Bamboo and Blood (Inspector O Series #3)

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James Church

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Overview

The critically acclaimed A Corpse in the Koryo brought 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, Hidden Moon, O threaded his way through the minefield of North Korean ministries into a larger conspiracy he was never supposed to touch.

Now the inspector returns . . .

In 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.

Once 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.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

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 of the ministry of public security (after 2007's Hidden Moon). When a foreigner O has been assigned to watch turns out to be working for Israeli intelligence, O and his supervisor, Pak, come under the scrutiny of a rival security service. To complicate matters, Pak asks the inspector to investigate the murder of a North Korean diplomat's wife in Pakistan, but O is restricted to merely collecting facts about the dead woman. O's efforts to actually solve the crime lead to dangerous encounters with his country's special weapons program. 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. (Dec.)

Library Journal

In 1997, while the people of North Korea wait to see if the new dictator will be able to step into his father's shoes, Inspector O (A Corpse in the Koryo; Hidden Moon) has been told to write a report on a murdered woman but has received no information on where her death took place or how she was killed. He also has been selected to protect a mysterious man who may or may not be an Israeli but continues to get permission to visit North Korea. Gifted storyteller Church, who obviously has a vast insider's knowledge of this mysterious country, leads the reader and Inspector O on a complex trail of misdirection and treachery. A third triumph for Church. [Library marketing; see Prepub Mystery, LJ8/08.]

—Jo Ann Vicarel

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

The murder of a diplomat's wife brings a different kind of pressure on a dogged young police inspector.

In the middle of a blizzard in the winter of 1997, North Korean Inspector O and his nervous supervisor, Chief Inspector Pak, bring in for questioning a suspicious foreigner whose playful answers indicate a lack of concern and whose explanation of his nationality—his passport says he's Swiss—keeps changing. Newly appointed to the Ministry of Public Security, O presents his story in a narrative that bristles with iconoclasm and intellectual curiosity. When O and Pak let the man go after questioning, they're scolded by two visiting Public security operatives. A short time later, one of the pair dies in a horrible car accident, and Pak wonders if there are other forces at work. But the arrival of a huge, unusual and confusing case abruptly consumes them. They're ordered to gather information on the death of a North Korean general's daughter. The only clue is her telephone request to her father for a music book he can no longer find. The daughter, a diplomat's wife, was in Pakistan when she died, and murder is suspected. Amazingly, the trail leads through both the droll foreigner and the victim of that car accident.

Former intelligence officer Church's third Inspector O mystery, set a decade before the first two (Hidden Moon, 2007, etc.), finds the inspector no less acerbic and the author no more straightforward. This one's by turns dazzling and boring, frustrating and insightful.

Agent: Bob Mecoy/Creative Book Services

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780312601294
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 2/16/2010
Edition description: First Edition
Edition number: 1
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 297,448
Series: Inspector O Series , #3
Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

JAMES CHURCH (a pseudonym) is a former Western intelligence officer with decades of experience in Asia.

Customer Reviews

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macabr

Posted February 15, 2010

The Inspector O series by James Church should not be missed

James Church is the author of a series unique in its setting. Inspector O is a detective in Pyongyang, North Korea but his duties cross into intelligence in the closed society that sees enemies everywhere.

BAMBOO AND BLOOD is the third in the Inspector O series but it is a prequel beginning in the winter of 1997. North Korea is in the midst of a famine that is devastating the country. The very young and the very old are dying and only people of strong will are likely to survive until the spring. Restaurants serve hot water as the beverage to accompanies meals of soup made by cooking a bit of wood in more hot water.

The country is hiding its desperation from the rest of the world so it is a great surprise to Inspector O when he is asked to play host to an Israeli agent who is able to come and go seemingly at will into a society that is a mystery to its own people.

