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Sergeants Sueño and Bascom #2
Slicky Boys
In this sequel to New York Times Notable Book Jade Lady Burning, a pair of American military cops come up against major gang culture in South Korea’s back alleys.
George Sueño and his partner Ernie Bascom thought they’d seen it all, but nothing could prepare them for the Slicky Boys. They’re everywhere. They can kill a man in a thousand ways you don’t even want to know about. And you’ll never even see them coming. They steal, they kill, they slip away. George and Ernie are about to discover that even the U.S. Military is no match for evil and that human sympathy can sometimes lead to a lonely grave.
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
27 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Martin Limón
46 books96 followersMartin Limon retired from U.S. military service after 20 years in the Army, including a total of ten years in Korea. He and his wife live in Seattle. He is the author of Jade Lady Burning, which was a New York Times Notable Book, Slicky Boys and Buddha's Money.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 10, 2011
Martin Limon has carved out a unique space for himself in the world of crime fiction. His series is set in the South Korea of the 1970s, and his two protagonists are U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division detectives, George Sueno and Ernie Bascomb. Sueno is the brains of the outfit; Bascomb supplies the brawn. Luckily they have the reputation of being the best team in the C.I.D., which allows them to get away with occasionally disobeying orders and ignoring the miles of military red tape as they pursue their investigations.
Like most young American soldiers, when off-duty Sueno and Bascomb party hard in Seoul's red light district. One night they are approached by a young woman in a bar who asks them to deliver a note to a British soldier who is part of a U.N. detachment. Sueno and Bascomb oblige and shortly thereafter, they are ordered to the scene of a murder. There they find knifed to death the British soldier to whom they had delivered the note.
The detectives realize immediately that they have been used to target the victim for his killer and thus they launch a very personal manhunt in an effort to track down the perpetrator. Sueno and Bascomb are essentially caught in a vise: If the Army discovers their role in the killing, they will be in deep trouble, no matter the fact that their intentions were innocent. If that weren't bad enough, the killer quickly targets the two detectives who are closing in on him.
As the case develops, more bodies are discovered, and Sueno and Bascomb find themselves entangled in the murky underground (literally) world of the Slicky Boys, a gang of thieves who have been ripping off the U.S. Army for more than twenty years.
As is always the case in these books, Limon presents a very intriguing view of South Korea in the 1970s and of the interaction between the Koreans and the Americans. Sueno and Bascom are well-drawn characters, and it's fun to tag along with them whether they are partying with bar girls, investigating a crime, or running for their lives.
If there's any problem with this series, it's that Limon sometimes gets carried away and supplies a conclusion that is simply over the top to what is otherwise a solid police procedural. He's guilty of that here and you wind up shaking your head at the last couple of chapters. But that's a relatively minor complaint, and Slicky Boys is an otherwise very entertaining ride
Like most young American soldiers, when off-duty Sueno and Bascomb party hard in Seoul's red light district. One night they are approached by a young woman in a bar who asks them to deliver a note to a British soldier who is part of a U.N. detachment. Sueno and Bascomb oblige and shortly thereafter, they are ordered to the scene of a murder. There they find knifed to death the British soldier to whom they had delivered the note.
The detectives realize immediately that they have been used to target the victim for his killer and thus they launch a very personal manhunt in an effort to track down the perpetrator. Sueno and Bascomb are essentially caught in a vise: If the Army discovers their role in the killing, they will be in deep trouble, no matter the fact that their intentions were innocent. If that weren't bad enough, the killer quickly targets the two detectives who are closing in on him.
As the case develops, more bodies are discovered, and Sueno and Bascomb find themselves entangled in the murky underground (literally) world of the Slicky Boys, a gang of thieves who have been ripping off the U.S. Army for more than twenty years.
As is always the case in these books, Limon presents a very intriguing view of South Korea in the 1970s and of the interaction between the Koreans and the Americans. Sueno and Bascom are well-drawn characters, and it's fun to tag along with them whether they are partying with bar girls, investigating a crime, or running for their lives.
