Slicky Boys
This thriller by a retired army officer has many things going for it: two very well-drawn central characters who are U.S. military police based in Seoul; a large cast of colorful secondary characters; some lively and inventive plot twists; and a setting--South Korea in 1975, 20 years after the Korean War--quickly brought to vivid life. George Sueno, the brains of the two-man Army CID team, grew up in foster homes in East Los Angeles, learned Korean quickly, and isn't nearly as baffled by the complexity of Korean customs as most of his fellow soldiers. His partner, Ernie Bascom, found a home in the Army better than the one he'd left in Detroit to go to Vietnam; he's a blaze of mad action and sexual energy. They make an excellent team, bringing back memories ofChester Himes's Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson--two cops who also bent the rules to get results.