Antonio Garrido’s The Corpse Reader is a solid, if unremarkable, historical whodunit. The premise is nothing new – an expert pathologist makes incredible leaps of intuition to solve unsolvable crimes – but its setting is a little different. I’ve not read too many (any) novels set in thirteenth century China, and whilst the honour and form of Confucianism got a bit tedious every now and then, it makes an evocative setting for a murder mystery.
We follow Ci from the moment he finds a headless corpse in a field. His loathed younger brother takes the fall for the crime, with Ci being instrumental in providing evidence. After that, things only get worse. There really are very few people unluckier than Ci, and this continual struggle and misfortune did drag occasionally. The book is probably a hundred pages too long, and there is so much bad luck in here some of it could have been left on the author’s hard drive.
The workings and machinations of imperial China are well realised, and Ci often finds his hands tied by convention as he attempts to solve a number of crimes. Forever trying to escape his past (detailed in the book), Ci has to keep one eye behind him at all times. This creates a nice tension in the book. Ci is the good guy who might just end up finishing last.
The book is easy to read, though the translation is felt a little clunky. There were a few times where certain phrases jarred or didn’t quite make sense. There is very little that is remarkable about this book, but it’s central story is interesting, there are a number of diverting side plots and the characters are well rendered. Many of them are stereotypes, but Garrido adds enough colour to each to make them interesting. A diverting crime novel, ideal for those who want a change of scene.
This book was sent to me as part of the Amazon Vine Programme.
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