If there's any problem with this series, it's that Limon sometimes gets carried away and supplies a conclusion that is simply over the top to what is otherwise a solid police procedural. He's guilty of that here and you wind up shaking your head at the last couple of chapters. But that's a relatively minor complaint, and Slicky Boys is an otherwise very entertaining ride
August 17, 2017
Wow! What a ride with Sgts. Sueno & Bascomb! I read the first in the series a while back & picked this one up used somewhere along the line. I wish that I had read it sooner. It was fast-paced & riveting with an interesting Korean setting. I am retired Navy, but the lingo rang true, even if the part aboard the aircraft carrier seemed a little far-fetched.
August 6, 2018
Slicky Boys by Martin Limón is the 2nd book in the Bascom and Sueno mystery series. The first book was Jade Lady Burning. George Sueno and his partner, Ernie Bascom are Cpls in the 8th Armies CID organization. They spend a lot of time in Seoul's red light district, partly investigating black marketing and other crimes, but also, they just like the place.
A young woman asks them to deliver a message to her boyfriend, a British soldier who is part of the UN militaries honor guard. This message unfortunately results in the soldier being murdered. Feeling a responsibility for this, Sueno and Bascom take on the investigation. The two play fast and loose sometimes with the law. They sometimes work with the local Korean National Police. They often rile their boss, the Top Sgt in the CID with their methods.
The story is told mainly from Sueno's perspective as he is the more thoughtful of the two. He has made the effort to learn the Korean language and he respects the locals. Ernie Bascom is his wild partner, loves drinking, sex, tearing things apart... that sort of thing. Sueno asks questions and when answers are not forth coming, Ernie steps in.
The murder leads to others. We are introduced to the Korean Slicky Boys, the organized underworld of Korea, dealing in the black market, stealing and selling US items. We meet Herbalist So, the king of the Slicky Boys, always seeming to be one step ahead of the crime fighting duo.
There is another wild card in this, a mysterious serial killer, who might be an American soldier. He is a constant threat throughout the story and we do get sneak peeks at him as the story develops.
At times the story is quite far-fetched, but at the same time, it's tense, exciting and portrays a fascinating cultural conflict; that of the South Koreans and their American allies. The story moves along at an excellent pace and draws you in totally. It's a well-crafted, page turner and well worth trying. I'm looking forward to finding a copy of the 3rd book, Buddha's Money. (4 stars)
A young woman asks them to deliver a message to her boyfriend, a British soldier who is part of the UN militaries honor guard. This message unfortunately results in the soldier being murdered. Feeling a responsibility for this, Sueno and Bascom take on the investigation. The two play fast and loose sometimes with the law. They sometimes work with the local Korean National Police. They often rile their boss, the Top Sgt in the CID with their methods.
The story is told mainly from Sueno's perspective as he is the more thoughtful of the two. He has made the effort to learn the Korean language and he respects the locals. Ernie Bascom is his wild partner, loves drinking, sex, tearing things apart... that sort of thing. Sueno asks questions and when answers are not forth coming, Ernie steps in.
The murder leads to others. We are introduced to the Korean Slicky Boys, the organized underworld of Korea, dealing in the black market, stealing and selling US items. We meet Herbalist So, the king of the Slicky Boys, always seeming to be one step ahead of the crime fighting duo.
There is another wild card in this, a mysterious serial killer, who might be an American soldier. He is a constant threat throughout the story and we do get sneak peeks at him as the story develops.
At times the story is quite far-fetched, but at the same time, it's tense, exciting and portrays a fascinating cultural conflict; that of the South Koreans and their American allies. The story moves along at an excellent pace and draws you in totally. It's a well-crafted, page turner and well worth trying. I'm looking forward to finding a copy of the 3rd book, Buddha's Money. (4 stars)
June 1, 2016
I liked "Jade Lady Burning" better. Its focus on the setting and characters worked better, I think, than this one, which gets a little overwhelmed by "heart stopping" action. Still, I liked learning about the Slicky Boy phenomenon in South Korea. Makes me wonder if Slicky Boys are still prevalent today, given the success of the South Korean economy.
