With amazing timing this book is published just as Kim Jong Un makes his visit to South Korea. A fascinating book that provides stunning insight into the hidden forbidden country that is North Korea.
Brilliantly written this book is complex but the entwining stories keep you hooked
#StarOfThe#North#NetGalley

Before your begin this thriller, put everything on hold, and turn your phone off. Star Of The North is a novel that will hook you in, immersing you in the incredible story of three people, and it will not let you go until you have read the final page.

We meet Jenna Williams, a Korean/American and a lecturer in Foreign Affairs. A woman who has few friends, living with the trauma of her twin sister, Soo-min's disappearance from a South Korean Beach in 1998. Against her better judgement, but hopeful that she can find the twin sister that she believes is still alive, she is recruited by the CIA and is soon drawn into a deadly game of politics with the hierarchy of the North Korean regime. She is feisty, brave, clever, and unflinching in her determination to find her sister.

Cho is a high ranking  North Korean official, soon to be promoted and bringing him one step closer to the despotic ruler that is Kim Jon-Il. He has all the trappings of a man in favour, a loving wife and son and a lifestyle many North Korean's can only dream about. A trip to New York and an encounter with Jenna alters the course of his life forever. The consequences of his actions are truly shocking and John spares absolutely no details in his descriptions.

Finally we meet Mrs Moon and oh how I adored this character. Mrs Moon works the land until she decides to try her hand at selling her wonderful cooking at the the local train station. It brings her into contact with other traders, the local police, and a world of bribery, corruption and fear. She is the character that epitomises what it is to be a North Korean, it is a world of starvation, untold hardship and ultimately fear.

John's narrative is just superb. The images that he conjured up in my mind were ones that seemed almost unbelievable, yet I just knew that there were strong elements of truth in what he wrote. The horror of the prison camps and the constant fear that North Koreans must live in is written about in graphic detail, yet it is never sensationalist, always relevant and in keeping with the story.

The tension is at times unbearable and the pace unrelenting with very little time to draw breath before John plunged into the next segment of the story.

Just when you think the tension is at its peak, John took it further, and the latter parts of the novel were breathtaking, leaving me quite exhausted!

Star Of The North deserves to be a huge success, it has everything you would want in a thriller and more. The characters are wonderful and John's portrayal of a country closed to the west unflinching. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

A week after the unbelievable sight of the leaders of North and Korea coming to some sort of accord I read this book. As I watched this, I remarked that I never thought I would see the day and it reminded me of the day the Berlin Wall came down. So the book could not have been more timely as if afforded me an insight into life in North Korea.

The South Korean authorities declare the disappearance of a Korean American teenager and her boyfriend from a beach in South Korea to be accidental; ‘death by drowning’. Twenty two years later, her twin sister, Jenna is recruited into the CIA and due to her knowledge of the culture and language she is included as a delegate to a visit to North Korea. She hopes to be able to make enquiries into her sister’s disappearance. On this visit she meets with a highly placed North Korean official, Cho. Running parallel to this, is the story of Mrs Moon, one of the ‘people’ of North Korea.

What did I enjoy? Everything. The writing was superb; the characterisation solid and the plot and storyline, brilliant. What stands out the most? The descriptions of life in North Korea – the life of the ruling elite and the life of everyman: both strands of society living in fear from the Great Leader, and suffering from hunger and deprivation: a nation of nothing. Except perhaps of hope; hope that things will improve, that you will survive and for many, the belief that the Great Leader is doing the best for you – a kind of idolisation.

For me, this is a brilliant book. The plot was exciting, the background information informative, and fantastic writing.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

A well-written thriller and a frightening expose on what is really happening in North Korea

1998: Soo-min (Susie) – twin sister of Jee-min (Jenna) – disappears with her boyfriend from the beach of Baengyeong Island, South Korea – both presumed drowned. The family is devastated by the disappearance and it takes its toll over the ensuing years.

2010: Twelve years later, Dr Jenna Williams is still suffering the loss of her ‘mirage-image’ sister, but she has re-built her life somewhat and is now teaching as an assistant professor in the School of Foreign Service when she is approached by someone from the CIA. With Jenna’s knowledge of Korea and fluency in the language, the ‘Company’ want to use her expertise following the latest missile launch from North Korea.

