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.
June Hur, critically acclaimed author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, returns with The Red Palace—a third evocative, atmospheric historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco.
This was one of my anticipated reads back in January and I finally got around to it. And boy am I glad I did! I was expecting a general historical fiction story, not realizing it was doubling up as a mystery novel. Needless to say, that is an instant win in my book, and I certainly enjoyed this one.
The Red Palace takes place in eighteenth-century Korea. Our protagonist, Hyeon, a lowly bastard daughter of a noble, who has worked her way to enter the palace as a nurse. When one day she is forcibly put into the middle of court drama and becomes entangled in an investigation, how will she leverage her position of (non-)power? Or will she be silenced for her crimes should the King find out?
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Down the Rabbit Hole 