Slicky Boys (A Sergeants Sueño and Bascom Novel)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1569473854 ISBN 13: 9781569473856

Publisher: Soho Crime, 2004

The second Sergeant George Sueño investigation, follow-up to the New York Times Notable Jade Lady Burning

The Slicky Boys rule the back alleys of 1970s Seoul. They can kill a man in a thousand gruesome ways. And you’ll never even see them coming. In order to combat the poverty facing South Korea, they sneak onto well-stocked American military compounds to steal, murder anyone in their way, and vanish. US Army Sergeant George Sueño and his partner, Ernie Bascom, take on the perilous mission of infiltrating this underground criminal syndicate when an innocent favor for an Itaewon bar girl leads to murder.

Review:

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 of Chester Himes's Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson--two cops who also bent the rules to get results.

From the Publisher:

"Cliff-hanging action...thrilling...unexpected."
--The Wall Street Journal

"There's atmosphere to spare here, and enough suspense to please. A colorful thriller."
--Publishers Weekly

"Hot blood is pumped by brave hearts, and in their element these guys are princes."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Sueo and Bascom are two of the more memorable sleuths in the modern mystery canon."
--The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

"The writing is plain and sinewy, the characterizations are quietly brilliant and the moral vision is as cold as a Seoul bar girl's gaze."
--The Oregonian