September 25, 2016
“Slicky boys” was a term that had come into use during the Korean War, more than twenty years before. The entire peninsula, from the Yalu River on the border with China to the tip of the peninsula at the Port of Pusan, had been completely ravaged. Hardly a factor or a business enterprise of any sort still stood. Crops had been allowed to rot in the fields after terror-stricken families fled to evade the destruction by the armies that stormed back and forth across the land. People were desperate. People were starving.
In the midst of this desolation were a few military enclaves, surrounded by barbed wire and sandbags. The only place that had goods, that had clothing, that had shelter.
Some of the people would barter with the GI’s for the wealth they held. They’d trade anything, even their bodies, for something as insignificant as a bar of soap.
Others took more direct action. These were the slicky boys.
“Slick boys” is what the GI’s called them, but the Korean tongue is incapable of ending a syllable in a harsh consonant. They must add a vowel. So “slick” became “slicky.” And the GI’s picked it up. “Slicky boys” stuck.
Soho Crime is celebrating 25 years of publishing international crime fiction with a reading challenge. I’m reading my way through Martin Limón over the next two months. Well that’s what they want me to add but I certainly didn’t make it all the way through the full 12 book series in two months, but I’ve now read the first two in about 3 months.
Martin Limon’s Sergeant George Sueño and Ernie Bascom series began in 1992 with Jade Lady Burning and it was not for another 5 years before Slicky Boys came out in 1997. Slicky Boys seems to take place slightly later that Jade Lady Burning sometime during the mid-1970’s South Korea. Reading it 25 years after publication does not affect the enjoyment in reading this series. Also, I see no need to have read the first book to enjoy the second.
Sueño and Bascom work in the Military Police for the U.S. 8th Army and get involved in local issues that may involve the military. In Slicky Boys, they are asked to investigate the murder of British Corporal Cecil Whitcomb. Both are extra interested in this murder since they accepted a small fee for providing a note to Whitcomb from the enchanting Miss Wu shortly before his death.
Sueño and Bascom’s investigations lead them to the Slicky Boys who they suspect murdered Whitcomb since they find out Whitcomb himself was involved in selling stolen supplies. (The prior quotation gives some insight into the slicky boys.) That leads to some tension and ultimately Sueno asks for the help of the Slicky Boys to help solve the crime and take some pressure off of the Slicky Boys. At times, they get in trouble with their superiors but they ignore requests to stop their investigations and work with some questionable characters to find Whitcomb’s killer.
This book and the prior book are told from the first-person perspective of George Sueño, an interesting and somewhat more likable character than in the first book. His partner Ernie Bascom is more likable as well. (The amount of time drinking is similar but the time and interest in having sex with prostitutes is not as present in this book.)
As I mentioned in my review of Jade Lady Burning I had a choice of several Soho Crime series and picked this one since I wanted to read something in a different area of the world than I typically read. I knew very little about Korea and these books give me a chance to learn more about 1970s Korea. This second book has even more about Korea during this time although at times I felt too much was spent on learning about Korea and not about progressing the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Soho Crime for a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.
August 9, 2024
Slicky Boys takes place in 1975 where U.S. Army criminal investigation agents Corporal George Sueno and Sergeant Ernie Bascom enjoy their duty assignment in Seoul, South Korea. While doing their usual tour of the bars and whorehouses, a local hooker named Eun-hi tells them that a virtuous woman wants to meet them at the Kayagum Teahouse. Ernie persuades George to see what the woman wants. After meeting Miss Ku they are convinced to deliver a note to British soldier Cecil Whitcomb. Not long afterward Cecil is savagely hacked up in an alley and Miss Ku vanishes. Before long Sueno and Bascom step into more trouble when they stir up antagonisms trying to crush a cartel of sadistic black marketeers.
These boys are no angels, and their investigative techniques would probably get them arrested back home. The author has authentically captured the world of a US Army base town in South Korea in the 1970s, when 19 year-old GIs were the biggest spenders in the country. The prejudices, virtues and vices of both Americans and Koreans are explored.
