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A review by amethystarchild
The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은
5.0
The Silence of Bones by June Hur is a mystery story set in 1800’s era Korea. Finally a Sageuk YA book! Our heroine is Seol a “damo”, a female servant indentured to the police bureau of the capital. Her job is to do the chores around the bureau, interview female suspects, and be the eyes, ears, and hands of the investigation. Seol has great respect for her superior, Inspector Han, and when she saves his life by shooting a tiger she forms a bond of friendship with him that is soon tested. A young woman is found murdered and the inspector’s alibi that night is questionable. The government faction in power has outlawed Christianity and multiple Catholics have been murdered, it turns out the murdered young woman was secretly one of them! Inspector Han has a personal hatred for Catholics, is he perhaps the killer? Always-curious-Seol begins to investigate but her search for the truth uncovers even more than she bargained for.
I always find exploring 1800’s era Korea interesting and interacting with some actual history like the persecution of the Catholics and actual figures from that movement was intriguing. I was pleased with the grittiness of the novel, and it never veered off into being too gratuitous, at least for my sensibilities. The investigation practices of the time were not humane and the novel didn’t shy away from the darker side of the time period. Seol was an excellent protagonist, it was a good call on the author’s part to make her very curious and clever so the reader could learn about her world in a natural way. I had a similar journey as Seol in regards to Inspector Han, I admired him, then I was mad at him, and then I was a little fearful of him. In the end, I found him a very mysterious and complicated character that I was glad I’d met. All the other supporting characters were interesting, housemaid Woorim was so sweet, and Lady Kang was cool. I read the book all in one day. I couldn’t put it down, haha. I hope June Hur will release more of her historical YA soon.
I always find exploring 1800’s era Korea interesting and interacting with some actual history like the persecution of the Catholics and actual figures from that movement was intriguing. I was pleased with the grittiness of the novel, and it never veered off into being too gratuitous, at least for my sensibilities. The investigation practices of the time were not humane and the novel didn’t shy away from the darker side of the time period. Seol was an excellent protagonist, it was a good call on the author’s part to make her very curious and clever so the reader could learn about her world in a natural way. I had a similar journey as Seol in regards to Inspector Han, I admired him, then I was mad at him, and then I was a little fearful of him. In the end, I found him a very mysterious and complicated character that I was glad I’d met. All the other supporting characters were interesting, housemaid Woorim was so sweet, and Lady Kang was cool. I read the book all in one day. I couldn’t put it down, haha. I hope June Hur will release more of her historical YA soon.