Customer Reviews

Wandering Ghost

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People read mysteries for plot, setting or characters. You're usually lucky to find a writer who satisfies with two out of three of these elements, but Martin Limon is one of the few mystery writers who does well on all three. His police procedural plots reflect the thought processes of the solid investigator that he was when he was in the military and he captures the odd clash of cultures between the Republic of Korea and the U.S. Army of the 1970s. Sueno and Bascombe, his characters are a wonderful combination of brains and brawn. Both characters came from bad childhoods to find a home in the Army. Particularly affecting is Agent Sueno's continuing discovery of Korean culture.

That said, I agree with the two other critics. One suspects that Mr. Limon's agent bullies him into over the top scenes in order to sell his books to the movies (a roller coaster ride in a mine car in Buddha's Gold and, here, the destruction of a 30 foot statue of an MP by an armored vehicle). He is too fine a writer to have to rely on such grandstanding to produce solid entertainment. Also, his two characters have made the military a career and Mr. Limon clearly appreciates the finer aspects of military life, so he should acknowledge that along the way. True, the military, especially in the 1970s, had a rough time of it, but one of the attractions of his heroes is that they try to uphold the military virtues against a host of bad guys.

Still, no Limon is worth passing up. You always have plot, setting and character.

I stumbled upon this book at my local library. Now I'll have to read all of the series. What hooked me was the location of this novel. I served in The 2nd Inf. Div, 2nd Med. Batt. Camp Casey (Tongduchon)Korea from Nov.1972 to Dec of 1973 (13 months). I was 18 when I arrived and in my 19th year when I left. I forgot all about that place and never gave it a second thought over the decades until this book. Even though it is a crime novel I grinned pretty much the entire time I read it. It brought back a flood of bitter sweet memories: "The Ville" "TDC" "The Crack" and Dragons Teeth and Quanset huts and starched fatigues...it goes on and on. As Bob Hope sang "Thanks for the memories" Mr. Limon. You hit the nail on the head for that era and place I think. I never thought I'd see anything in print about 2ID c.1973. Wow.

Martin Limon has been credited with writing "the best military mysteries in print today" by best-selling author, Lee Child. With THE WANDERING GHOST, the 5th novel in the Sergeants Sueno & Bascom mystery series, he continues his exemplary track record with a thoroughly engaging mystery taking place within the American military camps located in Korea during the early/mid 1970's.

George Sueno and Ernie Bascom are Civilian Detectives (CID Unit) who are charged with investigating any criminal matters involving members of the U.S military that are stationed around Korea. In THE WANDERING GHOST, they are tasked with an assignment to locate Corporal Jill Matthewson - the only female MP to a base in the Korean DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) who has gone missing. During the start of their investigation of her Camp (the 2nd Infantry Unit), they find out that another MP, Marvin Druwood, had been found dead on the Camp's obstacle course --- the victim of an apparent suicide. The leaders of the Camp try to paint a picture of Druwood committing suicide due to being rejected by MP Matthewson. However, Sueno and Bascom do not follow this line of reasoning as they search Druwood's corpse to find residue of concrete lodged in his skull --- the obstacle course has no concrete.

A letter from a U.S. congressman, sent on behalf of Corporal Matthewson's mother in the U.S., is what prompts the investigation. Sueno and Bascom feel that the leaders of her Camp --- specifically Colonel Alcott and Desk Sergeant Bufford --- are all to ready to dismiss the Matthewson case as a mere AWOL and wrap things up quick and tidy. As the investigation continues, Sueno and Bascom discover that Jill took a second job as a patrol-person for a Korean village called Tongduchon located near her camp. It seems she needed any reason to be away from the constant male dominance and sexual harassment she was inflicted with during her MP duties. Was she a victim of foul play? Could her disappearance be directly linked to the death of MP Druwood? Or, is something bigger and more sinister going on?

Traveling among the various Korean towns and villages, Sueno and Bascom find a picture being painted of an area riddled with both prostitution and black marketeering and corruption. To confuse matters, Jill Matthewson was a direct witness to an incident where a young Korean girl named Chon Un-suk was killed by an out-of-control U.S. Military jeep driven by two officers from the 2nd Infantry. Korean culture dictates that when a person dies away from home, their spirit will remain unsettled and thereby become a `wandering ghost'. The only way to save the spirit from eternal unrest and wandering is for the person who was last in contact with the body before it passed to participate in an ancient ritual to put the spirit at rest. Sueno and Bascom find out from Chon Un-suk's parent that Jill Matthewson was the last to touch their daughter before she passed on and they are in as much need of locating her as the U.S. Military Detectives.

The title of the novel, "The Wandering Ghost", presents a metaphor that not only represents the spirit of the dead girl but also for Corporal Jill Matthewson who may also be wandering in a state of unrest. Martin Limon's novel is well-crafted and each chapter presents a deeper image of what Sergeant's Sueno and Bascom are truly up against. They quickly find themselves in a fight for their own careers and lives amid a tumultuous Korea that is beginning to riot against the very Military Base that they hold responsible for murdering one of their own citizens. The truth may be best left alone as all of the lead characters in this crisp novel stand to lose everything if it is uncovered.

Oringally published on Curled Up With a Good Book

Once again we are treated to a glimpse of life in Korea as experienced only by those who served there in the U.S. Army. Limon has given us another terrific look back with a great understanding of what really went on after the war.

