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The Red Palace by June Hur
Genre : YA Historical Fiction
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.
The Red Palace is a historical mystery set in 1758 Korea(Joseon
dynasty) and follows the story of Hyeon, a palace nurse who is
embroiled in a murder investigation after her mentor becomes the prime
suspect in a case where four women were murdered. As the daughter of a
concubine, she has worked hard to overcome her station in life and has
been working as a palace nurse. But, everything changes one night when
she and her friend are called into the Crown Prince's quarters to tend
to his illness and at the same time a massacre occurs outside the
palace. Hyeon's mentor - Nurse Jeongsu is arrested as a prime suspect
and as Hyeon tries to clear her mentor's name, she's drawn into the
investigation and partners up with Eonjin, a police inspector who has
his own reasons for pursuing this case.
I loved Hyeon's tenacity and level-headedness in this one! She's
pretty smart and knows how to work with what she's got but she also
has a lot of complicated feelings about her position in a misogynistic
and classist society. Her relationship with her parents was
complicated too but she never loses herself in self-pity nor does she
forget her convictions while yearning for her father's approval. The
plot along with the setting was very atmospheric - kinda reminded me
of a historical kdrama! The central mystery was also interesting and I
loved meeting the different characters. There was a mild slow burn
romance between Hyeon and Eonjin but personally, I wasn't really
feeling the chemistry between them so I could have done without that
😂 But, I enjoyed everything else about this book and I'd definitely
recommend it if you're looking for an intriguing YA historical mystery
set in Korea!❣️✨
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
June Hur is an Edgar Award-winning author of bestselling YA historical novels, including The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, and The Red Palace. Her books are often described as "Historical K-dramas in book form." Born in Incheon, South Korea, June spent her formative years in the US and Canada, with a brief return to Korea during high school. She pursued a double-major in History and Literature at the University of Toronto and also worked for the Toronto Public Library from 2011 to 2019.
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