James Church is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of an American author of six

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

s featuring a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n policeman, "Inspector O". Church is identified on the back cover of his novels as "a former Western intelligence officer with decades of experience in Asia". He grew up in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

in the United States, and was over sixty years old in 2009. His name and identity are known in the community of North Korea watchers. His "Inspector O" novels have been well-received, being noted by Asia specialists for offering "an unusually nuanced and detailed portrait" of North Korean society. A

Korea Society Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

panel praised the first book in the series for its realism and its ability to convey "the suffocating atmosphere of a

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

state". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' compared the protagonist to

Arkady Renko Arkady Renko ( Russian: Аркадий Ренко) is a fictional detective who is the central character of nine novels by the American writer Martin Cruz Smith.O'Brien, Timothy L. ''The New York Times'' (August 6, 2007)Martin Cruz Smith's Arkad ...

, the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

chief inspector in

Martin Cruz Smith Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist. He is best known for his nine-novel series (to date) on Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was first introduced in 1981 with '' Gorky Park''. Early life and educat ...

's '' Gorky Park'', for providing "a vivid window into a mysterious country".

Works

The "Inspector O" series of books are published by Minotaur Books, an imprint of

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, in the United States. * * * * * *

References

External links

James Church's page
on

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

' website
Short stories by James Church
at ''

38 North ''38 North'' is a website devoted to analysis about North Korea. Its name refers to the 38th parallel north which passes through the Korean peninsula and from 1945 until the start of the Korean War in 1950 divided the peninsula into North and Sou ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Church, James Society of North Korea American thriller writers American spy fiction writers American crime fiction writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers

Works

See also

References

External links