Monday Mystery Backlist - JADE LADY BURNING

I mentioned yesterday that I received an author recommendation from David Thompson at Murder by the Book in Houston. By the way, David is also the owner of Busted Flush Publishers. So, the author he recommended was Martin Limon. Some of you may be aware of his work because he has a handful of books published by Soho Press. But JADE LADY BURNING will be my first experience with Martin Limon, so I thought I would use it as the Monday Mystery Backlist title this week. I'm going to give you the summary that my library has available for JADE LADY BURNING. It may be from the book jacket, but the listing does not specify so I can't say for sure. Here's what they say about JADE LADY BURNING:

"The bizarre killing of Miss Pak should have belonged to the Korean police. But her amorous associations with American servicemen in Seoul also made her death the business of the U.S. Army's criminal investigation arm, of which Sgt. Ernie Bascom and Sgt. George Sueno were prized digits. George is from East L.A., Ernie is from another planet. In the army, going after the truth is usually seen as a criminal waste of time, so they are well suited to the case. The Eighth Army command is anxious only to squelch the bad press, and the boys are really only interested in enjoying their tour of duty. The two of them know Korea, they like Korea (George even speaks the language), and they are all too happy to check the tawdry dives the woman had trawled for customers. Even if they don't find the perpetrator, the consequences are minimal. There is something odd about the Korean cops' nervousness. Also, the actual killing is pretty heinous; the oddly trussed-up victim is little more than a youngster. Nobody can't die but there are ways no one should. The case gets to George and Ernie. They even work on it after hours. In their line, though, getting involved with a victim isn't smart because you increase tremendously the odds of becoming one. "

David says that Limon is one of his favorite living crime fiction writers, so I'm looking forward to checking out his work. Even better, I'm looking forward to checking HIM out at Bouchercon. He will be one of the authors in attendance.

As just a side note. This will be the last Monday Mystery Backlist title until Oct. 26th. I'll be busy preparing for Bouchercon and then recovering from Bouchercon! So, the backlist post will take a short hiatus. I will still be posting the six-word memoirs, however. I need to stay on schedule with them so we can wrap up on December 9th. Can you believe that? December 9th? For a project that was supposed last through the summer!

Have a great week! Check out JADE LADY BURNING. And happy reading!