When a young woman is found dead in a river, Mr. Kill requests Sueño and Bascom to help with the investigation - the body washed out just under the Division compound so the US army will be involved anyway so he can at least get the best possible team. Which does not sit very well with either Division or with the big bosses down in Seoul.

And yet, the investigation is theirs. Before long it gets tangled with the black market which seems to be everywhere in Korea. And just so our guys are not bored, they also get asked to investigate an internal matter - a soldier shot at another (with a higher rank) and is getting court marshaled.

We learn some more about the Korean culture (the kisaeng tradition and its revival post WWII for example) but the novel is more concerned with the internal relationship inside of the army - the segregation (which technically does not exist anymore but seems to be alive and well) and the army's and the common soldiers' views towards homosexuality. It is the 70s and most of the commanding staff is from another generation - which makes them uncomfortable with the latter and even worse with the first. Add the Division commander who is trying to convince everyone that everything is ok in Division and some parts were almost cringe-worthy - the 70s is another country in a lot of ways.

And somewhere between all of the running around the country, Sueño's new love is blooming, he does not get beaten for a change (but someone tries to kill him a few times) and Ernie Bascom is... Ernie Bascom.

Not a good novel to get introduced to the series - while the mystery can work as a standalone, a lot of the secondary characters rely on knowing them (there are introductions but they are very concise). But if you had been reading the series, it is a good addition to it. ( )

A police procedural set in South Korea featuring Army CID's looking for the killer of a woman fond in the river. The descriptions of Korea and Army life brought back memories of when I served 13 months there.A good read. ( )