THE PRICE OF BLOOD

by Chuck Logan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 1997

An ex-soldier who was among the last Americans to escape Vietnam before the Communist takeover returns to Southeast Asia in search of a fortune in gold that disappeared on his last mission. Two decades after the fall of Saigon, Phil Broker is again a lieutenant, this time with Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. A divorced loner who keeps to himself, the undercover cop experiences a severe culture shock when Nina Pryce bursts into his life. A decorated heroine of the Desert Storm campaign, she's the daughter of a dead Army officer whose memory remains tarnished by the abortive gold hijacking that was the real purpose of the evacuation operation in Vietnam during which Broker nearly lost his life. Determined to clear her father's name, Nina wants his sometime subordinate to help her unearth exculpatory evidence and the bullion lost in country. Although appalled at the prospect of raking up the past, Broker (who could use some money to save the resort his parents run on Lake Superior) joins forces with Nina. On medical leave from the BCA, he meets with his former commanding officer Cyrus LaPorte, a buccaneering pillar of New Orleans society who wants the missing ingots for himself. Despite the best efforts of LaPorte's homicidal minions, Broker and Nina make it to Vietnam with crucial information on the whereabouts of the gold. Once there, they link up with Nguyen Van Trin, a hard-drinking ex-ARVN colonel who's not prospered under Red rule, and they locate the buried treasure as well as proof of Pryce p²re's innocence. Doing so, however, the Vietnam vet and the woman he's come to love must deal with latter-day betrayals, making a last stand against dangerous mercenaries in the employ of LaPorte. An admirably flinty, adroitly plotted, and worthy successor to Logan's first hard-boiled thriller (Hunter's Moon, 1996).

Pub Date: March 12, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 400

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997

Categories: FICTION