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| Plot Summary of A Corpse In The Koryo |
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"Set in North Korea, this is probably a 'first' to portray a very enigmatic police inspector in a very enigmatic country. Inspector O is the man set up by the communist military regime to solve a very strange case of mafia-style car thieving. Except that it isn't quite as it seems.
Inspector O is a pawn (with a bite!) as it soon becomes apparent that some very senior officials have an agenda of their own which is carried out with stark brutality. Alongside this almost total disregard for death is the excellent Inspector, trying to work out who is pulling his strings.
His own chief sends him into the country near the Chinese border to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious goings-on but, as ever, he cannot escape the main suspect who seems to playing him almost like a fish!
Then, as is usual for Inspector O, he is called back to the capital before he can complete his investigations when a body of a foreigner turns up in the city's main hotel; which of the regimes is setting up the Inspector yet again for a very large – if not permanent – tumble from grace and how all this finally relates to the death of his parents during the war and the connection his now deceased grandfather had to Chief Inspector Pak, perhaps Inspector O's one and only remaining friend.
The story is a flashback in fact with some very clever flash-forwards to Inspector O's de-briefing with a British spook. Both the body in the hotel, the curious case of the stolen cars, escape into China and the powerful but nonetheless criminal military figures all come together so that only in the last few pages do we learn the answers.
"
michael watson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Corpse In The Koryo |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, Foreign
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- squabbling with fellow investigator(s)/police boss
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- police
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
The antagonists are:
- communists
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Korea(s)
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
James Church Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 michael watson
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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