The Ville Rat
Another installment in the Sergeants Sueño and Bascom series, this is full of vivid characters and offers a fascinating look into another culture affected by the heavy footprint of the U.S. Army. Set in 1970s South Korea near the Demilitarized Zone, Sueño and Bascom, both sergeants in the US 8th Army CID, are asked by KNP detective Gil Kown-up to investigate the murder of a young Korean woman dressed in a traditional chima-jeogori with a calligraphed poem hidden in her sleeve. Their investigation leads them to an area outside their jurisdiction and to a mysterious smuggler known as the Ville Rat, but just as they feel they’re getting close to a real break, they’re told to back off. Working another case in the area involving an African American soldier and his white supervisor, the investigators are forced to thread their way through Army rivalries and racial tensions to solve both cases.
This was my first Martin Limon book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are well-drawn, and I loved the contrast between George Sueño and Ernie Bascom’s personalities. I felt like a gained a deeper understanding of the U.S. presence in Korea and the challenges the GIs face there, as well as the challenges the Koreans face in dealing with the Americans. Recommended for fans of military mysteries.
