Mr. Kill (A Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Novel)

Mr. Kill: A Sueno and Bascom Investigation [Martin Limon, Peter Berkrot] on Mr. Kill (A Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Novel) and millions of other books are.
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All of this band business is so loosely related to the rest of the story by a convoluted connection that it detracts from the actual story-worthy problem. In the end, I just shook my head and wondered why other than to provide Ernie with a voluptuous woman with whom to have sex this made it into print. May 27, David rated it really liked it.

I liked this a lot. The main character is an American in Korea. So we get both a mystery and a cultural observer. I will read more of this series. Jan 09, Des rated it it was amazing.

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George Sueno is an Army criminal investigator in Korea in the mids. He is career military, fairly content in his own skin and appreciative of life. He loves Korea, and the most striking element in his portrayal is his respect and sympathy for its people - the bar girls and "professional ladies", the old people getting by, the innkeepers, madams and all the others at the same time dependent on the military and resentful of being occupied by a foreign power.

He pursues the rape and rape-murde George Sueno is an Army criminal investigator in Korea in the mids. He pursues the rape and rape-murder cases that are the storyline with a deep sadness at the humiliation and suffering of the victims and the terrified children forced to watch their mothers' destruction. Sueno treats them with dignity; they are only sketchily presented but his attitude makes them come alive as more than pawns to be moved around on the storyboard.

His shrewd and tenacious pursuit of the elusive killer despite being warned off by the Army chain of command is driven by this quiet morality. In parallel with all this is a lighter and more laconic side to the story. Sueno's partner, Ernie Bascom, is his complement and opposite - large, horny, boozy and always ready to calmly debate with his fists. He lives very much for the moment and lacks self-doubt, curiosity, tact or any social graces. He is also intensely loyal, honest and reliable and together the unlikely duo makes a formidable pair of investigators.

The main linchpin in the stories is the pair's dismissive response to military authority and the efforts to block investigations by a bureaucracy cautious about stirring up tensions between Korean citizens and government and the U. They raise insubordination to an art form, often amusingly so.

Much of the plot involves their wiliness in disobeying orders and avoiding their next arrest or beating up. I'd describe the writing as NBD - no big deal - in the sense that it is compact and measured, with little adornment, but somehow pitched just right. It is carefully and clearly laid out without drawing attention to phrasing or adding literary bells and tootles. NBD - keep a balance between straightforward story-telling, enough description and scene-setting to flesh out the context, vivid character sketches, and natural dialog. It's always interesting and succinct.

Sep 25, Alain Burrese rated it it was amazing Shelves: It is this South Korea connection that drew me in, having lived in South Korea as a soldier in the s, and as a civilian studying martial arts in the s and s. A lot of what Limon writes about reminded me of my service time with the 2nd Infantry Division. Even if you never served in Korea, the story is a fun, intense thriller that will keep you guessing "Mr. Even if you never served in Korea, the story is a fun, intense thriller that will keep you guessing, as well as caring for the characters. There were six previous books in the Sergeant George Sueno series, but I've not yet read them.

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I want to go back and read them now. If you haven't read them, you can still enjoy this book like I did. However, the ending of this book will make you want to read the next one. It's obvious that the author spent considerable time in Korea, and he writes with the knowledge of the military on the peninsula during that time frame. His heroes are not supermen, and are fallible, and that makes them more like regular guys, just trying to do their best at the job they are assigned too.

That is refreshing, and added to the story. There was one part of the story I didn't care for, but won't mention it here because I don't want to spoil any parts of the book. And while I wish the author would have treated that part differently, it wasn't that it was bad. I just felt it could have been better if written a bit different, and maybe a little more added. With that said, it did not take away from my enjoying the book. If I hadn't been a soldier stationed in South Korea, would I have enjoyed this book as much? Maybe not, but it is hard to say.

Mr. Kill by Martin Limón | leondumoulin.nl

As I mentioned, you don't have to have been stationed in Korea to enjoy this story. But since I was, I enjoyed it a bit more, and I'd recommend it to everyone else who was stationed there, because I think it will bring back memories and added enjoyment to your reading. For everyone else, if you enjoy military themed mysteries with a flavor of an Asian country, check out "Mr.

Kill" by Martin Limon and have an exciting, fun read. Jan 04, Larry rated it it was amazing. I read the first, "Jade Lady Burning," when it came out. It was of particular interest to me because it was set on the base that I had worked at 8th Army HQ at Yongsan Mountain during the time that the novel's events took place. Limon got all of the local details right the first time, and his picture of Korea was both colorful and accurate. I received this particular novel as a free book through the aegis of Goodreads, but I would have tracked it down anyway.

Limon's consistent strengths get even more highly developed with each book in the series. It was an interesting time. The United States had entered into a status-of-forces agreement with the Korean government that subjected off-duty Americans to Korean law. There had been growing tensions resulting from the long-time freedom of American personnel from prosecution for crimes committed against Koreans a vestige of extraterritorial rights. Limon's book is a very good depiction of what happened when Americans committed crimes under the new agreement. In this case, the crime is the brutal rape and murder of a young Korean woman.

