Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Release Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN-10: 1612184367
Genre: Historical Fiction
After his grandfather dies, avid scholar and budding forensic investigator Cí Song begrudgingly gives up his studies to help his family. But when another tragedy strikes, he’s forced to run and also deemed a fugitive. Dishonored, he has no choice but to accept work as a lowly gravedigger, a position that allows him to sharpen his corpse-reading skills. Soon, he can deduce whether a person killed himself—or was murdered.
His prowess earns him notoriety, and Cí receives orders to unearth the perpetrator of a horrific series of mutilations and deaths at the Imperial Court. Cí’s gruesome investigation quickly grows complicated thanks to old loyalties and the presence of an alluring, enigmatic woman. But he remains driven by his passion for truth—especially once the killings threaten to take down the Emperor himself.
Inspired by Song Cí, considered to be the founding father of CSI-style forensic science, this harrowing novel set during the thirteenth-century Tsong Dynasty draws readers into a multilayered, ingenious plot as disturbing as it is fascinating.
My Thoughts:
Antonio Garrido has proven himself to be a very talented storyteller with magnificent attention to historical detail! Set against the backdrop of China's ancient Tsong Dynasty, The Corpse Reader is a fast-paced, action-packed historical thriller that follows the forensic investigations of Ci Song from outlying villages in to the Imperial Court itself. Garrido has provided a great deal of historical detail that captivated me from the very first page and held my attention until the very end. The character of Ci Song is very well-developed and, as a reader, I felt that I personally shared each tragedy and triumph along his journey. Garrdio offers an intriguing fictional account of the early developments of crime scene forensics that still appear even today. A very unique and original story that I would highly recommend to fans of historical fiction and crime thrillers alike. Four stars!
Looks like a great historical mystery! I'd love to read this one!
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