Commanding
Rating:
2 / 5
I surmise most these reviews have been written by men. Not knowing anything about the Asian culture I found this story to be just terrible. The brutality and utter disregard about the welfare of people, women especially was a total downer. I felt nothing but revulsion reading this story. No characters to admire at all and no integrity to each other. Anyone could be bought and everyone betrayed everyone else. Very heavy reading and not for the light hearted. And that was during peacetime?
good, solid mystery
Rating:
5 / 5
This is a mystery that explores the politics and culture of South Korea through a couple of military investigators and a Korean detective. It has a lot of plot twists that make you wonder if the cops will ever figure out who the culprit is. Right before it ends, the reader has to suspect everyone. The dialog zips right along making for a good quick read.
In Command of His Story
Rating:
5 / 5
Justice, racism and family honor all play key roles in this intriguing mystery by Patrick Davis. The author returns again in his fourth book to his military experiences. Much like the other three, this novel features constant action, intriguing and complicated characters and a mystery full of twists and turns to the very last page.As the novel opens, Major Burton Webber is no longer a member of the Air Force and is content to help his Korean wife run her jewelry store. At one time he was Chief of the Osan Air Base (South Korea) office of Special Investigations. But office politics runs everything, especially the military, and he was wrongfully passed over for promotion. Now the Air Force wants him back ostensibly because he is the best at what he does. The Air Force has a politically sensitive problem in a region that now wants Americans to pull out of their bases and go home. An Amerasian bar girl (prostitute) has been brutally murdered and it may have been at the hands of an American service person. If true, it comes on the heels of other recent events in the region and could be the final push for the Americans to go home. Supposedly, General Muller (responsible for the pass over in promotion) wants Webber to come in and investigate the case and find the guilty party and wrap everything up as fast as possible. While Webber does not buy into the situation as described, it is a chance for him to do what he really likes to do and so he agrees. Webber begins to run the investigation and isn't surprised when the investigation begins to run into political roadblocks. As everyone around him seems to lie to him, he continues to work the case and begins to find the clues that will lead him to the killers. His problem is that as his suspect list shortens, the clues seem to be leading him toward those closest to him. As in his other books, Patrick Davis once again writes another tightly plotted mystery. The action flows steadily throughout the novel and the reader is constantly misdirected as the investigation proceeds forward. His characters are complex and human and he shows a real talent for bringing the reader into his world. Simply put: another great read.
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