Ping-Pong Heart

Starred review from April 25, 2016
At the start of Limón’s compelling 11th novel set in 1970s South Korea featuring U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division agents George Sueño and Ernie Bascom (after 2015’s The Ville Rat), Maj. Frederick Schultz makes an official complaint, accusing a prostitute, Jo Kyong-ja, of taking his money without providing the agreed-upon services. When Sueño and Bascom question Jo, she denies the allegation and claims that Schultz was upset when he was unable to perform. Shortly after that interview, someone roughs up Jo, and a few weeks later, Schultz, the logical suspect in that assault, turns up dead himself, the victim of a knifing in a back alley behind a Seoul nightclub. Complicating the murder inquiry is the involvement of the South Korean police and the unsettling revelation that Schultz was doing classified work involving the review of potential irregularities in the running of a military intelligence unit. Major developments in the lives of Limón’s leads complement the intricate whodunit. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary.

A pair of veteran two-fisted Army investigators probe the murder of an American officer who had recently tangled in and out of the sheets with a South Korean bar girl.Itaewon, South Korea, 1974. Maj. Frederick Schultz storms into the 8th Army Provost Marshal's Office, claiming that a bar girl named Miss Jo robbed him. CID sergeants George Sueno and Ernie Bascom (The Ville Rat, 2015, etc.) catch the case, which George snappily recounts. From the way Schultz has upset CID secretary Miss Kim, George suspects that he may share some culpability. His view gains traction when somebody roughs up Miss Jo and Schultz chooses to withdraw his complaint. Everything changes when Schultz is found dead two days later at the Dragon King Nightclub. Multiple stab wounds, perhaps from more than one knife, are the cause. When George and Ernie begin asking questions at the clubs, reprisals are quick and violent. Rather than getting them thrown off the case, this incident leads "Mr. Kill," the chief homicide detective of the Korean National Police, with which the CID works, to prioritize the investigation. Miss Jo, meanwhile, takes a powder, and Mr. Kill's minions give chase, leaving Ernie and George to dig deeper into Schultz's activities. Their discovery that he was working on a special classified project widens the pool of suspects considerably but complicates the case. Mr. Kill, meanwhile, is determined to catch and frame Miss Jo for the sake of international relations. Can Ernie and George find the perp in time? Limon's 11th Americans-in-Korea procedural has grit, pace, and an authentic feel. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2016

Dets. George Sueno and Ernie Bascom work for the U.S. Army CID in 1974 South Korea. The pair, who spend most of their time investigating such minor crimes as unauthorized shopping at the PX, are grateful for a change in their routine when Maj. Frederick M. Schultz reports that he was cheated by a prostitute. The young woman denies the charges and claims that Schultz assaulted her. When the major is found murdered and the woman disappears, the case quickly escalates in importance. Sueno and Bascom learn that Major Schultz was investigating army units around the country for malfeasance, and one of them was an infamous and untouchable counterintelligence group. The two military cops must tread lightly as they investigate senior officers, deal with the Korean police force, and tangle with spies and counterspies. VERDICT Series aficionados will welcome this 11th outing (after The Ville Rat) with its fast-moving convoluted crime and investigation. Newcomers don't have to read the previous volumes to enjoy it either. Mystery readers who appreciate exotic settings, both in time and space, and who like quality buddy procedurals will admire Limon's writing.--Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
It's 1974, and 8th Army CID agents George Sueno and Ernie Bascom are sent to investigate something in Seoul that's normally the province of the MPs: a major, a field grade officer, is accusing an Itaewon bar girl of theft. The bar girl is then savagely beaten, and soon after, the major is stabbed and hacked to death. The murder of an officer shocks the army and the Korean government, and Sueno and Bascom are assigned to work with the formidable Korean National Police Chief Inspector, Mr. Kill (introduced in Mr. Kill, 2011). They soon learn that the deceased major had been investigating the 8th's counterintelligence battalion, whose commanding officer, Captain Lance Blood, seems to be building a bureaucratic empire. Sueno and Bascom instantly become the prime targets of Blood and his minions. At this point, the plot becomes deeply convoluted with real-estate scams and North Korean spies, but Limon's insights into Korea's history and culture, and into U.S. Army culture, just keep getting richer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)