UP COUNTRY

DeMille explores an intriguing secret, long buried amidst the chaos of the end of the Vietnam War. Paul Brenner, ex-Army CID officer and Vietnam vet and last seen in The General's Daughter, is recruited to solve a twenty-five-year-old murder within the U.S. troops. Ken Howard is smooth and smart with Brenner's snappy dialogue. He does the Asian accents just about right and relishes the smaller character roles. While heavily abridged from the monumental full text, Brenner's circuitous quest stays coherent, although the ghosts of memories and flashbacks seem to play around the edges without full disclosure. DeMille and Howard deliver a strong mix of compelling listening. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]