...the 12th title in an enduring and freshly relevant series by Martin Limón — takes us to South Korea in the early 1970s, where Sgts. George Sueño and Ernie Bascom of the 8th U.S. Army are helping enforce the law among American troops stationed in the Land of the Morning Calm ... Sueño and Bascom, of the Criminal Investigation Division, are tasked with locating three American GIs who have gone missing. They make for a disparate duo ... Mr. Limón, himself a former U.S. Army man who served 10 years in Korea, writes with knowledge of the travails and rewards of military life, and his heroes are savvy enough to know how best to avoid the former in pursuit of the latter.
When three American GIs stationed in South Korea during the 1970s go missing, Army Criminal Investigation Division Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom hear rumors that their disappearances are connected to the local legend of the gumiho, a nine-tailed fox that transforms into a beautiful woman to seduce men and eat their livers afterward ... Martin Limón served ten years in the US Army in South Korea, and his Sueño and Bascom Mystery series reflects a solid understanding of the country, the period, and the difficulties faced by American forces posted in this region during a very complex decade in international relations ... The narrator charges into each scene without unnecessary delay, focusing on the next bit of action to be enjoyed with only enough explanatory or descriptive text to ensure the reader understands Sueño’s thought processes beforehand ...a fast-paced, enjoyable story that is fun and easy to read.
Three American GIs have gone missing in different South Korean cities ...link the disappearances to a woman locally rumored to be a gumiho, a legendary 1000-year-old nine-tailed fox disguised as a woman ... Meanwhile, George and Ernie are caught in a power struggle between two high-ranking women in the 8th Army ...George realizes he will have to risk his life to discover the whereabouts of his fellow countrymen.
The missing men were all reliable, hadn’t shown any signs of stress, and didn’t have access to classified information that would have made them appealing targets for North Korean intelligence ...Sueño and Bascom run into bureaucratic obstacles and also find themselves diverted from pursuing clues to dealing with an unauthorized refrigerator delivery—an absurdity that will remind readers of the TV series M.A.S.H. ... Clever plotting and superior characterizations lift this suspenseful, atmospheric installment.
