James R Westergreen
Lincoln Park
The first paragraph is about leeches and Americans wading the paddies, mostly likely working in the Phoenix Program. I was hooked enough to keep reading.
The back cover blurb tells us that this book is a wartime thriller ranging “from the pleasure districts of Saigon to the back-alleys of Chicago.” MP Cpt. Tobias Riley is on a quest for vengeance as his buddies are double-crossed and their bodies litter the pages.
Naturally, there is an American deserter who joins up with a mysterious Madam who runs a heroin ring out of a hotel in Cholon. I spent a lot of time in Cholon, but never ran into anything exciting. But that’s fine. I wouldn’t want to read a novel about the time I spent in Cholon; it’d be too boring, and this novel is far from boring. The bloody exploits of villain Jack Flash in his Phoenix Program role keeps the pot boiling with his connections to “Air American pilots, Chinese warlords and rogue soldiers.”
The characters are running a race to the first to retrieve a lost C-47 full of heroin. The colorful, all-American language keeps the book anchored in the times: We read about Terry and the Pirates, Roy Orbison, OK Corral, My Lai and Lt. Calley, the Moron Corps, Davy Crockett, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Steve McQueen, Jim Morrison, Brigit Bardot, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, Glen Miller, Flash Gordon, Agent Orange, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” Geronimo, Saddle Up, Most Ricky Tick, FTA, righting with our arms tied behind our backs, Indian Country, the light at the end of the tunnel, Peace with Honor, cannon fodder, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—the list goes on and on.
Westergreen creates a verbal tapestry with this language, which holds the sometimes frantic plot and story lines together. The language is almost another character in this frantic and hectic thriller. The author is a superb word craftsman.
James Westergreen
Double-cross and vengeance color most of the pages in this fast-paced book. Fans of wartime thrillers will love it. Good luck in finding another book more filled with the violence associated with modern war and illegal drugs run amok.
Westergreen has made his career writing gritty action novels. He has hit new highs in this one. Buy it and enjoy.
The author’s website is https://jwestergreen.wixsite.com/author
Jim,
Good story. You have a talent.
I also enjoyed Lincoln Park. This is a genuine thriller laced with romance, dark humor, and some of the horrible reality of the Vietnam Experience -- which you even managed to end on an optimistic note.
I think it would be wonderful to persuade a Francis Coppola, Oliver Stone, or maybe even the Coen brothers to put Lincoln Park in movie form.
La madrugada,
Lincoln Park was on my radar to purchase. Before being able to do so I received a copy as a birthday present. I had read the trailer and thought it would make for an interesting read. Two days later, hardly able to put it down, I had finished the book. The author utilizes a certain dialog to describe tales of bravery and horror, with characters intertwined that kept me on the edge of my seat. James Westergreen laid out a good background based upon good research in layman terms which I truly enjoyed!
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This isn’t just a strong first book, it’s a strong book by any standards. Lincoln Park is packed with vivid, unique characters who struggle, kill, deceive and somehow find true love in the war-torn and war-subsidized underworld of 1960’s Saigon through a web of interwoven plotlines that converge, often explosively, in ways you least expect. Whores, cops, government assassins, a whole cauldron of jaded and corrupt military and paramilitary operatives -- all scheming to get ahead, get even, or get out of a war nobody wanted.
Westergreen’s control of his subject matter is unflinching, and he steers the reader through the intricacies of the multilayered plot with a master’s hand. After reading such a powerful first book, I have high expectations for his next work Fast paced thriller with well-developed characters and a gripping plotline that spans across time and place. Readers are taken on a journey through the smoky brothels of Vietnam-era Saigon to the blue-collars corner bars of a fast-changing Chicago in the early 1970’s. The author has a talent for description and captures the conflict, corruption and the consequences of this fleeting historical moment. An exciting read!
I loved the author's descriptive style. I felt like I knew his characters and anxiously awaited what was going to happen next. At first I hurried to find out, but then slowed as I didn't want the book and my adventure reading it to end. An excellent story of violence, intrigue and love. You will not be disappointed!
Excellent Thriller. You can tell straight away that the Author has a talent for writing. This was such an easy book to read, and very well written. I like that the story was set around what happened off the killing fields of the Vietnam War, and more on the streets of Saigon, with the greed corruption and murder. The story moves along at a good pace with plenty happening. With everything from CIA sanctioned killings, drug trafficking and violence. With pretty much everyone turning a blind eye, and making it hard for MP Captain Riley to do his job. You can’t help but be pulled into this story. It’s well worth a read.
Very well written and super interesting story. Its the bad buys vs. the good guys with soooo much grey area. Great plot, great flow and the story lines are tied up in a pretty little bow to end the book. Twisted, sadistic, graphic, eye opening, funny, sad and even romantic. The first scene is enough to get you into this writing and curious to know what's going on and what's going to happen next. The attention to detail and the way that detail is presented, it was like watching a movie rather than reading a book. Loved the names of the characters! A very enjoyable, quick and easy read. It will whisk you away to a foreign land, take you to a dark place/time in our history and then bring you home (especially if you're from Chicago) again. You will not regret reading this book and I'm looking forward to more to come.This book was a great read. I took it to the beach the other day and read it in one sitting.
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” –Haruki Murakami
The Bottom Line: Readers looking for a high-stakes mystery will fall hard for Lincoln Park.
Blame it on the continued success of The Devil In The White City, but Chicago is having a literary moments. Mystery writers are culling the Second City — and its first iteration — for hidden stories and back-alley goings on to create stories that blend the familiar with the foreign.
James Westergreen’s Lincoln Park does just that by way of Vietnam War-era Saigon and Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The depiction of the violence and gruesome realities of Vietnam, including military deserters, the red-light district, and a drug war contrast Captain Tobias Riley’s return to civilian life. Along with Tobias, there’s a complex cast with military brass, locals, and foreigners, but the book never feels overwrought, a cunning feat for such seemingly heavy material. Lincoln Park’s two parts — the first in Vietnam and the second at home — work together wonderfully. Themes cross over and Tobias’ own personal development is an exciting journey to follow, whether he’s observing the lack of oversight in Vietnam or the false ideas of power held by law enforcement in Chicago. Connecting the dots should come naturally to seasoned mystery buffs, but the complete picture here will be a surprise to everyone.
As the story moves from the corruption of the military industrial complex abroad to an apathetic system at home, Tobias faces organized crime, a budding love story, and the complicated issues of returning to a “normal” life after seeing brutal violence and worse. Lincoln Park is a quick read, but escapist in the best way. Fans of historical fiction will revel in every page. Anyone looking for a read that leaves a lasting impression would be wise to pick this one up. Overall, the book is a blend of history, suspense, and romance — a tricky trio for any author — creates a enthralling novel that hops from war-torn Vietnam to American soil.
I have read/seen other stories about the Vietnam conflict but they are usually focused on the actual fighting. What was nice about Lincoln Park was the fighting and the conflict were merely a setting or a backdrop to the opportunists taking advantage of the conflict and the resulting influx of foreigners. The author must have done his homework because he did a great job describing and explaining this seedy corrupt world. I would definitely recommend reading this book. Great for a plane ride or even a day on the beach.
What a great plot with lots of suspense. It's a very difficult time in history to write about, but our author has done a wonderful job. Great character development. You will be glued until the last page.
I agree that this is a book that does an excellent job of exploring the underbelly of Saigon during the Vietnam War. The author did a great job of developing his characters. I would add that friendship and love are also an important part of this story.
