Bamboo and Blood

I really enjoyed the first "Inspector O" novel, "Corpse in the Koryo". I wasn't as pleased with "Hidden Moon", which to me at least was so chaotic, especially at the end, that it was almost unreadable. "Bamboo and Blood" is a return to form. This is set in the late nineties, during one of the North Korean famines. The writing is as good as always, and the story is much tighter. That isn't to say that everything is resolved in a nice package at the end, indeed much of what transpires is not completely explained, but given the circumstances, that was OK. Much of the story takes place in Geneva, which brings to mind some of Conrad's novels like "Under Western Eyes", as well as some of Graham Greene's novels. That said, the best scenes in the book are the ones set in North Korea. The scenes in Geneva are done well, but since Conrad people have been setting espionage novels in Geneva, and to me at least it seems like it is difficult to find anything fresh or new about the place.

Your post 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 meetin

The idea of a North Korean inspector/detective is great. We (in the West) have trouble imagining earnest, hard-working investigators working to solve crimes in a nation that does not follow the rule of law. That is the first and primary paradox in both the Inspecter O series and the Gorky Park type books set in the former USSR. The author depicts the totalitarian stranglehold of North Korea where the army spies on the police, schools are empty because teachers and students are quietly starving to death, orders can mean the opposite and innocence can mean guilt. It is a land of subtlety and nuance as is the book. The ever-present drabness and bitter cold was an integral part of the psyche, yet another obstacle to overcome in order to survive. The story (***** Warning - Plot talk - ******) centers around talks on North Korean atomic weapons and attempts to either derail the talks. All the while, Israeli agetns attempt offer a trad: Cessation of missile technology in exchange for money and aid. Inspector O is told to investigate the death of a woman who may have been in Pakistan. He is given no details. In other words, he is NOT to dig too deeply. He travels to New York and Zurich, observing the abundance of the West with distant melancholy, refusing to defect...out of duty, honor or lack of choice we can't be sure. As he probes deeper, he must watch the shifting alliances within the regime, each scheming to survive the long, dark winter. The search for loyalties is as difficult as the elusive search for the dead woman. My Grade - A+

Bamboo and Blood by James Church is "an Inspector O" novel. I did not know what that meant when I picked it up but I soon found out. The prologue starts, "The Russians... think they are the only ones who know the cold," then jumps right into action. I've been reading mysteries placed in Red China, Thailand, and now, with Inspector O, in Red Korea. Who knew it would be so entertaining, so warm, so enigmatic, so humorous? (Not giving away the plot here, OK?) Suffice it to say missles are involved (somewhat) and that I'm going to read more by the author, James Church. Church's bio asserts a) His name's a pseudonym, b) He was with Western intelligence for decades in Asia, and c) Many of the events in the story really happened. That's nice but what I care about is the story engaged me from the start and I want to read more. All good mysteries have a mystery, yes, it's how they work, but the reason we read them is the milieu, characters, surprises, new perspectives. I remember the same thrill first reading Len Deighton's novels about East and West Berlin. That's the closest I can come to sharing the feel of Bamboo and Blood, except now it's North and South Korea. Inspector O is a reading pleasure!

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