Jeno introduces information about the death in Pakistan of the wife of a North Korean diplomat. O is assigned to investigate and told not to look at things too closely and to avoid any discussions about missiles. O knows nothing about missiles and doesn't understand what he is being sent to investigate but suddenly he is given a passport and a plane ticket. Inspector O finds Jeno always nearby as he travels from Pyongyang, to a nearly abandoned factory in the countryside, to New York city, to Geneva. There O finds himself attached to a diplomatic mission about which he knows little, meets a Swiss security officer, 'M. Beret', and realizes that someone, perhaps his brother, is trying to kill him.

Inspector O is a great find. He is a simple man who lives quietly, is proud of his heritage and the memory of his deceased grandfather, a hero of the revolution. He always carries with him pieces of wood, small pieces that he uses like worry beads. '...I might as well have a piece of wood that would help me sort through the case. Something pragmatic. Elm was good that way. Most trees succumb to nonsense at some point in their lives. They get top heavy. They forget their roots. Not elms. From beginning to end, they remain stately and pragmatic.'

O could be talking about himself. He is worth meeting.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted May 21, 2012

Cody

Mightyena im glad u found a mate.
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Anonymous

Posted May 21, 2012

Retta

Huh? Hides behind Wolf.
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Anonymous

Posted May 21, 2012

Wolf

*Points a paw at cody* get out.
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TheReadingWriter

Posted January 31, 2011

more from this reviewer

An unusual detective shows us life in North Korea

James Church's series of North Korean Police Detective Inspector O is something of an anomoly in the world of detective fiction. Here we have a keen-eyed detective whose field of expertise is not so much citizen-on-citizen violence as government-on-citizen violence. While Inspector O is a patriot of uncommon fidelity, the angle from which we view his mind working is not so much internal as external. We, facilitated by the author Church, are watching Inspector O make decisions and we are making an analysis. We are foreign agents--we are being taught to be foreign agents--in this series written by a foreign agent. We are being shown what to look for, and this is latest edition, we are even being taught tradecraft. Wacky tradecraft, but there you have it. I like Inspector O very much. The author has a depth of compassion for him and his close compatriots that helps us to imagine them with a depth of character and a degree of humanity. We know so little about North Korea, every bit of description helps us "to put flesh on the bones", so to speak. And if even a portion of the descripton given us here of that woe-begone country is true, North Korea and its people are in a world of hurt. I especially liked this third book in the series because Inspector O was given his head and allowed to travel overseas. He was quite witty when describing Geneva and New York, the "talks" going on there, and the spymasters he encountered. Much of the best parts of this book consisted of conversation rather than description, so Church is taking a unique jog in the business of series writing and engaging the reader in a way different from others writing detective series. Church's method is more cerebral, and less kinetic, the characters more likely to suffer psychological damage than physical. Approach this with an open mind, and I believe you will be amused, but will also have plenty of food for thought.
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harstan

Posted October 17, 2008

more from this reviewer

a great tale

In North Korea the Ministry of Public Security Inspector O is assigned to follow a foreigner. O quickly realizes the outsider is working for the Israelis. However, O also realizes that at least one or more other government security agencies are watching him and his superior Chief Inspector Pak.

Meanwhile Pak assigns O to investigate the murder of a North Korean diplomat's wife in Pakistan. However, he is warned not to solve the case, but to only gather known facts about the victim. Bristling over the limitation, O tries to solve the homicide, which only leads to more trouble for the dedicated inspector from other security agencies for his clues lead to the top secret special weapons program.

The third Inspector O investigation (see CORPSE IN THE KORYO and HIDDEN MOON) is once again a great tale more so because of a the deep look into North Korea. O is excellent as he knows other agencies are spying on him to insure he learns very little as the need to know is always restricted. The whodunit and the Israeli espionage caper are both well written to showcase Inspector O¿s skills and the paranoia of a regime that sees everyone even loyal citizens as the enemy.

Harriet Klausner
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Bamboo and Blood (Inspector O Series #3)

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The Inspector O series by James Church should not be missed

Cody

Retta

Wolf

An unusual detective shows us life in North Korea

a great tale