Play the Red Queen

Thank you to Netgalley and Oldcastle Books for the arc of Play the red queen by Juris Jurjevics.

The story follows the Army Criminal Investigation Division officers whom are called Miser and Robeson, They have been giving a task with discovering and even stopping a scooter-riding called The Viet Cong hit woman in Saigon. There is a seemingly odd couple whom is a white and an African-American one poor, one wealthy one. . However, the hit woman is really just wants for the real story that Jurevics wants to tell, namely, about the corruption of the Diem presidency and the 1963 coup that deposed him.

4 Stars
recommend

An Albert Camus quote, 'Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth', perfectly captures Juris Jurjevics’s blend of historical fiction with fact as he shines a light on the less well known aspects of 1963 Saigon in Viet Nam under the then presidency of Diem and the huge US political and military presence, ostensibly under an advisory and training role, focusing particularly on countering the 'commie infestation' of the likes of the Viet Cong (VC). The Catholic Diem, along with his more ruthless and murderous younger brother, Nhu, and his powerful wife, are brutally wiping out any form of opposition, real or otherwise, particularly the protesting Buddhist monks, their paranoia knowing no bounds. All the parties involved are ignoring the rules of war and the Geneva Convention, such as the illegal bullets, and the horrifying American deployment of phosporous artillery and napalm.

In the sweltering heat, and unbearable humidity, Staff Sergeant Ellsworth Miser and African American Sergeant Clovis Robeson, military CID investigators are on the scene of the random third assassination of a member of the American military, by the VC in the form of the young Lady of Death, or the Red Queen as she is known, as she rides by on a bike, making her impossible shots and disappearing immediately. When it appears her next target is going to be a more important 'old fox', it is thought that this could either be Diem or the American ambassador, Henry Cabot Lodge, who has put the squeeze on Diem and his supporters by stopping the treacherously eye watering levels of corruption by which the elites have enriched themselves. In a narrative where very few are as they appear, the hell hole that is Saigon is portrayed with expert local knowledge, Miser and Robeson try to locate the Red Queen amidst the dangerous, tension filled times, where intrigue comes from every corner, rumours of a coup escalate, and no-one can be trusted, least of all their own side.

Jurjevics storytelling is so atmospheric, haunting and gripping, that he makes you feel you are right there in the horror show that is Saigon, where life is cheap, people disappearing, barbaric torture and industrial level killing is the norm, a place teeming with spooks everywhere, including the big CIA presence with their black ops.. The American ambassador is sheltering Buddhists, and whilst overtly apparently appearing to have nothing to do with Viet Nam politics, is not above shady, below the radar pulling of strings, the Americans staggeringly complicit in Viet Nam's elites corruption, set to replicate their Korea experience of can't win, can't lose, and can't quit. This is a superb piece of historical fiction laden as it is with the truth of the US, Saigon and Viet Nam in this particulary turbulent and wretched period of history. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.

"Play The Red Queen" by Juris Jurjevics is set in the cauldron of Saigon in 1963 with the city full of American "military advisers" propping up the corrupt regime of demagogue Ngo Dinh Diem as a coup is the air and the Viet Cong are infiltrating the city and its institutions. As tensions rise a deadly female assassin begins to target American Army officers.
Tasked to find, and kill, the assassin are U.S. Army Investigators Ellsworth Miser and Clovis Robeson and the book initially appears to be a crime thriller in an exotic location.It's very far from that as Miser and Robeson find themselves drawn into a web of conspiracy ,CIA chicanery and political plotting and scheming. The Saigon of that era is perfectly drawn with locals living in poverty while young American girls ride their ponies in the parks, politicians siphon off millions of dollars of aid money while children gleefully pick up brass bullet casings in the midst of a fire fight to sell for scrap and America manipulates and pulls string behind the scenes for its own ends. Jurjevics brings Saigon alive,the smells, the sounds,the ex-pat bars full of expense account journalists and the maze of stalls and side streets ,streets where many locals sleep because they have nowhere else to go.
Miser and Robeson are great characters, sadly Juris Jurjevics passed away in 2018 as there is plenty of mileage in both characters.. Miser is from a poor background and is not averse to breaking the law if it's to his advantage, African American Robeson comes from an affluent family and his conscience dogs him after a serious incident that Miser shrugs off .
This is a great read,one of my all-time favourite books is Graham Greene's ,"The Quiet American" so I already had a fascination for for pre-Vietnam/American (depending which side you were on) War Saigon and it's heady atmosphere. I enjoyed "Play The Red Queen " just as much as Greene's classic . It has everything,it's a murder mystery, a spy story,a political intrigue ,a history lesson. and best of all an all-round great book.

Thanks to Oldcastle Books/No Exit Press. and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.
Juris Jurjevics sadly died not knowing that this book was going to be published, it's a credit to him. R.I.P.

Thank you to Netgalley, Oldcastle Books/No Exit Press and Juris Jurjevics for the ARC in return for an honest review. Admittedly I don't read or know enough about Vietnamese history other than what is portrayed in American films. This book is hauntingly beautiful. I really enjoyed it, well written and let me eager to learn more.