If you are looking for a hard-boiled detective series set in an interesting part of the world, give this on a look. The first book in the series is Jade Lady Burning
These boys are no angels, and their investigative techniques would probably get them arrested back home. The author has authentically captured the world of a US Army base town in South Korea in the 1970s, when 19 year-old GIs were the biggest spenders in the country. The prejudices, virtues and vices of both Americans and Koreans are explored.
If you are looking for a hard-boiled detective series set in an interesting part of the world, give this on a look. The first book in the series is Jade Lady Burning
August 14, 2019
Review from Asia Thrills - https://asiathrills.com/slicky-boys-b...
It was with “Slicky Boys” that I started to enjoy Martin Limón’s series of police procedurals, set amongst the US military in 1970s South Korea. Yes, I did enjoy the first book, “Jade Lady Burning,” but I liked this one, the second in the series, better.
The action starts quickly and doesn’t let up. Limón uses his own Korean military background to transport you right into the throbbing heart of the red-light district of Itaewon, “the greatest GI village in the world,” as he describes it.
His heroes are Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, military police for the Eighth United States Army. Sueño, clearly the brainier of the pair, has learned some Korean and is quite comfortable in this exotic land. His action-oriented partner, meanwhile, loves both fighting and the attractions of Itaewon.
The Slicky Boys are a gang who have been ripping off the US military in Korea for many years, led by the devious crimelord Herbalist So. But right now the two military cops need his help to track down the killer of a British soldier. The crime boss sends them on a snaking trail through the city’s dens of sin, interrupted along the way by punch-ups and several brutal murders. It is an exciting ride that I enjoyed immensely.
It was with “Slicky Boys” that I started to enjoy Martin Limón’s series of police procedurals, set amongst the US military in 1970s South Korea. Yes, I did enjoy the first book, “Jade Lady Burning,” but I liked this one, the second in the series, better.
The action starts quickly and doesn’t let up. Limón uses his own Korean military background to transport you right into the throbbing heart of the red-light district of Itaewon, “the greatest GI village in the world,” as he describes it.
His heroes are Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, military police for the Eighth United States Army. Sueño, clearly the brainier of the pair, has learned some Korean and is quite comfortable in this exotic land. His action-oriented partner, meanwhile, loves both fighting and the attractions of Itaewon.
The Slicky Boys are a gang who have been ripping off the US military in Korea for many years, led by the devious crimelord Herbalist So. But right now the two military cops need his help to track down the killer of a British soldier. The crime boss sends them on a snaking trail through the city’s dens of sin, interrupted along the way by punch-ups and several brutal murders. It is an exciting ride that I enjoyed immensely.
April 12, 2019
Martin Limon's Sueno and Bascom books are all pretty solid. I started in the middle of the series and read them not in order. I like these books because they're a pretty good character study and I love the depiction of 1970's South Korea. Having said that, none of these books really stand out. They're all pretty solid police procedurals except that the police are US 8th Army CID officers. The whole series reads like a TV series binge. I finish one and go on to the next.
This is the second in the series. Slicky boys are thieves that steal from the US Army in S. Korea. They do it to survive and make a living. I enjoyed it, now on to the next book...
This is the second in the series. Slicky boys are thieves that steal from the US Army in S. Korea. They do it to survive and make a living. I enjoyed it, now on to the next book...
July 15, 2022
This was a good follow up to his first book "Jade Lady Burning". The same 2 American GI detectives must solve another murder through their own special ways. This book also shows how the US military at that time worked in Korea. Black marketing is just a way of life and most GI"s were just in it for the money. This was a real page turner and I finished it in 2 days. The only part that bothered me was the Puppy killing. I felt it wasn't necessary and didn't add to the plot. Otherwise, I liked it a lot and can't wait to start reading his 3rd book.
April 25, 2019
I think this book can be appreciated more today than when it was issued, given the current interest in the Korean Penninsula. Not only a fine mystery, but one filled with historical and cultural bits of information that only show up when appropriate and never overwhelm the story. The Korean people are always treated respectfully, even when they are the "bad" guys. Probably a 4.5, because this is starting out to be an excellent series.
December 7, 2022
This is an excellent, fast paced novel about Army CID agents solving a crime in Korea involving a dead British honor guard, North Korean spies, American traitors, and the South Korean underworld. I picked it up after reading a review by another Goodreads member. I was not disappointed. I look forward to the rest of the series.
If you are looking for an exotic, hard-boiled detective series, give this on a shot.
If you are looking for an exotic, hard-boiled detective series, give this on a shot.
May 18, 2020
This is my second book in the series and while I enjoy learning about life in South Korea after the Korean war, I've decided these books might be a little too violent for me. Everything was going fine until there was a puppy killing. Why that bothered me more than killing a person, I haven't quite figured out - but I'm going to move on to something else for awhile.
February 17, 2018
Good book and better than #1 I thought. Interesting plat and characters. Sueno is pretty interesting guy. Bascom is caricature. Look into culture and geography I am not familiar with and assume it's reasonably true.
November 6, 2018
Sueno and Bascom are one of the most memorable sleuths in a mystery series. The series is so original, intense, and the characters so real and disturbing. Absolutely have become a great fan.
On to the next one.
On to the next one.
May 21, 2022
If you are a fan of Wambaugh you will like this book, it's police work in the military. I think some of the story is a little too unbelievable. As with most of Limon's books it helps if you have been in the military to understand the mentality of the heroes. Overall a good read. Recommended.
June 12, 2022
3.5 stars. A straight (military) police procedural. Sueño and (especially) Bascom are not always likable characters but they also daring, brave, loyal and tremendously dogged investigators in the chaos that is 1970’s Seoul, Korea.
July 5, 2025
Improving
This book is much better than his first. Lots of places in the first where the reader was left either to retrace things to get the story straight or just to read on and hope it worked out. This one flowed much better. Enough that I'm ready to read the third.
This book is much better than his first. Lots of places in the first where the reader was left either to retrace things to get the story straight or just to read on and hope it worked out. This one flowed much better. Enough that I'm ready to read the third.
July 26, 2017
Probably 3.5 stars. Will read the next book. A little looser than the 1st book. Plot and settings seem to meander all over South Korea. The settings are brilliant. The story is a little too much.
January 2, 2020
Very enjoyable. Gave me a view of Army life that I have not seen elsewhere. Good twist that I was not able to predict. I will continue on to the rest of the series.
June 3, 2021
Bascom and Sueno match wits and combat skills with an AWOL Navy Seal.
January 18, 2022
Not my usual genre (Murder mystery, yes; military fiction, no) - but I am hooked. My son loves this series, so at first I read it for him. But now I love Sueno! Will definitely continue the series.
April 23, 2024
The plot twists are good, but a little too violent for me.
September 23, 2021
I spent a year in Korea during the early 70's courtesy of US Army. Martin Limón does a good job capturing what Seoul and Itaewon were like at that time.
September 24, 2016
Sueno & Bascom #2: “Slicky Boys” by Martin Limon. Army CID agents, Sgt. George Sueno and Sgt. Ernie Bascom work out of 8th Army Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. In this second case, Sueno is now a corporal. Maybe he lost a stripe after the last case, but Bascom is still a sergeant. Still, it’s Sueno who leads the investigation. Bascom is merely a sounding board, and sometimes not even that. He really adds nothing to the cases. Plus, they are back together and back in Seoul, after separated and shipped to the DMZ when the last case was over. This time they are rooked into carrying a message to Cicil Whitcomb of the British Honor Guard for Miss Ku. When Whitcomb turns up murdered it throws suspicion on the CID boys, and they are hell-bent to solve the case. Even to the point of disobeying military orders and disobeying the Korean National Police. It is a good mystery, with lots of twists, but I just can’t accept these men as actual CID agents. I’ve known many from Korea to Europe, and the US in my twenty-year career as an Army military police NCO, but none acted like this pair. It’s almost like these men are civilian private detectives, doing what they want, when they want, and no one can stop them. The CID is better organized than this, and their agents work together, not against each other. Plus, they would have a superior Warrant Officer in charge of them, not the 1st Sergeant. Okay, with that said, if you like a good mystery, you will like this. Just don’t mistake these slouches as real CID. The “slicky boys” organization does play a small part in this yarn, but they’re not the real focus of the mystery. The killer is a rogue American naval officer (AWOL), a well-trained SEAL, acting on his own for the North Koreans. And the plot - to pass on top secret information on placement of atomic bombs in mountains between the south and north by the American Forces, to use in case North Korea again crosses the 38th into South Korea. I should say, unguarded nukes, at that. The locations are only known by the general command – unless the killer can get the info north. Can you imagine unguarded nukes between the north and south, and just how long that would remain secret? Please. America’s power is in its delivery system, not left unguarded where someone might – and could – stumble upon them! The author knows Korea; I’ll give him that. It is said that you must suspend your imagination to enjoy fiction. Perhaps, but I prefer some semblance of reality to any world I enter. Good mystery, good characterization (just not accurate), and will keep the reader turning the pages.
