upcountry

"I looked at the countryside as we passed through the valley, and I saw it was green again, and life had returned, coffee and vegetables grew over the bones, and the human race marched on toward something hopefully better.

"Yet standing there on the plateau, I knew that I, and Ted, and Mr. Tram could hear the whispers of ghosts on the wind, and the distant sound of that bugle that spit the quiet night and roused the beast in each man's heart."

Paul Brenner retired from being an army investigator after the case of the General's Daughter. Too much disillusionment, too many repercussions. He's unsure of what he's going to do with his life or his relationship with fellow investigator Cynthia Sunhill, but he's pretty sure he doesn't want to take the case his ex-boss wants him to handle. Finally, out of boredom more than the rewards promised him if he takes it, he heads for Vietnam.

The case proves challenging. Recently there has been a campaign to return "souvenirs" taken by American solders to the families of the Vietnamese solders. One veteran has turned in a letter, that when translated relates a chilling tale. A US Captain murdered a US Lieutenant, and Karl Hellmann, Brenner's ex-boss, wants him to find out who and why. Although the recipient is long dead, they figure his brother, who wrote the letter, may not be. His job is to track down the writer, find out exactly what he saw, see if there's any evidence. Brenner goes, uncertain he wants to relive the experiences of his past. He meets Susan Weber, a businesswoman who Brenner knows is more than she seems. He knows that something else is going on; that there are ulterior motives in the mix, and watches everything carefully.

While the case was really interesting, I was especially taken by the side trips to various battlefields that Brenner takes. DeMille himself is a Vietnam Vet who took part in a specially designed tour for people wanting to see the places that changed so many lives, and therefore is able to add a lot to the setting to this story. Paul Brenner and the men around him relate their experiences and revisit battlefields. They even visit some of the tunnels especially set up so people can go inside them with safety that was never a consideration when they were in their true use. Through these scenes we get a feel for what really happened. He mentions horrors that we never hear about, things that a soldier had to live through that are as terrifying as they are heartbreaking. Often, I admit, when an author takes too many side journeys I can become impatient. These scenes outside the main plot were so beautifully and compellingly written, I never felt that way. These passages left me with a truly well drawn idea of what the war was really like, and a greater appreciation for the people who had to fight in it.

I thought the resolution was quite a surprise, and I admired Brenner's actions in the end. Brenner is a thoughtful character whose wry sense of humor made me smile several times.

An interesting journey all around, Up Country takes us on a memorial journey, filled with enough action and romance to make some of the harder lessons easier, and with enough history to make the lessons valuable.

(Reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer for Mostly Fiction 07-29-02)