Parallel to Jenna’s work for the CIA and the possibility that her sister might still be alive, D B John works in another storyline – that of Cho Sang-ho, a lieutenant colonel in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pyongyang. The skill with which the author winds the parallel stories and the perfectly-fitting back-stories are a pleasure to read. Less so, is the treatment of ordinary village folk by the regime.

With the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un just having taken place, and the impending meeting of the latter and President Trump, this is a book very worthwhile reading. The author is extremely knowledgeable concerning North Korea and has co-written ‘The Girl with Seven Names’, Hyeonseo Lee’s New York Times best-selling memoir about her escape from North Korea.

At the end of the book he gives details about North Korea’s ‘Abduction Program’ (admitted by Kim Jong-il at a meeting in 2002 with the Japanese PM), the ‘Seed-Bearing Program’, ‘Gangster Diplomats and Bureau 39’, attitude to Christians, the Gulags and Camp 22 and Human Experimentation. He also includes a glossary of Korean words used in the book – very helpful.

This is a book which has made a deep impression on me and I would urge you to read it too.

Sméagol

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to read

If i could give more stars i would! I have always been interested in books where North Korea is concerned, so didn't pass up the opportunity to read and review this book when the Publisher kindly sent me an advanced copy. One of the best thrillers that i have read in a while and couldn't turn the pages fast enough. There is nothing really that I can add to this review that hasn't been said already. I can highly recommend 'Star of the North' and shall be re-reading this book again in the near future. I very rarely re-read books!

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have freely given.

A timely and insightful blockbuster of a read. An intriguing spy thriller set in America and North Korea as newly recruited spy Jenna searches for the sister everyone assumed drowned in South Korea, but who in fact may well be alive and part of a dastardly plot by the Kim regime in North Korea. The thing I loved about this book is that in addition to a fast paced and thrilling story-line, we are given an insight into the most secretive regime in the world. The author has experienced time in both North and South Korea and there is an illuminating section at the back of the book that details little known facts that underpin features in the story. A roller coaster of a ride, this gripping read deserves to be the thriller of the summer.

This is a complex, intelligent and intricate thriller that is unusual in its setting of North Korea, a state determined to remain isolated about which little is known, other than it is a dictatorship. DB John gives us three separate storylines that give us valuable insights into the workings of the country. In 1998, American Jenna's twin sister, Soo-min and her boyfriend were taken in South Korea. Years later, Jenna still desperately wants to know what happened to her, and enters North Korea as a CIA recruit. In a mountainous penal farm, a woman finds an International Aid Balloon with a range of desirable and wanted products. Despite the dangers it brings to her life, she sets out to a market intending to benefit from her good fortune. The rising star of North Korean official, Colonel Cho is to be sent to New York, an opportunity that promises military promotion, only to find his life derailed by the past. This is a twisted and compelling nail biting thriller, so well plotted and packed with suspense and tension.. A brilliant read that gives us a tantalising and desperate picture of a little known North Korea and its strange behaviours such as the nefarious plans behind its numerous abductions of young people from South Korea. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

A Korean American teenager is kidnapped from a South Korean beach by North Korean operatives. Twenty two years later. Her twin sister, Jenna, is still searching for her., and ends up on the radar of of the CIA.

There are three threads to this storyline:- 1) Jenna's search for her twin sister who has been missing for over twenty years. 2) Mre Moon who lives and works on a penal farm. 3) The North Korean official Cho, who seems to have a charmed life (you will have to read the book to find out how the threads are finally joined up). This is a very well written insight into life in North Korea. I adored the character of Mrs Moon and the antics she gets up to. This is not usually my choice of book, but I loved it. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and the author D. B. John for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I was invited to read ‘Star of the North’ by the publisher, and have given an honest review in exchange*

For a leader of any dictatorship to be successful, I believe he must ensure that his people are isolated from any outside influences - which happens to describe the State of North Korea perfectly.

The storyline follows three threads, the first being American, Jenna, who's twin sister was abducted from a South Korean beach in 1998- years later she is still missing. Some believe that North Korea could have had a hand in this, as well as other abductions at the time. Jenna has never given up hope that she will discover what happened to her sister, and when she comes to the notice of CIA operatives and is recruited and sent into North Korea, she sees this as a chance to find out the truth.

