage here, delivering one duplicitous plot twist after another. . . . The author's affection for the landscape and people of Korea is abundantly evident. . . . A stunning conclusion.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eHidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e reads more like a spy novel by a Korean Kafka. Final word: fascinating.” —\u003ci\u003eRocky Mountain News on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Church's spartan prose is a perfect match for the sparseness of the North Korean landscape.” —\u003ci\u003eCharleston Gazette on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The real pleasure of \u003ci\u003eHidden Moon \u003c\/i\u003eis its conversations, loaded down with layers of secrecy and suspicion that surface words are meaningless in the face of buried intention.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Baltimore Sun on Hidden Moon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A crackling good mystery novel, filled with unusual characters involved in a complex plot that keeps you guessing to the end.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post on A Corpse in the Koryo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An impressive debut that calls to mind such mystery thrillers as Martin Cruz Smith's \u003ci\u003eGorky\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Park\u003c\/i\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review) on A Corpse in the Koryo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A new offering that reminds you of why you started reading mysteries and thrillers in the first place.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Chicago Tribune on A Corpse in the Koryo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“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.” —\u003ci\u003eTim Morrison, Time magazine, Asia edition on A Corpse in the Koryo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780312601294\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Minotaur Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40623896101070,"sku":"9780312601294","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_c9458946-8613-46d1-bb22-d7ec1d9c20d7.jpg?v=1638580260","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780312601294","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}