Jade Lady Burning [Paperback]

Martin Limón (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Almost twenty years after the end of the Korean War, the U.S. Military is still present throughout South Korea, and tensions run high. Koreans look for any opportunity to hate the soldiers who drink at their bars and carouse with their women.  When Pak Ok-Suk, a young Korean woman, is found brutally murdered in a torched apartment in the Itaewon red-light district of Seoul, it looks like it might be the work of her American soldier boyfriend.  Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, Military Police for the U.S. 8th Army, are assigned to the case, but they have nothing to go on other than a tenuous connection to an infamous prostitute.  As repressed resentments erupt around them, the pair sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to find evidence that will absolve their countryman.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A dense wallow in the sleazy, labyrinthine decadence of Vietnam War-era Seoul, South Korea, in the company of army investigators Ernie Bascom and George Sueno gives this debut mystery a unique atmosphere. Unfortunately Limon, himself a U.S. Army veteran who served in Korea for 10 years, moves his narrative forward at a strangely leisurely pace. The two barely moral sleuths trudge through an endless succession of dark bars, propositioning or being propositioned by the local business girls (the negotiations lead to deals on several occasions), all the while asking questions about the brutal murder of Miss Pak 0k-suk. Limon renders an unforgettable setting and a nasty killing into which the local authorities and military bigshots seem reluctant to pry, gives us a patsy in the shape of the victim's seared GI fianee and creates sympathy for Kimiko, an older local woman who is trying to survive in a young girl's market. But the plot lags, and Limon underutilizes Bascom, whose innocent-looking puss conceals a classic crime-fiction psychotic. A mixed-bag first effort, with an evocative setting and a sluggish pace.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

George and Ernie pal around as military investigators for the Eighth Army in Korea, making daily visits to Itaewon for bars, booze, and "business" women. When an American serviceman apparently murders a young Korean woman, they use their unusual contacts to find clues but stumble on evidence of a conspiracy aimed at grabbing millions of dollars in army contracts instead. Limon's clipped narrative style fits the military life he describes and the duo's methodology as well. A competent and promising first novel with a unique setting.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569470200
• ISBN-13: 978-1569470206
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

At seventeen, Martin Limon joined the army and served briefly as a reporter for the Pacific Stars & Stripes in Seoul, Korea. During five tours in Korea, he studied the language, traveled the country from the DMZ to the Yellow Sea, and was personally embroiled in the clash of cultures on this trip-wire edge of the American empire. His first novel, Jade Lady Burning, was published by Soho Press in 1992 and was selected as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. The series features 8th Army detectives George Sueno, from East L.A., and Ernie Bascom, a native of the suburbs of Detroit.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe Publisher's Weekly.....this is far better than they indicate, July 23, 2005

By 

Colin P. Lindsey (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jade Lady Burning (Paperback)

This is a simply fantastic novel!! Noir, dark and darkly humorous, gritty, seedy, pulsing with human vice and need, and chock-full of knuckle-dusting action, gun fire, and labyrinthine mystery. The story line revolves about two men, military detectives, investigating the steaming underbelly of the local black market Korean/American military economy and the concurrent trade in prostitution, despite the endearing fact that they themselves are active and daily participants in the party. The characterization in Jade Lady Burning is superb, authenticity in setting and detail perfect, the action is exciting, the characters memorable, the story and plot excellent.

To this day I find it mind-boggling that this book and author have been so completely overlooked by both the publishing mainstream and the general readership. There are few delights more enjoyable that stumbling upon a book and author you have never heard of that is so wonderful, enjoyable, and captivating that it catapaults straight to your all-time favorite lists. Finding and reading this book was a revelatory experience like waking in July to Christmas morning, or finding an overlooked bottle of stupendous, world-class wine and buying the entire stock of six cases for $12 a bottle (Yamhill Valley 96 Pinot in case anyone is interested.) Yet books like this should be shared and savored by all.

