Up Country

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 28 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

This production features a special audio introduction by Nelson DeMille.

There is a name carved into the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., of an American army lieutenant whose death is shrouded in mystery. The authorities have reason to believe that he was not killed by the enemy or by friendly fire; they suspect he was murdered.

At first, Paul Brenner, himself a Vietnam vet, isn't interested in investigating the case. After his forced retirement from the army's Criminal Investigation Division, he has adapted to the life of a civilian with a comfortable pension. Then his old boss, Karl Hellmann, summons him to the Vietnam Memorial to call in a career's worth of favors.

Hellmann tells Brenner of the circumstances surrounding the officer's death, and gives him this much to go on: The incident happened over three decades ago in Vietnam; the only evidence is a recently discovered letter written by an enemy soldier describing an act of shocking violence.

Brenner's assignment: return to Vietnam and find the witness.

Reluctantly, Brenner begins a strange journey that unearths his own painful memories of Vietnam and leads him down a trail as dangerous as the ones he walked a lifetime ago as a young infantryman. From sultry, sinful Saigon, where he meets beautiful American expatriate Susan Weber, to the remote, forbidding wilderness of up-country Vietnam, he will follow a trail of lies, betrayal, and murder...and uncover an explosive, long-buried secret.

©2002 by Nelson DeMille, Alll Rights Reserved (P)2002 by Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"A profound exploration of...war, justice, and...the human heart." (Lisa Scottoline, author of Moment of Truth)
"Finely drawn characters, wickedly crisp dialogue, and brilliant twists...Nelson DeMille [is] the master storyteller of our times." (Linda Fairstein, author of The Deadhouse)

Interesting and exciting, but puzzling

This story about a return to Viet Nam brought back a lot of memories from my own past. The 68 Tet Offensive holds memories for me not too different from the ones held by Paul Briner. The story moves too slowly at times but when there is action, no one does it better than DeMille. Leaving us to contiue to wonder about the motives of other characters is also a nice touch. I would recommend the book to those who think they might like to learn a little more about viet Nam from a "grunts" point of view. I especially enjoyed the parts that revealed that things weren't so different for the "opposition" foot soldier.

great

I was in Vietnam at the same time this story is about Nelson DeMille did a great job with all the facts
Wonderful story and Scott Brick nailed it

the only thing missing…

is the sequel, but then that is the beauty of fiction where the best stories are viewed and imagined in the mind. In some respects the tensions of this novel would be exhausting if it not for the fact that it was entertainment. The last 9 hours seem like the characters are walking at the edge of a canyon both personally and professionally. Scott Brick does his usual, excellent job and adds a dimension to brenner that only a handful of narrators could. The novel is excellently constructed like a winding road. The reader sometimes can glimpse but is usually forced to guess what is around the corner; moreover, the waypoint seems to be present and imaginary…this is definitely not a formulaic good guy vs evil knowledge. in fact at the end you are left to wonder just who truly is evil, who/what is good. Will definitely read this book again!

Morose

This sounded like a very good mystery, but actually that was a minor part of the story. I am not male and I have not been to Viet Nam but I am of the era. I come from a military family, most of family did served and many friends. I have several friends living through the result of Agent Orange and suffer still from PTSD.
There were moments in this book that were so dark that I do believe it would be a good read for a Viet Nam vet. I did not go to war but I survived a family that was living hell and while the main character was dredging up his past horrors of war , I found myself dredging up mine. It has taken a life time of faith , "forgiveness", and self introspection to get beyond my experiences
I wish this author had that peace.
I do not know if the narration was actually the voice of the author it was pretty morose.
I think the main character was quite damaged by his visit to Viet Nam and did not receive any healing , certainly his mission harmed him..

It was well written and I am sure there are many readers who follow this author, but I do not think Ill try another book.

Great story!

Well written and entertaining story that provides some insight into the difficult times of that war.

excellent read

hold your attention from beginning to end. well worth your time. Young people who didn't live during that time would enjoy this also as it gives a glimpse into the war but doesn't dwell on it

Excellence

Only Demille can capture and hold my interest in special way. This book exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend

Another good yarn by Demille

What can I say? I am a big Demille and Brick fan. This one is a really good listen and keeps you interested start to finish. That's what is so good about DeMille. He spends the perfect amount of time on character development and then pushes ahead at breakneck speed...

Up Country Unabridged

I found this to be one of the best books of his that I read/listened to. Exciting and kept you wondering how it would turn out and right up to the end, you still weren't sure!

Good Listen

I have become a big fan of Nelson DeMille, only recently. This is my 3rd book of his and I do enjoy them.

Up Country mixes a good story with the interesting internal struggles of the main characters quite effectively!

My only knocks on this book are similar to my knocks on other DeMille's works in that his editor/s should have cut a few spots when he gets a bit wordy for no particular reason.

Second, Scott Brick is a horrible narrator. He couldn't deliver a funny or witty line if his life depended on it. He misinterprets witty banter - and instead delivers such dialogue as an angry exchange. He is literally dumber than a BRICK, and can't follow the author's intent at all!! Basically, he is a Cheeseball B-Actor, and he is continuously overdramatic when he does not need to be. I will avoid a book if Scott Brick narrates unless I really like the author.

Given these two irritants, the book is too good to give it anything but a 5-star.

Recommended!