March 8, 2012
George Sueño and his partner Ernie Bascom are both grateful to the army. What for? For George it is because he has a real life, money coming in, and having a job to do. He and Ernie are CID investigators for the 8th United States Army in Seoul, Korea. They wear suits and did important work, something George never thought he would do growing up in East LA. Ernie's Chicago youth also left much to be desired.
After work these two friends and partners spend their free time in Itaewan a seedy part of town filled with bars and business women. On this occasion they do a favor for one of the girls they met and it results in the death of a British soldier. It turned out that he was a little shady and as the CID investigators they need to find his murder before they themselves are in hot water for perhaps leading him to his death.
Part of the investigation reveals connection to a wide spread systematic thievery of the American enclaves. After the devastation of the Korean war twenty years before people were desperate and and starving. In the middle of these wastelands were American military settlements surrounded by barbed wire, and these were the only places with food, clothing and shelter. The people would barter with the GI's for the wealth they held be it so small as a used bar of soap. Others were more aggressive using thievery. 'Slick boys' is what the GI's called them and it was softened to slicky boys by the Koreans. Many were exactly that, boys of 6 to 10 years old. They would slip through the wire and take anything that could fit in their pockets.
As Sueño's investigation proceeds he feels that he is becoming wrapped in the tentacles of a giant squid. There are more brutal murders and the partners find far reaching fingers in the pie such as the North Koreans, the Korean Police, the Korean and the US Navy. The case is dragging them down to the deeps of evil. On the surface at least part of the problem is the lose of military secrets.
Martin Limon takes us to a Korea that is fascinating, exciting and very complex. He uses a bit of the history of the people he writes about to make us appreciate a very different oriental culture that has suffered for for the last centuries.
After work these two friends and partners spend their free time in Itaewan a seedy part of town filled with bars and business women. On this occasion they do a favor for one of the girls they met and it results in the death of a British soldier. It turned out that he was a little shady and as the CID investigators they need to find his murder before they themselves are in hot water for perhaps leading him to his death.
Part of the investigation reveals connection to a wide spread systematic thievery of the American enclaves. After the devastation of the Korean war twenty years before people were desperate and and starving. In the middle of these wastelands were American military settlements surrounded by barbed wire, and these were the only places with food, clothing and shelter. The people would barter with the GI's for the wealth they held be it so small as a used bar of soap. Others were more aggressive using thievery. 'Slick boys' is what the GI's called them and it was softened to slicky boys by the Koreans. Many were exactly that, boys of 6 to 10 years old. They would slip through the wire and take anything that could fit in their pockets.
As Sueño's investigation proceeds he feels that he is becoming wrapped in the tentacles of a giant squid. There are more brutal murders and the partners find far reaching fingers in the pie such as the North Koreans, the Korean Police, the Korean and the US Navy. The case is dragging them down to the deeps of evil. On the surface at least part of the problem is the lose of military secrets.
Martin Limon takes us to a Korea that is fascinating, exciting and very complex. He uses a bit of the history of the people he writes about to make us appreciate a very different oriental culture that has suffered for for the last centuries.
