Customer Reviews

G.I. Bones (Sueno & Bascom Mysteries, Book 5)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If the author wasn't assigned to CID in Korea, he was very close or he has remarkable research abilities. I was commanding a counterintelligence unit there during that period, worked closely with the CID, and I can attest to the realism of the CID's anti-blackmarketing activities and the the geography, language/terminology and people of Itaewon. It was a wild and wooly period in the Republic of Korea. The book is a pretty fair mystery too.

Jade Lady Burning, Martin Limon's first Sueno and Bascomb mystery, rightfully earned The New York Times' "Notable Book of the Year" accolade. It was a haunting story of two young military cops in 1970's Korea.

The characters were a terrific duo in the tradition of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin: a redneck Anglo who thinks with his fists and a sensitive Hispanic who has found an intellectual home in an Asian country and a physical home in the Army. The author's command of plot was evidence of his first hand experience of police procedure as a CID investigator in Korea himself. His grasp of the setting -his appreciation of the culture and geography of Korea - grew from his own deep love of the peninsula.

G.I. Bones is the latest Sueno and Bascomb mystery and the best of them. It involves the death of a saintly GI at the end of the Korean War, a gang of hoodlums who control Itaewon, the red light district outside of Eigth Army Headquarters which has always been Ground Zero for all of Limon's mysteries and a rebellious daughter of a high ranking officer.

As an introduction to the series, G.I. Bones is perfect. The conflicts between the Army and the locals it is there to protect, between North and South Korea, between cops and brass, between good guys and bad guys all stand out in sharp relief. For those who know the series already, G.I. Bones is a particular treat, showing the development of Mr. Limon as a writer and the growth of the characters themselves. A little of Sueno has rubbed off on Bascomb, and vice versa.

The result is a rich and deeply affecting glimpse of a different time and a different place with universal concerns.

Korean fortuneteller Aunti Mee insists The Wandering Ghost of Tech Sergeant Florencio R. Moretti will not leave her alone. The GI went missing two decades ago back in 1953. U.S. 8th Army Criminal Investigation Detachment investigators Sergeants George Sueno and Ernie Bascom are assigned to investigate what everyone in CID including them assumes is a corpse.

The two military cops enter the Itaewon red light sector of Seoul seeking clues that will lead to Moretti's remains so he can be properly buried back in the States. The pair also searches for a missing military teenage dependent of whom they assume is a runaway. Neither expected they would face the wrath of the Seven Dragons gang who own the district; both expected the wrath of superiors who want Moretti's bones to remain interred wherever they are.

This is a super historical military police procedure that brings to life 1970s Seoul and to a degree how Koreans and soldiers of that era looked back to the end of the Korean Conflict. The mysteries of the missing dependent and the murder of Moretti are excellent, but it is the historiographer's delight of time and place that make G.I. BONES and the series a winner.

Harriet Klausner

I'm not much of a fan of detective or mystery fiction, but I've read all of Limon's with great enjoyment and enthusiasm. In fact, I'm on Amazon to day to order his upcoming release. I was in Korea around the time he writes about, although unhappily in the 2nd Division area, and I can vouch for the superior factual accuracy of his settings both geographical and cultural. Every fact I knew about Korea and Korean culture that he discusses is done so accurately and, perhaps more tellingly, I've learned more about this fascinating country in reading Limon than I did by experience in 13 months there. Anyone who served in Korea in Seoul or north of there in the mid-70s does himself (or herself) a grave disservice by missing out on Limon's novels.

GI Bones, the most recent, is by far his best in terms of writing. It's possible to observe a progressive increase in the quality of all of his books, but this one shows the most marked improvement in his character and narrative skills. Although Door to Bitterness and Wandering Ghost were of most interest to me from a historical perspective (and their scathing descriptions of the Second Division, its leadership and its personnel), Limon does his best work in G.I. Bones in setting up his plot and the background and developing the story. Also, the narrator Sgt. Sueno continues his progress from a more or less neutral character in Jade Lady Burning to an ever-deeper and more likable individual here. I'm really very surprised that these excellent stories haven't been optioned for films and developed, because they are so much better than the standard dreck that Hollywood puts out by the bushel. Limon is a wonderful writer and the only complaint I have is that he started publishing later in life. Hopefully he'll have lots more output in coming years.