The second thread follows Mrs Moon, and oh how I loved this lady's story. Mrs Moon lives and works on a penal farm high up in the mountains of North Korea. Whilst out working in the corn fields, she discovers an international aid balloon filled with goodies (warm woollen socks and Choco pies amongst them) and she decides to use these treasures to her advantage - something which (in North Korea) could lead to the death penalty.

The third thread follows high ranking North Korean official Cho, who (compared to the peasants of this State) appears to lead a charmed life, but events are about to take a very nasty turn, as the sins of the father are definitely visited upon the son!

For obvious reasons, I won't say how the three threads line up so seamlessly, but it makes for the most powerful, gripping, and soul searching read that will have you thanking your lucky stars that you don't live in North Korea!

This book has such impact, but the one paragraph that will most explain why it affected both my mental and emotional composure is this - "The famine deepened, and her foraging was not enough. On the day she saw children in the village picking through ox shit in search of undigested seeds to eat, something inside her changed permanently"

If you read just one book this year, make it this one! Quite simply - Epic!

If you're interested in North Korea I this book is for you as I'm convinced, although it's a work of fiction, that it is written against a background firmly based on fact. We have two identical twin sisters one of whom disappears in South Korea where she is undertaking a year's study. Fast forward several years and we find ourselves following the other sister's story. This is Jenny who lives and works in America. Jenny has never accepted her sister's death and when she is recruited by the CIA she gets the chance to pick up the trail of her sister which takes her to North Korea. What flows is a fast paced thriller but it is the brilliant description of what life was like for ordinary citizens in North Korea, under the brutal rule of Kim Jong iL, that really stays with you. With this subtle mixing of fact with fiction D.B.John has produced a really brilliant novel. I strongly encourage you to beg, buy or borrow a copy and get ready to be chilled, not only by the grimly dangerous search Jenny undertake,s but by the dreadful secrets that North Korea hides from the world.

Heartrending and tense.
With the current political climate between North & South Korea and the US, this makes very interesting reading. I’ve long been intrigued by North Korea and find it both fascinating and heart breaking that so many people can be brainwashed & isolated from what’s going on in the rest of the world. Although this is a work of fiction it is based around a lot of fact and makes for some [in parts] horrific reading. The author includes notes at the back of the book letting you know which parts are based on real situations and there’s lots of online information reiterating this. It makes you realise how fortunate we are to live in a [comparably] free world. This book really touched me and I became very involved with the three main characters. The end; although it wrapped everything up pretty well I really wanted to read more! You’ll see why. Highly recommended. My thanks to Harvill Secker & Netgalley for a preview copy in return for an honest review.

A thriller with an authentic sense of life in north Korea is timely and also shows clearly that the stakes are high ..the story of a young half Korean woman whose twin disappeared years ago near a submarine which sweetie her away .. or is she dead?! ..this.. is a moving suspenseful story, and has an aura of psychic truth that I found utterly compelling.. recruited by a canny CIA operative, Jenna tops then all to achieve her only goal .. finding and reclaiming her sister. I. could not put it down. We go to top echelons and peasant lives in the country which is a vast prison, entrapped. by complete control of mind and body .. we come to understand through fierce imagination and intelligence of this author how am entire. country can accommodate oppression at this level; this writer is new to me and we find here really what is a terrifying and gripping, informative read.

D. B. John has seen an opportunity, since there seem not to be a lot of thrillers set in North Korea, with a female protagonist, connected to American Espionage, not to mention elite spies trained to kill. The book has a number of familiar scenes, and summons up settings of secret labour camps from which there is no escape. (Except sometimes.) The secret camps seem to have been inspired by the Nazis, and there are certainly medics testing nerve agents—so publishing this book now has evident advantages.
However, John claims his observations of North Korea as a brief-sojourn tourist, which is not often the best way in to a surveillance state unless you’re Graham Greene. He has charming views about the elderly poor women traders in country markets, as well as about the police who watch them closely and collect their bribes. At a much higher level, cadres serve the Kims, and he offers brief-sojourn (in New York) visits by some of those cadres to set up trade possibilities. Actually, some of those ‘possibilities’ seem to be contributions to the U.S. opioid crisis, and some of the delegation are building fortunes for themselves by smuggling. There are a number of persecuted Christians along the way, for reasons never clarified.
So, I’d say this was an opportunity to seize some new space by a relatively new author. I’d also have to say that—at least in these early days--John doesn’t write very well, and readers will have to balance his collection of thriller stereotypes against the lumpiness of his prose. Just one example will do: one of those high cadres I mentioned is imprisoned, but manages to escape, at least for a short time. He drives himself to a bridge, climbs onto the barriers, and jumps, thinking as he falls to his death that for the first time, he understands everything.
It is worth mentioning that John’s territory is not his alone, and that the pseudonymous ‘James Church’ has written half a dozen police procedurals set in North Korea (which he knows from his own experience), with his protagonist, ‘Inspector O’. These books vary, and some of them are very odd (some would say weird), but they’re written by somebody who has experience of North Korea and who writes well.