October 8, 2016
Slicky Boys is the second book in the Sueno and Bascom US military police series set in South Korea in the 1970s. In this outing they tangle with the Slicky Boys, a secret, highly organized and ruthless gang that steals about four percent of the value of US Army goods and equipment in the country (enough to be highly profitable, but not arouse too much suspicion given the rampant black market economy). Sueno and Bascom believe that they are responsible for the death of a young, enterprising Englishman who also has light fingers. However, things are not quite as they seem and dealing with the Slicky Boys is a dangerous venture. Whilst the context and setup are interesting the book has a number of shortcomings, the main one being that the plot is barely believable. By any reasonable expectation, given their actions and encounters, Sueno and Bascom should have been dead by the mid-point and there are too many elements that made little sense beyond plot devices to add twists and action. The prose is workman-like and often flat. And while it is interesting to have two flawed lead characters, Sueno and Bascom are hardly likeable and Bascom, in particular, is fairly loathsome with his violent intimidation of witnesses and misogyny. Such a portrayal of some American MPs might be reasonably accurate but it gets wearing after a while and the only thing keeping the reader rooting for them is the baddies are even worse. Overall, then, an action-packed story, but weakly plotted.
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May 18, 2015Better read than the first in the series
Although didn't really enjoy Jade Lady Burning, I gave this series another chance due to the strong sense of time and place. As an American, I feel as though the Korean War is a blank in my history even though my grandfather served in it. These books while murder mysteries and fiction at least help me understand a bit more of how the aftermath shaped Korean-American relationships. I really enjoyed this story on several levels. The mystery itself is much deeper and more sinister than the first. I also feel a deeper connection to Sueno and Bascom as people not just crazy GI drunkards who are out for sex all the time. Shipton is a fittingly bad dude, who I wish we had heard more about before the end. Maybe would've been better if you get glimpses of how the monster is created throughout the story. Anyway, good story with a fast paced action filled ending. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Although didn't really enjoy Jade Lady Burning, I gave this series another chance due to the strong sense of time and place. As an American, I feel as though the Korean War is a blank in my history even though my grandfather served in it. These books while murder mysteries and fiction at least help me understand a bit more of how the aftermath shaped Korean-American relationships. I really enjoyed this story on several levels. The mystery itself is much deeper and more sinister than the first. I also feel a deeper connection to Sueno and Bascom as people not just crazy GI drunkards who are out for sex all the time. Shipton is a fittingly bad dude, who I wish we had heard more about before the end. Maybe would've been better if you get glimpses of how the monster is created throughout the story. Anyway, good story with a fast paced action filled ending. Looking forward to the next in the series.
November 6, 2016
I think I going my new favorite author, and since this was a random find of an ARC I'll be buying the published copy.
Martín Limón take you to the Korea with reminders of the Korean War still floating around. The two main characters Sgt. Sueño and Sgt. Bascom are on the search for a murder that turns out to be so much more. This story involves the multiple branches of the US Armed Forces, as well the Korean and British armed forces. Slicky Boys, while written with the raw language of what one would expect from an NCO and long time detective, it's never raunchy.
This book will grab at your emotions, it'll be hard to put down, and in the end your left satisfied while wanting more.
Martín Limón take you to the Korea with reminders of the Korean War still floating around. The two main characters Sgt. Sueño and Sgt. Bascom are on the search for a murder that turns out to be so much more. This story involves the multiple branches of the US Armed Forces, as well the Korean and British armed forces. Slicky Boys, while written with the raw language of what one would expect from an NCO and long time detective, it's never raunchy.
This book will grab at your emotions, it'll be hard to put down, and in the end your left satisfied while wanting more.
January 3, 2010
As usual the dynamic duo of Sueno and Bascom during a cold Korean winter disobey orders, ruffle the brass, consume mass quantities of alcohol, and meet some beautiful women all while solving a case with as many layers as an onion. This one is marked by gore, revenge, and gets very personal for the two investigators. It's fast paced and the plot although fanciful at times is nevertheless riveting. I already have the next in the series on my desk.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews