SPOOKS

Author:  James P. Slusser, Sr.

Publisher:  Leatherneck Publishing

Falling in Love in Hell!
 

Author James P. Slusser, Sr. takes the reader on a journey through the cold war of Europe, the hot war in the jungles around Vietnam, and a very personal war that eventually becomes a relationship! In his book called “Spooks”, we get a glimpse of a life that few people can understand and even fewer have even heard about. The story is riveting as it draws you into the hearts and minds of the men and women who survived in that surreal hell that was Vietnam of the 1960’s. 

 It is a rare combination to find a character driven story with actual feelings and emotion and yet, still deliver plenty of action. This book states that it is a fictional story but it also notes that it is based on some actual events. The way the story is presented it is hard to determine which may be factual and what may be the author’s creative imagination. The author does a great job of blurring the line between truth and fiction. The reader is left wondering if perhaps, most of the book is reality based.

 This is a love story between two very opposite and unlikely soul mates—an Army nurse named “Dusty” and a Naval Intelligence Black Ops “Spook” Lieutenant Commander James Cooper. She is hell bent on saving lives and he is a stone- cold killer. She is in Nam trying to deal with the death of her unfaithful husband while in search for her own soul. Copper is in Nam to kill and gather information to make life a living hell for the VC and the NVA.  Yet, they are pulled together and fall in love.

 The intrigue of the operations in Europe lends another level of interest to the story line. Cooper is sent to track down US military deserters with orders to “retrieve or neutralize” them. Like most readers, I wondered about that concept and, if in fact, something like this ever happened. My inside sources tell me that this is far from fiction—but the author cannot either confirm or deny this. The old saying “If I tell you, then I would have to kill you” might apply here. In any case, the way it is written leaves one believing that everything is possible.

 The author uses great phrasing and just enough of a dialog to make the plot move effortlessly along. This book is chuck full of solid energy. Readers of action military novels will embrace this book but it will also appeal to those who enjoy reading books that deal with the deeper emotional impact of war.

 If you were in Nam you will be able to relate to this book no matter what you did there during that war. For those who never served there, it will paint a mental and emotional picture of what it was like for some of those who did serve there. The author presents a very real and descriptive and  factual accounting of actions and people. Totally believable story!

I loved this book and personally recommend it. The Military Writer’s Society of America (MWSA) gives this novel it highest rating of FIVE STARS!  

Reviewed by:
W. H. McDonald, Jr.
Founder and former President of the MWSA and the American Authors Association

Author of “The Spiritual Warrior’s Journey”, “Purple Hearts” and other books

Documentary Film Maker, former radio show host, veteran advocate,
Vietnam Veteran 1966-67 - The 128^th Assault Helicopter Company