Wow. What an absolutely fascinating book! I am not sure if I would have found the subject of North Korea so fascinating to have paid for this book, but having received a review copy I found myself absolutely engrossed. I finished reading it as Kim Jong-un arrived in South Korea which was fairly spooky! The plot was good, the writing was good, and the twists and turns made it one of those books which you just cannot put down. This was the best thriller I have read for quite a while, and I thoroughly recommend it.

How extraordinary that as I write this review, Kim Jong Un is heading south for a historic border summit with a view to peace. When I first started reading this book, I confess I knew little about Korea apart from the few brief news items recently. The novel starts in a languid mood with Jae-hoon and Soo-min enjoying time together on the beach. All of a sudden they go missing. Years later Jenna the girl's twin sister living in Washington is approached by the CIA to go undercover. She in denial about her missing sister drowning and now is her chance to discover what happened. I learnt such a lot from this book and Google, and a lot of it was shocking. It was a fantastic glimpse into the lifestyle in Korea. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this thrilling story.

I enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting read. I found it quite slow but in a good way. D.B. John writes in a lovely descriptive style which I liked.

There is so much more to this book than the blurb suggests, with another two storylines which the author skilfully weaves in. The main characters all have quite incredible life stories but my particular favourite was Mrs Moon. While reading it I had the feeling that a lot of it might be based on fact and I appreciate the author including a note at the end to separate the facts from the fiction. I know I will be thinking about this book for a while yet and probably any time North Korea is mentioned in the news. I could also see this working well as a movie.

A really interesting read. I was fascinated by every detail in this book. Everything has obviously been really well researched and thought about. The plot is incredible. I sat and read this book in one sitting as I was totally caught up in it. North Korea tries to be as secretive as possible. The brutality of the guards is well written. I felt physically sick when I was reading some of the torture methods used and the treatment of the people in Camp 22. This book is definitely worth reading. It is an insight into North Korea that will stay in my thoughts for a long time.

I really enjoy a great story that uses current events as its base, add in politics and espionage and all my needs can be catered for. Did D.B John succeed with this recipe, yes he did. North Korea and the USA are at the brink of war and the author uses this to explore what life is like under this regime whilst delivering a thrilling political novel.

Jenna Williams joins the CIA an hopes that she might uncover the truth of her twin sisters disappearance 12 years previously. Now during a high level meeting in New York she meets Cho a representative of the North Korean government sent to lead their diplomatic mission. As we progress through the story with each event the dots are being connected and the tension is rising on how this will resolve itself.

This is a very skillful piece of work drawing on all available knowledge of the workings of this terrifying regime. A thrilling and revealing adventure into North Korea.

Star of the North is not my typical story that I read but, if you don’t know much about what happens in North Korea, this is the book for you.
Jenna Williams is a Professor in Foreign affairs and also a Korean/American with her Twin Soo -min. But her twin disappeared in 1998 in South Korea and Jenna has always wondered what happened to her. Also the CIA have recruited her to go on a mission in North Korea.
Mrs Moon has been living on prison farm and tries to earn some money by cooking her favourite meals at the market to help the starving people. But the place is full of beggars, muggers and corruption.
Cho Is a high ranking official on the verge of promotion. Himself and his brother was adopted and he doesn’t know where he was originally from. The truth might hinder his promotion and they may think he is a traitor to his country.
This a great and shocking story of what goes on in North Korea. I thought it was very up to date, thoroughly researched. It actually amazed me what actually goes on there If you think that North Korea is only about nuclear war think again. This is about corruption, abduction, drugs, racism and the thought of women being abducted and used to bear children is shocking. The was very well written and an easy read with many twists and turns. Well done to the author.