Bamboo and Blood James Church St. Martin's $23.95 HC

Bamboo and Blood, the third novel of North Korean Inspector O opens in the bitter winter of 1997. Inspector O and his boss Pak are told to keep a close watch on Jeno. Jeno, like all 'visitors' to North Korea is presumed, correctly in this case, to be a spy. Jeno leaves and O is told to look into the death of a young woman. Create a file, throw in some basic information and we're done, Pak says and stay away from missiles. O ends up in New York and then Switzerland. His orders are as vague as ever. His integrity and the advice of his grandfather seem to be his only guide. Church has a roundabout way of having O solve his cases. Reading the Inspector O novels should be done when you're ready for pithy dialog, puzzles you have to work to solve along with the inspector and the time to savor Church's low keyed, spare style. But, by all means Bamboo and Blood should be read. It's a book that actually rewards the reader for the effort. Church is a rising star in the mystery field. Bamboo and Blood is further proof of the rise.

Dave Biemann