First Line: As I learned in high school biology, the female of the species is often more dangerous than the male.
Nostalgia led me to read this short story, simply because my mother read many Nelson DeMille novels. Now I know why she did.
DeMille was an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam who earned a Bronze Star, and his story about soldiers going out on a patrol through enemy territory during their last month of service put me right in the elephant grass and napalm-bombed areas with them.
The soldiers' objective is to report back on enemy troop movements and locations, but they lose both radio operators and radios to sniper fire. Readers soon learn that a Vietnamese female is the person who's picking them off one by one, and the soldiers have no alternative but to head for a pickup point and, hopefully, safety.
The cat-and-mouse game this woman plays with these men kept me glued to the pages of this swiftly moving story, and its ending is honest even though it may exasperate those who insist that their reading has absolutely no loose ends.
Now I'm going to have to choose one of DeMille's novels to read. Thanks, Mom. Even from the grave, you're adding to my to-be-read pile!
Rendezvous by Nelson DeMille
eISBN: 9781477855010
Thomas & Mercer © 2012
eBook, 30 pages
Short Story, Standalone
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Amazon.
