The Iron Sickle

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What to expect

Early one rainy morning, the head of the US Eighth Army Claims Office in Seoul, South Korea, is brutally murdered by a Korean man in a trench coat carrying a small iron sickle hidden in his sleeve. The attack was a complete surprise, carefully planned and clinically executed. How did this unidentified Korean civilian get into the tightly controlled base? And why attack the claims officer? Is there an unsettled grudge, a claim of damages that was rejected by the Army?

Against orders, CID agents Sergeants George Sue├▒o and Ernie Bascom start investigating. Somehow, each person they speak to has not yet been interviewed. The Eighth Army isn't great at solving cases, but they aren't that bad either. As George and Ernie continue their search, they begin to suspect that not everyone wants the case solved.

Critics Review

  • “Limón is one of the best military writers ever.
    His stories are addictive entertainment today—and valuable slices of history
    tomorrow.”

    Lee Child

  • “Limón is an expert guide to Korea and the US Army
    whose passionate commitment to his subject is expressed in direct, searing
    prose.”

    John Burdett, New York Times bestselling author

  • “Limón has a profound ability to depict everyday South Korean civilian
    life in a police state, where anyone can be taken off the streets and
    lost to an impersonal bureaucratic machine…His vivid portraits of
    Korea, particularly the Itaewon district where Sueño and Bascom often
    work black-market duty, are deeply textured, nuanced, intimate. He
    doesn’t just describe the clamor and sweat inside an ex-pat bar crowded
    with GIs. He drops you onto the bar stool and hands you a glass.”

    Arizona Republic

  • “Limón brilliantly combines a procedural with a harrowing portrayal of
    the wounds of war in his ninth novel featuring US Army Criminal
    Investigation Division agents George Sueño and Ernie Bascom…The secret at the heart of the crimes is truly chilling, and Limón’s
    nuanced characters enhance a fast-paced, carefully crafted plot.”

    Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  • “A fine, character-driven tale, drenched in
    fascinating Korean War history and reflecting the author’s firsthand
    knowledge of army life.”

    Booklist

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