History Literature / TheSilenceOfBones

Released on April 21st, 2020, ''The Silence Of Bones'' is a YA historical mystery novel and the debut of author June Hur, and is set to be the first in a series of novels set throughout Korean History. The next two novels, ''The Forest Of Stolen Girls,'' and ''The Red Palace'' are set for release in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

* FamousLastWords: ''[[spoiler: "Tomorrow, Seol."]]''

-->-- '''Officer Kyŏn to Soel.'''

Orphaned and homesick, Sixteen-year-old Soel has been indentured to the police bureau and made into a [[https://archive.is/20130411050929/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2889370 damo]], a female officer/servant girl, where she is tasked with assisting the well-respected Inspector Han in an investigation involving a murdered noblewoman. As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets. Soel and Han form an unlikely friendship with one another, but this loyalty is put to the test when ''he'' becomes the main suspect for the murder, with Soel becoming the only one capable of discovering what happened on that fateful night. But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

* BittersweetEnding: The investigation is resolved with [[spoiler: Officer Shim Jaedeok being arrested for the murders of Lady O, Scholar Ahn, the shaman and his own mother, with Woorim being saved.]] However, [[spoiler: Inspector Han ends up dying from his wounds, with Lady Kang being executed for being Catholic. Soel is sent home to live with her sister but finds life in the country not what she had hoped for, and is asked to come back to the capital to join the Bureau once more.]]
* CatsAreMean: Early on, a tiger attacks the inspector's party on Mount Inwang while searching for Maid Soyi. Soel is forced to take Kyŏn's bow to save the Inspector's life but is nearly killed by the big cat.
* FamousLastWords: ''[[spoiler: "Tomorrow, Soel."]]''

* MysteriousPast: Inspector Han mostly keeps to himself, with only small details being revealed about him, such as once having a younger sister who died years before, and him being an orphan sent into exile like Soel. [[spoiler: She finds out later that the Inspector was in fact her older brother, who left their home to find and kill Zhou Wenmo and leaving his two sisters behind to a life of misery and servitude, while also leading Soel to believe he was dead. Understandably, she is incredibly upset when she finds out.]]
* TheNoseless: PlayedForDrama All the victims of the killer, including Lady O and later [[spoiler:Scholar Ahn]], have had their noses cut off with a knife, which puzzles the investigators. It's later revealed by the killer, [[spoiler:Officer Shim Daejeok]], that he cut their noses to remind himself they were heretics. He also [[spoiler:cuts off Woorim's nose, but she is saved by Soel.]]

!This novel has examples of the following tropes:

* TheNoseless: PlayedForDrama All the victims of the killer, including Lady O and later [[spoiler:Scholar Ahn]], have had their noses cut off with a knife, which puzzles the investigators. It's later revealed by the killer, [[spoiler:Officer Shim Daejeok]], that he cut their noses to remind himself they were heretics. He also [[spoiler:cuts off Woorim's nose, but she is saved by Soel.]]

* TheNoseless: PlayedForDrama All the victims of the killer, including Lady O and later [[spoiler:Scholar Ahn]], had their noses cut off with a knife, which puzzles the investigators. It's later revealed by the killer, [[spoiler:Officer Shim Daejeok]], that he cut their noses to remind himself they were heretics. He also [[spoiler:cuts off Woorim's nose, but she is saved by Soel.]]

* BittersweetEnding: The investigation is resolved with [[spoiler: Officer Shim being arrested for the murders of Lady O, Scholar Ahn, the shaman and his own mother, with Woorim being saved.]] However, [[spoiler: Inspector Han ends up dying from his wounds, with Lady Kang being executed for being Catholic. Soel is sent home to live with her sister but finds life in the country not what she had hoped for, and is asked to come back to the capital to join the Bureau once more.]]

* MysteriousPast: Inspector Han mostly keeps to himself, with only small details being revealed about him, such as once having a younger sister who died years before, and him being an orphan sent into exile like Soel. [[spoiler: She finds out later that the Inspector was in fact her older brother, who left their home to find and kill Zhou Wenmo and leaving his two sisters behind to a life of misery and servitude, while also leading Soel to believe he was dead. Understandably, she is incredibly upset when she finds out.]]

Released on April 21st, 2020, ''The Silence Of Bones'' is a YA mystery novel and the debut of author June Hur, and is set to be the first in a series of novels set throughout Korean History. The next two novels, ''The Forest Of Stolen Girls,'' and ''The Red Palace'' are set for release in 2021 and 2022 respectively.