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MORTAL ALLIES
by Brian Haig
Orion, November 2003
564 pages
6.99 GBP
ISBN: 0752842722


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Major Sean Drummond has once again found himself in a quandary. His leave, in the Bahamas, is cancelled without explanation and he is flown to South Korea immediately. South Korea is in turmoil. Not only are there still relationship problems with the North Koreans, they are not completely happy with the United States presence either. To add more wood to the fire, three US soldiers are accused of raping and murdering a South Korean soldier. The victim’s name is Lee No Tae, who is the son of the defense minister of the South Korean Army Forces. Drummond believes himself to be safe since the accused hired civilian lawyers rather than rely on J.A.G. Unfortunately, Drummond was requested by his old nemesis, Katherine Carlson, from lawyer school as the mediator between the Army and her trial.

Carlson, or Moonbeam as Drummond calls her, is a gay rights advocate and a showman in the court. Carlson’s client is Captain Thomas Whitehall, who claims that he and Lee No Tae had an intimate relationship but he did not murder him. Gay rights in the military is a tricky topic to begin with and Carlson is not likely going to make the situation any better. While she does have a decent success rate in the civilian courts, Drummond is worried that she will make the situation worse. Drummond and Carlson must somehow put their differences aside in order to give Whitehall the fighting chance he deserves.

As always, Haig manages to create a fast-paced legal thriller. His characters remain sharp and cohesive throughout the book. While the actual law itself is not the focus of the book, Haig does provide enough information to fill in the necessary plot background.

MORTAL ALLIES deals with a lot of political and military issues. While Haig is never disrespectful of the military and military decisions, his works do question them indirectly. This book deals primarily with the conflict between South and North Korea but it was deals with gay rights in the military. While the issue of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is always going to be controversial, the biggest issue this book raises is the purpose of military actions. The United States entered the Korean War in order to help end the territorial and cultural conflicts already in place; yet, today these issues still exist. North Korea is still attempting to overthrow the South Korean government. Underneath all of the plot elements is the unanswered question that if a war cannot end political conflict, will anything be able to?

MORTAL ALLIES is the third book featuring Major Sean Drummond.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, November 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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