Review: The Line by Martin Limon

Reviewed by Theodore Feit

** (T)he Sueño and Bascom investigations (are) set in South Vietnam after the armistice.  This, the 13^th in the series, is the most dangerous one yet for the irreverent pair, taking them directly into conflict with the North Koreans at the DMZ.

They are tasked with going right up to the line dividing North and South because of the murder of a South Korean corporal assigned to U.S. troops. The body lies across the line and they drag it back to the south, nearly causing a new war on the peninsula.  An American private eventually is blamed, to assuage the North Koreans, but neither Bascom nor Sueño believes him guilty.  However, they are taken off the case (but that doeesn’tstop them from pursuing it).  Meanwhile, they have another case involving a bored wife of a Corps of Engineers Captain who goes missing.

The author, who served a decade in the Army in Korea, applies his intimate knowledge to the fullest extent with detailed knowledge not only of Army life,but the conditions of the South Korean population.  Written plainly with clever plotting, the story will keep the reader turning pages until he/she reaches the extremely unexpected conclusion.

Recommended.

 

** A correction to part of the original review was issued by the publisher. Under the circumstances, the options available involved correcting the error according to accepted standards (using ellipses to indicate extractions and using brackets to indicate insertions) or to remove the content. The amount of ellipses required were distracting. I have therefore removed part of the content and revised the initial sentence used here according to accepted standards. Toe Six Press does not rewrite material; other than minor typos any significant changes must follow acceptable presentation for extraction and insertion or be completed by the author.

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