First time in Russian—an international bestseller by a master of Spanish historical fiction. This time, Antonio Garrido, renowned for the depth and meticulousness of his research, turned his attention to medieval China, where in the 13th century lived the famous Song Ci—founder of forensic science as we know it. “Reading by the Bodies” received the International Zaragoza Prize for Best Historical Novel.
After his grandfather’s death, young Song Ci—an promising student at the capital’s university and assistant to the respected judge Fan— is forced to return with his father, a court official, from the capital to their native village. But a chain of tragic accidents robs him of his home and drives him back to the big city. There, the young man is forced to work as an assistant to a charlatan fortune-teller—yet soon rumors about his astonishing ability to “read by the bodies” reach the emperor himself. The Son of Heaven assigns the young man to investigate a series of mysterious murders—an investigation whose outcome will determine not only Song Ci’s life and those dear to him, but also the fragile balance of the Middle Kingdom…