Mortal Allies Book

Don't Ask. Don't Tell. Especially When it Comes to Murder. But Major Sean Drummond never plays it safe. Even when the young son of a South Korean war hero is found dead under dark circumstances and the Army orders Drummond to defend the American officer accused. Even when Drummond must work with his ruthless-and beautiful-old law school rival. Even when what begins as a simple case explodes into a war of secret international agendas...with Drummond in the crosshairs.

I knew there was a reason I picked up this series. This book revolves around the issues of gays in the military, and in particular the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Our hero is hauled out of a well-deserved Bermuda vacation and flown to riot-torn Seoul, where his new role comes as a nasty shock. Not only is his client accused of rape, murder and necrophilia, but the victim is a Korean soldier in the American army, the only son of the country's defense minister. And it turns out that Sean has a history with his co-counsel, Katherine (Moonbeam) Carlson.

The hope that Sergeant First Class, Imelda Pepperfield will deliver retribution to Sean's old antagonist quickly fades, as the 'grumpiest, gnarliest person God ever put on this green earth' beams at her new associates. This no-nonsense gal has quickly become my favorite as she educates Sean about being a bit more tolerant and a lot less judgemental when he struggles with his ethics surrounding military vs. gays.

It's a combination of legal thriller and spy story with pressure from all sides, media distortion, CIA and North Korean involvement, and rampant corruption. The tension between Sean Attila Drummond and Katherine Moonbeam Carlson is tremendous fun which, along with Machiavellian plots, treachery and murder, keeps the plot moving riotously fast. Don't begin Mortal Allies unless you have a clear stretch of reading time ahead; it's a tough one to put down, even more so than Secret Sanction.