The author continues with the trials and tribulations of two US Army Criminal investigators working in South Korea on crimes involving soldiers in the US Army. In brief the two CID agents are sent north to investigate a missing MP--the first female MP in the 2d Infantry Division. The story moves along and has a twist and turn on most pages. I liked the book and recommend to soldiers who served in Korea.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Limon's first four books. I enjoyed the settings in his novels, his treatment of Korean culture and his characters; Sueno and Bascom. I enjoyed their antics and often sat there with book in hand, late into the night not wanting to put the book down. Sueno and Bascom antics are novel material pure and simple. One thing though, anyone who has ever been an MP, especially in Korea, will spot the many flaws in this story. Martin Limon is an outstanding writer, but he was never an Investigator, MP or CID - research his bio and you will see. His stories are very, very entertaining; but believe me they are not reality. From the weapons the CID agents and the female MP use( they actually used .38s not 45s), to the fact that there was no "Eighth US Army" CID (during the timeframe of the novel CID was and still is a separate command that only answers to its Headquarters back in the States, not to Eighth US Army), to the continual references to Eighth US Army as they top dog in Korea (actually it's USFK -US Forces Korea, a Joint Command that runs the show. At the time of the novel the 8th US Army staff was little more than a shell.) As for Sueno and Bascom unique investigator methods - well that's what novels are for. :)
As for "The Wondering Ghost" it dragged along, not flowing like the previous novels. Also having served as an MP for over 30 years, with 12 of them in Korea, I was bothered by the plot. It seemed cheap and contrived versus thought out and developed. All Field grade Officers in 2ID are "Black-marketers" and corrupt rapists????? Come on. Most of all I was offended by the way in which the 2d Infantry Division MPs were portrayed - "Black-marketers," inept, sexual harassers, lacking in moral courage to do the right thing. Having served with many of these MPs, I know these are fine men and women who love their country and serve it loyally and professionally and are honest soldiers. There are of course soldiers who are guilty of black marketing and other crimes, but they are clearly the minority. I hope Mr. Limon's next novel is back on track.

I liked this, though not quite as much as the previous installment, "Door to Bitterness". That said, it is still pretty good, and worth reading. Limon does a nice job of recreating life in the American military in Korea in the seventies, and portraying the Koreans with whom they interacted with some sympathy and nuance. Limon does a fabulous job with atmosphere, so the scenes where Bascom and Sueno are 'in the ville', out and about in smaller provincial cities and towns, and out in the countryside, are just wonderful. There is a very nicely done scene with a mudang, and various characters including black marketeers, bar girls, and yangban families. In general Limon seems to be at his best here when writing about Bascom and Sueno interacting with Koreans.

I didn't like it quite as much as "Door to Bitterness" because in some places I didn't think it flowed quite as well, and some passages seemed a bit labored. Some of the set-piece scenes like the ending seemed a little over the top. Also the portrayal of the 2nd division soldiers and officers as being almost uniformly venal and brutal seemed like a bit of a departure from Limon's previous books. In those, the characters were more complex, so that even the worst people had some redeeming qualities, and the best people were nevertheless flawed. Part of this may reflect that in contrast with the previous books, Bascom and Sueno spend almost their entire time away from Seoul, so they don't interact much with their usual interesting cronies back at the base. Overall, I think that "Door to Bitterness" had a more somber, complex and nuanced tone that I liked better.

There also seemed to be a few examples of what I guessed were sloppy editing, like details about Bascom and Sueno that were repeated several times. I think the jackets they put on when 'cruising the ville' were described in detail at least three or four times, to the point where I think I could recite the descriptions from memory. By the time I came to what seemed like the third or fourth description of the jackets, I began to wonder if the book had been published in installments somewhere else, which might justify such repetition.

Overall, this is one of my favorite action series, and I look forward to the next installment.

I don't know what exactly to compare these books to since I don't know any other books that focus on American MPs in Asia, or for that matter, anywhere else.

As with all of limon's books, 'The Wandering Ghost' was great! My thanks for the excellent service and speed with which I received the book. Nice people to order from!!! Thanks again, Garrett

In this fifth in the series Sergeants Sueno and Bascom, Vietnam veterans and career military investigators, stationed in Korea in the 1970s, are sent to find Jill Matthewson, a female MP missing from a base in the DMZ and presumed murdered.

It's an intriguing premise in an intriguing place and the partners' differing styles - Bascom always full speed ahead and Sueno more sensitive to the cultural nuances - keeps the action moving and the plot unfolding.

The duo meet nothing but obstruction from the missing woman's command, and it's soon clear than sexual harassment was the order of the day every day. Then a soldier with a crush on Matthewson dies under disputed circumstances and Sueno and Bascom have a new lead to follow which takes them deep into the heart of the seamy underworld of the nearby town.

But corruption and sexual predation are not the whole story. A schoolgirl was killed by GI's in an army truck and the responsible soldiers were quickly sent stateside with a slap on the wrist, sparking angry demonstrations in which Matthewson took part, a military crime.

With more than enough motive for murder, Sueno and Bascom follow each lead where it takes them, racking up a lot of enmity among the American brass while winning no thanks from the Koreans. The action ratchets up as Sueno and Bascom dodge bullets and betrayals, feeling their way in the morass of cultural misunderstanding and cross-motivation.

A Korea veteran himself, Martin Limon portrays the seamy, thriving, sex and bar trade, the cultural tensions and the beauty of the country with a keen and sensitive eye. Sueno, his narrator, has made an effort to learn Korean and understand the culture, which lends a wider dimension to the story. While the story itself goes on too long, the atmospheric depth remains colorful and absorbing.

Our two Army CID investigators are back in a new book. Martin Limon is back in form in a dark mystery set in 1970's Korea. The plot reminded me a little of "A Few Good Men" with the story set mostly around the high security area around the DMZ. As far as I can tell the series is quite an accurate portrayal of '70's Korea and it's fascinating to see how much Korea has changed in thirty years. If you haven't read this series earlier, then I'd suggest you start with the early books. But remember to skip "Buddha's Money", the worst of the lot.