War Women

In Limón’s superior 15th novel featuring U.S. Army investigators George Sueño and Ernie Bascom in 1970s South Korea (after 2019’s GI Confidential), the partners, who prioritize justice over protocol, have two major problems to resolve. When Sgt. First Class Cecil Harvey, the gatekeeper of classified information for 8th Army Headquarters near Seoul, goes AWOL, the detectives are concerned. They’ve had their differences with the missing man, but he has provided them with gossip and leads over the years. Their anxiety increases after learning Harvey was supposedly secretly listening to North Korean radio propaganda in the company of a defector from that country. The search for his whereabouts overlaps with a directive to help censor the reporting of Katie Byrd Worthington, a civilian tabloid journalist. Worthington has gotten some embarrassing photos of the 8th Army’s chief of staff, but Sueño and Bascom discover she’s really been focused on exposing the sexual abuse of members of a female army unit. The absence of a murder mystery doesn’t lessen the tension, and Limón evokes the setting with his usual skill. This long-running series remains as strong as ever. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Nov.)