The former U.S. intelligence agent writing as James Church offers a unique perspective on North Korea in his standout second Inspector O mystery, following 2006's acclaimed A Corpse in the Koryo
. Series hero O, an inspector with the ministry of public security, is determined to maintain some moral and professional standards while toiling in an inefficient bureaucracy where competing intelligence services spend significant time spying on each other to detect the slightest trace of ideological impurity. His assignment this time is a classic no-win: his superior directs him to investigate a bank robbery, an unheard-of crime in Pyongyang, but no one is cooperating, suggesting that the truth is not something the government actually wants discovered. O is further taxed when a visiting British dignitary's arrival apparently triggers an assassination plot that could have ramifications for the current regime. With wit and efficiency, Church masterfully evokes the challenges of enforcing the law in an authoritarian society and weds the intriguing atmosphere to a fast-moving and engaging plot. (Nov.)
