The Iron Sickle - Martin Limón

My review of Martin Limón's The Iron Sickle first appeared in Shelf Awareness for Readers. It is appearing here today with their permission.

First line: "The man with the iron sickle entered Yongsan Compound on a Monday morning in the middle of October at approximately zero seven forty-five."

An unusually tall Korean man with a deformed lip walks into the US Army Claims Office in Seoul, requests to see the civilian boss and slices the man’s throat with an iron sickle concealed inside his overcoat. The murderer escapes amid the pandemonium of the crime’s discovery. Then when the mysterious, sickle-wielding Korean assassinates an American MP off the Army compound and escapes, the stakes skyrocket.

CID agents Sueño and Bascom are left off the case until Korean National Police Inspector Gil Kwon-up, a.k.a. Mr. Kill, specifically requests them for the joint investigation. The maverick partners dig into the evidence, but what they uncover is certain to make them enemies on all sides and, very possibly, the next targets for the man with the iron sickle.

The Iron Sickle engages its readers by blending Korean history, lore and geography with a tightly developed crime plot. Limón’s descriptions of war horrors are memorably disturbing without being gratuitously graphic. And Sueño and Bascom are a fascinating protagonist pair who inject occasional humor but still maintain the levity of the novel’s subject matter.

The plot includes several characters from prior novels, allowing regular series readers a bit more insight into the relationships previously forged; however, first time readers should have no trouble following the story on its own merits.

Limón includes Korean language with translation throughout the text, which at times seems a bit arbitrary, so some readers may find themselves momentarily pulled out of the story, but the momentum of the plot will certainly right their course.

The Iron Sickle is available in hardcover and as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon, from Blackstone Audio.

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!