The Red Palace - June Hur (Review)

Date of Reading: 11/02/2022

Author: June Hur

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Rating: 5/5

About the book: 

Joseon (Korea), 1758. There are few options available to illegitimate daughters in the capital city, but through hard work and study, eighteen-year-old Hyeon has earned a position as a palace nurse. All she wants is to keep her head down, do a good job, and perhaps finally win her estranged father's approval.

But Hyeon is suddenly thrust into the dark and dangerous world of court politics when someone murders four women in a single night, and the prime suspect is Hyeon's closest friend and mentor. Determined to prove her beloved teacher's innocence, Hyeon launches her own secret investigation.

In her hunt for the truth, she encounters Eojin, a young police inspector also searching for the killer. When evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, Hyeon and Eojin must work together to search the darkest corners of the palace to uncover the deadly secrets behind the bloodshed.

Review:

        Crime mysteries are not really my go-to genre, but this one grabbed my attention with its Korean setting. The story gives the feeling of walking straight into a K drama world and the historical elements just add to the sheen. Rest assured, my knowledge of Korean history is practically zero, but that is not a hurdle at all.

        Still, I was not without reservations. Can I really enjoy a historical mystery set in a time sans mobile phones and DNA tests? That too when the protagonist is no martial artist. Well, palace nurse Hyeon has proved that swords are not always necessary to protect oneself and our loved ones. The ending was unexpected (I was never really this bad in the guessing game, sigh!) and it left me reeling in the realisation that I am biased towards my own gender.

        The author hasn't skipped the romance part instead, it progresses and merges so beautifully with the main story that you are left enthralled. Hyeon and Eojin possess the wits of a different era and one may wonder whether both are transmigrated from the modern age. More than a mystery, the novel deftly gives us a glimpse of a bygone era that has its drawbacks along with its glory.

        One of the major victims of this era is definitely the crown prince. Prince Sado might not be a familiar figure to those of us who are strangers to Korean history, and I must confess to spending some hours digging up his story. As the author's note clearly states at the end, it is not easy to judge him and I am happy June Hur has chosen to portray him sympathetically.  

        It won't be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the best stories I have chanced upon at the beginning of this year. 2022 has much to look forward to!

Meet the author:

June Hur is the bestselling author of YA historical mysteries The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, and The Red Palace. In addition to being nominated twice for the prestigious Edgar Awards, she’s been featured on Forbes, NPR, and the CBC. Her fourth novel A Crane Among Wolves comes out in 2024. Born in South Korea and raised in Canada, she studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto. She currently lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.