Martin Limón Mysteries: Worth Reading All of Them ...

The 20th anniversary edition

Dave is in the middle of reading Martin Limón's book MR. KILL, and it inspired him to add this to our discussion of mysteries that deserve to be better known -- something that applies to the seven books Limón has provided so far. Here's his take on the series:

Martin Limón: Under-Appreciated Author:

Martin Limón is one of our favorite authors at Kingdom Books and we have a number of his mysteries in our shop that are signed. Limón’s series takes place in the mid-1970s in Korea and the detectives are military policemen, sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom. Limón, who resides with his family in Seattle, Washington, is himself retired from the military after 22 years of service. We recommend this series to our Kingdom Books clients.   

The most difficult Limón book to obtain in fine condition is the first book in the series, Jade Lady Burning, which was published almost 20 years ago. (Soho Crime has a special edition for the 20th anniversary!) Limón’s books are filled with the gritty texture of life in Korea in the 1970s and its population and also the complicated lives of military detectives. Limón has recently toured with his new book Mr. Kill but only on the West Coast. We wish he would make his way to the New York/New England area, as we would love to meet him.

Also, we credit Soho Press in New York for publishing this fascinating and rewarding series. Here is Beth’s recent review of Mr. Kill.

The George Sueño and Ernie Bascom books are:

1. Jade Lady Burning (1992)

2. Slicky Boys (1997)

3. Buddha's Money (1998)

4. The Door to Bitterness (2005)

5.The Wandering Ghost (2007)

6. G.I. Bones (2009)

7. Mr. Kill (2011)