They also find themselves hindered by the large number of apologists for troop behavior within the American military and diplomatic force. The tensions they face are considerable, and Limon presents them well. He is a first-class mystery writer with an eye for an interesting locale and believable characters. Mar 19, Tom Donaghey rated it really liked it Shelves: Set in Korea during the early s, Mr. Kill deals with the pair as they try to track the Blue Train rapist, supposedly an American who attacked a Korean woman on the express between Pusan and Seoul.

As there are few other types of foreigners within the country, suspicion naturally falls upon a G. Another, more brutal rape occurs in a Seoul hotel adding to the need for a rapid res MR. Another, more brutal rape occurs in a Seoul hotel adding to the need for a rapid resolution, but due to politics between the Military and the Korean government, there are many rules and restrictions placed upon the duo. They have to work with the Korean National Police, in the person of Mr.

Gil, a name that sounds like Kill to American ears. Battling against time, the disapproval of much of the Korean population who wish to have no more of America in their country, their own Military higher-ups and conflicting policy, this pair of CID agents work hard at uncovering the killer.

Yet we have a lot of information given to us about Korea and its people and manners, as well as a good look into the ways of the military.

A Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Novel Series

There is a side story about an all female Country-Western band that are agents have to protect from 50, rabid soldiers and at least one ex-husband, but that only adds to the fun. KILL is a welcome addition to my mystery shelf. Dec 08, Lara rated it really liked it Shelves: It is a quick read that moves around the country, illustrating its diversity, and I found myself wanting to refer to a map as I read to better picture the distances traveled.

Despite being the 7th book in a series, I didn't feel I had missed out on anything important, and previous stories were not mentioned for the most part. There is a third plot line that I suspect is related to a previous book. However, it seems to have been brought into the story more to lay groundwork for the next novel. The lead characters are sympathetic and do their best to work around the internal Army politics in order to find a criminal within the ranks. Violence is somewhat casual as many of the Americans are quick to throw a punch.

However, the leads are quite likable and have their hearts in the right place. The plot is interesting, although the way the ends get wrapped up is a bit predictable. Fortunately, the reader is kept guessing until near the end as we learn about things as Sueno and Bascom do. It is possible the attentive read could put things together about 1 chapter earlier, but not well in advance. Another positive is that while this is a book about a serial criminal, the crime scenes are not described in great gory detail.

The essential are described, but not dwelt upon. I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. Feb 15, Barbara Mitchell rated it liked it. I selected this book, even though I hadn't read anything in the Sergeants Sueno and Bascom series, because I was interested in learning more about Korea through a novel.

The book certainly served that purpose since Sueno is an American soldier who wants to learn Korean culture. He also speaks the language. Bascom is sort of a lout who flaunts custom as much as possible. The mystery is less successful, but interesting in the way that they must cooperate with the Korean police and military to deter I selected this book, even though I hadn't read anything in the Sergeants Sueno and Bascom series, because I was interested in learning more about Korea through a novel.

The mystery is less successful, but interesting in the way that they must cooperate with the Korean police and military to determine who is responsible for rapes and murders on the Blue Train. The victims are Korean women traveling with children. Also figuring in the story is an all-woman country band from Texas who feel they are being stalked and robbed.

Sueno and Bascom are assigned to protect them as well as solving the Blue Train crimes. I really couldn't get into this story. The characters, with the exception of Sueno and Bascom, were indistinct to me. The band seemed like a group of hysterical women and I felt no connection to them at all.


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However, I'm glad I read it because of the picture I got of the scenery in South Korea as well as the way people near the U. But he has other things on his mind. Can he rely on the enigmatic Hero Kang, his sole contact in the hostile country? And who are the mysterious group of women known as the Joy Brigade? Kill to catch a killer.

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On a crowded train from Pusan to Seoul, the brutal rape of a young mother by a US serviceman sparks rage on the powder-keg peninsula of Korea. George and Ernie set off a frantic search for a killer that introduces them to a ruthless Korean homicide investigator known to anyone foolish enough to cross him as Mr.

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A Latino soldier and the underage daughter of a white American officer are missing. They find that criminal activity abounds at Camp Casey, from black marketeering to murder. The investigation brings them face-toface with crooked officers, Korean civilians rioting over the death of one of their own, a schoolgirl run down by a speeding army truck, and her ghost, which has been seen wandering the premises.

The Door to Bitterness. The army wants the equipment accounted for, and the ID and weapon recovered. George and Ernie want to salvage their reputation, such as it is—and to stop the cold-blooded killings being committed in their names. Retired Army officer Herman Burkowicz has quite a lucrative setup smuggling rare Korean artifacts.


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They can kill a man in a thousand gruesome ways. In order to combat the poverty facing South Korea, they sneak onto well-stocked American military compounds to steal, murder anyone in their way, and vanish. 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. As repressed resentments erupt around them, the pair sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to find evidence that will exonerate their countryman.

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