Despite the puzzling lack of popular acclaim, this book is easily one of my favorite reads. I found it in the public library seven or eight years ago, devoured it, and then went on to read his next two as quickly as possible. What a thrill ride! Since then I have been disappointed that the author, Martin Limon, has not published any other novels....so imagine my surprise and delight when I see on Amazon today that he has a new one arriving in a month. I just pre-ordered mine. With the advent of his new novel perhaps Mr. Limon will win the attention and readership he deserves. I hope so, and to that end, I share with my fellow readers why this book is so darn good and why, if his upcoming book is in the same vein, that it deserves to be on the bestseller lists.

In Jade Lady Burning Mr. Limon introduces us to his protagonists, Ernie Bascom and George Sueno, military investigators stationed in Korea in the seventies. I am a sucker for complex characters that are vividly brought to life, who struggle through thorny and complicated moral situations, and who grow throughout the novel as their basic humanity is challenged by the assaults life throws at them. Mr. Limon delivers in spades with these two likeable rogues in the characterization department. Even more impressive is his command of setting and atmosphere. His depictation of Korea, a byzantine and complicated place with differing social mores, expectations, values, and outlooks, is spot on and he captures perfectly the soupy, complicated moral morass than can come about when two cultures meet and try to function side-by-side.....particularly when one of the cultures is represented by an occupying military force, with it's own needs, vices, social structures, and attitudes.

The Publishers Weekly review dings this book for a "strangely, leisurely pace"; I never criticize other reviews because I know how hard they are to write, but I believe this remark completely undermines this novel and is representative itself of those differing cultural outlooks I referenced above. This book is set in Asia, and in Korea in particular. Life moves at a more languid pace there than in America and matters of custom are sometimes more important than matters of truth, which Ernie and George themselves so often discover in the course of their investigation. The fact that the author could make the novel move at a Korean pace was a brilliant bit of writing that makes the setting absolutely believable. I actually feel like I am back in Korea as I read his novels; his spare yet hauntingly evocative writing is that good. Despite the ding, my belief is the Korean characters should act like Koreans, and more over, Ernie and George should act like what they are, two soldiers stationed in Asia, with access to a Disneyland of earthly delights but yet with some nominal duty to police it so that while the army can blow off steam, nothing gets out of control. Mr. Limon does exactly that and it is the friction and differences between the cultures that drive this novel so convincingly and make it so enjoyable. Order this book folks and treat yourself to a rare read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story full of culture and suspense, October 12, 2000

By 

C. Joan Villanueva "katxgrt" (Jackson, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jade Lady Burning (Paperback)

This is one of the more original mysteries I have read. As a foreigner who has lived in Korea for three years, I still learned a thing or two from the author reading this book and enjoyed hearing about the dark side of Korea. Although presently things have really changed since the timing of the book, I still walked around Itaewon afterwards and spotted some of the places Limon had mentioned. You also end up having a love-hate relationship with the main character, he obviously feels bad for the prostitutes he comes in contact with and seems to care for their welfare, but yet doesn't mind going into a whorehouse for a quick screw and every woman he comes into contact with, whether a working girl or not, is quickly rated on her appearence. The main character also seems to carry around a lot of the stereotypical attitudes military men here seem to have, but yet he also has learned to immerse himself in the culture and language and seems to have great respect for Korea. I will look forward to reading the next two books by this author, and recommend this to anyone who likes suspense and intrigue mixed in with an exotic background.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Military Procedural, February 16, 2000

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jade Lady Burning (Paperback)

Set in what looks to be 1970s-era Seoul, Limon's debut is a highly enjoyable procedural featuring two well-drawn US army CID officers. Normally confined to busting up black market operations, the two must battle army bureaucracy while trying to solve the murder of one of the hundreds of prostitutes who live off US GIs. The book is excellent at exploring the relationship between the army and the local service economy that it supports, and Limon's service in Korea brings raw authenticity to every page. Limon's use of both Korean and US army culture in service of the plot makes this well worth reading.