I found the majority of this book on par with the rest of the series, but the last chapter took the book down 1 star. Without providing spoilers, I will just say that the last chapter seemed like an apology written long after the rest of the book was completed. A character that was despised and painted in a negative light for the entirety of the novel is suddenly not such a bad guy and a close friend of Bascom and Sueno. It made no sense within the context of the story and was likely an addition required by the editor/publisher.

The rest of the story surrounding the crime and investigation was an enjoyable read, but that ending...

Seoul, South Korea, is one of the more exotic locales for a murder mystery, and the C.I.D operatives, Sgts. Sueno and Bascom, are two of the more different protagonists around. This is the sixth entry in the series, but the first this reader has undertaken.

The setting is not only Seoul, but Itaewon, the red-light district, ruled by the Seven Dragons, a mafia-like group born during the Korean Conflict and following the truce in 1953, where they ran all the night clubs, prostitution and other enticements for the 50,000 American troops stationed there. The heart of the plot is a simple one: Sueno and Bascom undertake to find the bones of a "sainted" soldier who played a key role in rebuilding the district after the war before he was murdered, presumably by the Seven Dragons.

All other side issues seem irrelevant, but take up space and time, as the dynamic duo wander around, from time to time attempting to accomplish their main purpose. It is a perfectly acceptable "police procedural," however it seems at times to drag on and on. That said, much of the writing and observations about military life are pungent, oft-times witty, and the novel is recommended.

This is the sixth book by Martin Limon that I have purchased and read. I love the characters, the story line, and the setting. As somebody who lived and remembers Korea and Itaewon from the '70s, the setting for this and his other books, and who still lives only a couple of miles from the "ville" now, I can thoroughly relate to the people, the location, the corruption, the incompetence, and the "Wild West" atmosphere that Limon so vividly portrays in this book. Besdies that, it is a great crime tale. Even if you have never ventured outside of your home state and view Asia as some strange unfathomable place, Limon's gift for describing characters, locations, and the mindset of Koreans and Americans back then will give you a feel for Korea that will quickly make you want to read other books by him. If so, go for it! You won't be disappointed.

Having spent several tours in Korea in the 60's & 70's, I enjoy Limon's books set in the 8th Army area; it's compounds, ville's, GI culture, etc.

This series follows Army CID (military detectives) partners in Korea in the 1970s. The first book, Slicky Boys, was until now the best of the series. All the books are pretty good.

The series books fit together loosely, some connection between them and the same setting/characters, but loosely enough that you can pick this one up first with no problems.

The viewpoint character is dragged into the matter of a murdered soldier from the 1950s by some local characters. Lots of twists and turns pop up. Along the way the partners are tasked with finding the daughter of a high ranking officer and covering up her activites.

I gave the book 5 stars because it was very well written. Vivid scenes. Great characters. Good plotting almost through the whole book.

Two issues. The author lets the viewpoint character get suckered and/or knocked out twice to drive the plot forward, where both times it is very dumb on the character's part and out of his usual pattern. The second issue is that the partners kind of flake out on finding the daughter, even when it is the top priority in their careers. They over back burnered the assignment.

This is my introduction to sargeants Sueno and Bascom and I will definitely follow up by reading the earlier volumes in the series. Notable is the Korean setting and references to the language. The main plot concerning the tracking of a long dead American soldier is neatly tied in with the story of a missing rebellious teenager, and we learn of Korean customs and spiritual beliefs along the way. The notion that the dead soldier is haunting a young Korean fortune teller is especially telling. I found this easy reading without familiarity of the preceding novels, so it's recommended for all.