The Man with the Baltic Stare
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group
A Pyongyang policeman is ordered to make a murder case go away in service of a secret plan to reunite the two Koreas in this “excellent” mystery series (Slate).
Autumn brings unwelcome news to Inspector O: He has been wrenched from retirement and ordered back to Pyongyang for a final assignment. The two Koreas, he learns, are now cooperating—very quietly—to maintain stability in the North. Stability requires that Inspector O lead an investigation into a crime of passion committed by the young man selected as the best possible leader of a transition government. O is instructed to make sure that the case goes away. Remnants of the old regime, foreign powers, rival gangs—all want a piece of the action, and all make it clear that if O values his life, he will not get in their way. O isn’t sure where his loyalties lie—and he doesn’t have much time to figure out whether it’s better to be noble or be dead . . .
Praise for The Man with the Baltic Stare and the Inspector O series
“Each Inspector O novel is a strange new trip through the looking glass.” —Booklist (starred review)
“The likeable Inspector O . . . knows that in North Korea mysteries are never solved, just absorbed into larger mysteries. . . . the scenic details and atmospherics suggest more than a passing acquaintance with the realities of life in North Korea.” —The Economist
“Church once again shows an extraordinary ability to bring that enigmatic country to life . . . Satisfied readers will hail Church as the equal of le Carré.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Like Marlowe and Spade before him, Inspector O navigates the shadows and, every now and then, finds truth in the half-light.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Like nothing else I’ve ever read. . . . Church creates an utterly convincing, internally consistent world of the absurd where orders mean the opposite of what they say and paperwork routinely gets routed to oblivion.” —The Boston Globe
Autumn brings unwelcome news to Inspector O: He has been wrenched from retirement and ordered back to Pyongyang for a final assignment. The two Koreas, he learns, are now cooperating—very quietly—to maintain stability in the North. Stability requires that Inspector O lead an investigation into a crime of passion committed by the young man selected as the best possible leader of a transition government. O is instructed to make sure that the case goes away. Remnants of the old regime, foreign powers, rival gangs—all want a piece of the action, and all make it clear that if O values his life, he will not get in their way. O isn’t sure where his loyalties lie—and he doesn’t have much time to figure out whether it’s better to be noble or be dead . . .
Praise for The Man with the Baltic Stare and the Inspector O series
“Each Inspector O novel is a strange new trip through the looking glass.” —Booklist (starred review)
“The likeable Inspector O . . . knows that in North Korea mysteries are never solved, just absorbed into larger mysteries. . . . the scenic details and atmospherics suggest more than a passing acquaintance with the realities of life in North Korea.” —The Economist
“Church once again shows an extraordinary ability to bring that enigmatic country to life . . . Satisfied readers will hail Church as the equal of le Carré.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Like Marlowe and Spade before him, Inspector O navigates the shadows and, every now and then, finds truth in the half-light.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Like nothing else I’ve ever read. . . . Church creates an utterly convincing, internally consistent world of the absurd where orders mean the opposite of what they say and paperwork routinely gets routed to oblivion.” —The Boston Globe
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