The Door to Bitterness (Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Series #4)

by Martin Limón

Overview

The fourth Sergeant George Sueño Investigation

Seoul, 1970s: As North Korea menaces and Vietnam burns, US 8th Army CID agent Sergeant George Sueño and his partner, Ernie Bascom, weave through back alleys and bordellos, trying to tip the scales of justice back in the right direction. This time, they’re not just pursuing criminals—they’re chasing themselves. Homicidal thieves have gotten hold of George’s badge and are using it to trick their victims for just long enough to strike—with his gun. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781569477526
Publisher:	Soho Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Series:	Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Series , #4
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
Sales rank:	591,544
File size:	740 KB

About the Author

Martin Limón retired from military service after twenty years in the US Army, including ten years in Korea. He is the author of ten books in the Sueño and Bascom series, including Jade Lady Burning, The Iron Sickle, The Ville Rat, and Ping-Pong Heart. He lives near Seattle.

Editorial Reviews

North Korea menaces and Vietnam burns in the 1970s, and GI cops Sueno and Bascom (Jade Lady Burning) weave through the alleys of Seoul, South Korea, doling out their brand of justice in this fourth outing. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

What's worse than waking up in an alley without your badge and sidearm? Realizing that they've been used to commit a felony. When U.S. Army CID Agent George Sue-o learns that the person who robbed the casino at Inchon's Olympos Hotel had used his identification to gain entrance to the cashier's cage, then his .45 to blast Olympos dealer Han Ok-hi, his initial fears of mere court-martial are dwarfed by a more chilling possibility: that he was targeted from the first by the smiling "business woman" who spotted him drinking alone, drugged him into compliance and led him out to the alley where he was picked clean. Reprieved from immediate dismissal by a no-nonsense general who thinks they're his best bet to stop what looks like a serious crime spree, George and his pal Ernie Bascom go after the gun and its new owners, smiling Yun Ai-ja and her brother Kong. The motive for their killings isn't much more mysterious than their identity, and Lim-n (Slicky Boys, 1997, etc.) continues to evoke settings more memorable than characters. What lingers longest in George and Ernie's odyssey is the grinding poverty, pride and moral compromise they find in 1974 Korea, matched this time by a shame so deep that George is relieved to hear that at least it wasn't his gun that killed the fourth victim. A bitter brew fueled by acrid insights on the dehumanizing force of the lasting American presence in Korea.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Door to Bitterness

“Limón’s crisp, clear storytelling opens a door to another world and leaves one hoping the next installment won’t be so long in arriving.”
—The Baltimore Sun 
  
“As good as Limón’s series debut, Jade Lady Burning.”
—The Plain Dealer 
  
“Plot, pacing, and plausibility are just about perfect . . . Limón has a humane outlook that nourishes the spirit.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer, Editor’s Choice


Praise for the George Sueño and Ernie Bascom series

“Easily the best military mysteries in print today.”
—Lee Child 
 
“Limón, who was stationed in Korea for the Army, writes with empathy for the Korean people as well for the young GIs dropped into a foreign culture.”
—The Boston Globe 
 
“It is not often that so impressive a debut as Jade Lady Burning appears . . . Compassionately written, searing in its intensity. Without ever trying to be ‘literary,’ this novel achieves the stature of literature.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“[Limón] vividly contrasts adventures in the seamy side of Seoul’s nightlife with a sensitive appreciation for Korea’s ancient culture.”
—The Seattle Times
 
“This series is a must not only for procedural fans, but also for anyone who enjoys crime fiction set in distinctive international locales.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
 
“Excellent . . . A vivid view of Asia, from the Demilitarized Zone to the Yellow Sea, and an insightful look at the era.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
 
“[The Ville Rat’s] searing portrait of the sins of our recent past bids fair to transcend the genre.” 
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher