One of the best of the genre I've ever read. The setting, an army base in Korea in the 70's, comes alive through Limon's deft descriptions. Feels like noir. Dark winter atmosphere, desperate characters and unexpected humor. You pull for the "good guys" even though they're not so likable.

I usually sell my old mysteries to the used book store--not this one. This one I keep.

This is one of the better books i've read recently. For any military or ex-military personnel who have been to korea, this book will most likely bring back vivid memories of the experience. A difficult place to put into words, Martin Limon acurately describes the way life is over there as far as the american military experience is concerned. Beyond that is also a well thought out and written story that should keep any reader of detective novels very interested. I highly recommend this book as well as "slicky boys".

This is one of the more original mysteries I have read. As a foreigner who has lived in Korea for three years, I still learned a thing or two from the author reading this book and enjoyed hearing about the dark side of Korea. Although presently things have really changed since the timing of the book, I still walked around Itaewon afterwards and spotted some of the places Limon had mentioned. You also end up having a love-hate relationship with the main character, he obviously feels bad for the prostitutes he comes in contact with and seems to care for their welfare, but yet doesn't mind going into a whorehouse for a quick screw and every woman he comes into contact with, whether a working girl or not, is quickly rated on her appearence. The main character also seems to carry around a lot of the stereotypical attitudes military men here seem to have, but yet he also has learned to immerse himself in the culture and language and seems to have great respect for Korea. I will look forward to reading the next two books by this author, and recommend this to anyone who likes suspense and intrigue mixed in with an exotic background.

One of the more original books that I have read lately, it is nice to have characters that are not sugar-coated. Recommend

If "Jade Lady Burning" was a film noir, then this one is the made for TV movie. While Limon's first novel was really quite cerebral and the action required only minimal suspension of disbelief, this one involves too many "perils of Pauline" scenes which detract from the plot's plausibility. Nevertheless, it is a good read.

Maybe I am biased, but I loved this book. The first one was great too. Having spent 2 years as a U.S.Army Korean Linguist, I quickly identified with a the book and the characters. Limon's use of GI terminology is still right on after all these years. Some of my best times were spent "running the ville" or drinking it up in Itaewon. Limon presents the immature behavior of young GIs in korea with a sense of poignancy and senitment.

Limon's portrayal of the characters in this book are as grey as they seemed in Korea. Good people doing not-so-good things. The GIs are partly to blame, and so are the Koreans, and this seems to be an issue that is never really dealt with by the brass over there. Limon tackles this issue in a non-judgemental way and tells things the way they are. It is a retrospective but unapologetic look at the way things are. The overall feeling is that Limon is simply regurgitating everything that he saw in the form of an entertaining mystery.

I would definitely recommend this book to anybody with fond memories of Korea. Without sounding to much like a romantic, I would even recommend this book to GIs currently lost in Korea. Like a pat on the back, Limon reminds us that maybe it's not as bad as it seems after all. Kick back and have a little fun while you are there. Learn a little bit about the culture, language, people etc...

Limon's two previous books were atmospheric, with sustainable plots, and interesting characters. Buddha's Money retains a bit of the first characteristic and absolutely none of the others. The basic plot premise is absurd, the story is weak, and his "Ernie" character has turned into a pointless idiot!

It's hard to believe that the same author who wrote "Jade Lady Burning" and "Slicky Boys" also wrote this book.

I started to read Buddha's Money anticipating a good adventure & mystery story placed in Korea. My interest turned to distaste and then to anger at the author, when the 11 year old girl is kidnapped, raped, tortured and then murdered. This is followed by the brutalization, rape and murder of 2 more women. I stopped reading the book after Lady Ahn was beaten up and gang raped. The author hasn't constructed a solid mystery that relies on solving the crime, psychological insight into the characters or narrative detail about Korea -- instead he's presented a tale that lives vicariously from savaging a female underclass. I reqret buying the book and would not assign any stars, if the Amazon.com rating system allowed this.

The action was first-rate, and the book kept me flipping pages, but I felt the torture of women in this book was too much to bear at times. Every major female character suffered in some way. I'm not squeamish, and can handle violence, but I felt the violence in this book was way too excessive.