A Crane Among Wolves

It’s 1506 and 17-year-old Hwang Iseul’s older sister Suyeon is kidnapped by tyrannical, murderous King Yeonsan, who wears a “black patch tied over his right eye.” Despite the sisters’ contentious relationship, strained by their parents’ death by royal soldiers, formally sheltered Iseul travels to Hanyang near the capital to save her. Meanwhile in Gyeongbok Palace, Prince Daehyun, the king’s younger half brother, grapples with survivor’s guilt and must contend with the king’s paranoia of betrayal. An already fraught rule is made tenser by an assassin at large called the Nameless Flower. When the king offers a “grand reward” for the Nameless Flower’s capture, Iseul hopes that apprehending and turning in the killer will win her favor with the king and free her sister. During her investigation, Iseul crosses paths with Daehyun, who has been biding time for the opportunity to overthrow his brother. In this searing historical fiction, Hur (The Red Palace) skillfully alternates between Iseul’s first-person and Daehyun’s close third-person perspective to develop the duo’s growing attraction and presents the king’s abuse of power as well as numerous violent action sequences in a way that is gruesome but never gratuitous. A historical note concludes. Ages 13–up. Agent: Amy Bishop-Wycisk, Trellis Literary. (May)

Correction: The text of this review has been updated to reflect the book's genre.