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Up Country (Paul Brenner #2)

by Nelson DeMille (Goodreads Author)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 7,682 ratings · 401 reviews

The last thing Paul Brenner wanted to do was return to work for the Army's Criminal Investigative Division, an organization that thanked him for his many years of dedicated service by forcing him into early retirement. But when his former boss calls in a career's worth of favors, Paul finds himself investigating a murder that took place back in Vietnam thirty years before....more

Paperback, 880 pages

Published April 1st 2003 by Vision (first published January 1st 2002)

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Dec 14, 2010 Cyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was probably one of the most compelling representations of Vietnam I've ever been exposed to: the war, reflections on the war, and present-day - at least, when the main story takes place, in '97.

What I mean by that is that I developed a deeper understanding of the people, their tenacity, and various things that occurred during the war. I haven't changed my opinion that the Communist North should have been crushed like a bug (we could have done it, we just lacked the will - and the Sou...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Dalton Lynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Jan 27, 2009 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-and-thrillers

One of my favorite characters, Paul Brenner, is back from one of my favorite authors. Having pissed off the brass in his last case, see The General's Daughter, Paul has been forcibly retired having pissed off a lot of brass His former boss, Colonel Helden, calls him up for a meeting at the Wall where he presents a most interesting proposal. They have a letter from a witness who says he say an army captain shot an army lieutenant in cold blood during the Tet offensive in Vietnam. The army wants t...more One of my favorite characters, Paul Brenner, is back from one of my favorite authors. Having pissed off the brass in his last case, see The General's Daughter, Paul has been forcibly retired having pissed off a lot of brass His former boss, Colonel Helden, calls him up for a meeting at the Wall where he presents a most interesting proposal. They have a letter from a witness who says he say an army captain shot an army lieutenant in cold blood during the Tet offensive in Vietnam. The army wants the killer identified and punished. So Brenner, in return for a bigger pension and reinstatement, must solve a case that has no body, no apparent motive, no accused, no witnesses except for the letter, a witness who may have died years before, a witness who happens to have been NVA, a killer who may even be dead; a murder that may not even be a murder and which occurred during the midst of a heated battle over thirties years before. Not to mention that the dead man’s name is inscribed on the Wall and his relatives and friends all assume he was killed in battle.
Things are never what they seem, and Brenner learns from his FBI briefing just as he is about to embark on the trip to Vietnam to find the NVA witness, assuming he is still alive, that there are many things the army CID and FBI would rather he not know, but he suspects they want him to locate the man so they can kill him. Just his cup of tea.
Once in Vietnam, Paul meets Susan. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, etc., except that Paul suspects that Susan, who ostensibly works for the Bank of America on trade issues, might also have a connection to the CIA. She and he travel together, her knowledge of Vietnam proving to be invaluable and Paul begins to put some of the pieces together.
Many of the Demille books I have read exist on several levels. One suspects that this book is a much a personal meditation on the war that DeMille served in as an infantry lieutenant. Some of the stories that Paul recounts to Susan are just too real. I think it’s one of the best books I’ve read about our nation’s coming to terms with our Vietnam experience(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Tom Kjos rated it 4 of 5 stars

There was a story about novelist and Vietnam veteran Nelson DeMille in a recent issue of American Legion magazine. I was struck by the similarity between his Vietnam tour and my first one: to the 1st Cavalry Division in November 1967, battles in Bong Son, then north to Quang Tri for Tet, the relief of Khe Sanh, the A Shau Valley, finally back to “the world” a year later. A fraternity brother gave me the paperback just a week ago. Nelson DeMille seemed familiar, even though I’d not read any of hi...more There was a story about novelist and Vietnam veteran Nelson DeMille in a recent issue of American Legion magazine. I was struck by the similarity between his Vietnam tour and my first one: to the 1st Cavalry Division in November 1967, battles in Bong Son, then north to Quang Tri for Tet, the relief of Khe Sanh, the A Shau Valley, finally back to “the world” a year later. A fraternity brother gave me the paperback just a week ago. Nelson DeMille seemed familiar, even though I’d not read any of his books. Not personal, it’s just that crime novels have never attracted me.

I flew through the 850+ pages in less than a week. The repartee of the characters was entertaining; the pace of the story was just enough to hold my interest. One story? Not really. This novel is at least three things between two covers. It’s a murder mystery, and regardless of Mr. DeMille’s reputation, that story is pretty thin. It’s a romance, the principal characters engaging in a barbed repartee between shared beds, showers, and (of all things) a Nha Trang, Vietnam nude beach. DeMille writes the comedy of the battle of the sexes – in this instance CIA and Army CID – with a deft touch, enough to elicit frequent smiles and an occasional chuckle from this reader.

But what it is mostly is a memoir of combat in Vietnam, told as fiction, with some hyperbole (a machete-entrenching tool mano-a-mano duel with the enemy? Please) but with the edgy undercurrent of a real soldier’s narrative. A soldier returning thirty years on to the killing fields where he lost his youth. That young soldier was Lieutenant DeMille, leading a platoon in D Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, and that soldier was me, with my own platoon in D Company 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry. Both in the 1st Brigade, both "saw the elephant" in Bong Son, then on to Quang Tri, Khe Sanh, and A Shau. The book’s protagonist, Paul Brenner, the investigator in “The General’s Daughter” is on the ultimate “cold case,” a murder in a combat zone. That’s the thin part, except that Mr. Brenner takes a tour of Vietnam, returning to those fields with Susan Weber, the object both of his affection (eventually), and his suspicion (immediately). She isn’t the murderer, of course – that’s never in play – but she may not be an ally, either. A literal case of “sleeping with the enemy.”

DeMille (through Brenner) takes Susan on a tour, and for a veteran, his word picture of those places at that far away time, and his description of those places as they were in 1997, when he made his own trip back, is more than worth the read.

DeMille. There was a DeMille once, I thought. The photograph inside the back cover was familiar, recalled in a younger version. I pulled out a blue construction paper program, saved for nearly a half century. The front, “Graduation Ceremony, Infantry Officer Candidate Class Number 23-67.” On the back, the poem, “I am the Infantry.” Inside, my name; Chuck Mohr, who became a friend in a later assignment; Robert Marasco, who became famous to some, infamous to others; and there, too “Nelson R. DeMille.” I knew it.

He writes that Paul Brenner first “saw the elephant” in Bong Son, but makes no mention of my current project, “The Battle of Tam Quan,” fought over two weeks in December 1967. That sent me scrambling to my research, a unit-by-unit recap of maneuver and contact. For 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, no D Company. I’ll find them, I’m sure on firebase defense duty, and none will regret that luck of the draw.
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Apr 19, 2013 Anirban rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-mystery, political-spy-thriller, favorites, 2013

Quotes
“The dead, if they could speak, would tell you why they died, but the living have no answers”

“I make jokes when I’m stressed, and when I sense danger..”

Review

After a gap of almost 4 months, I once again read a political thriller. The last one I had read was “Key to Rebecca” by Ken Follett. But, UP COUNTRY was nothing like it. Moreover, just like Key.., this one would also stay as one of my favourite books of all time.

The plot starts where ex-military CID, Paul Brenner is asked to return to...more Quotes
“The dead, if they could speak, would tell you why they died, but the living have no answers”

“I make jokes when I’m stressed, and when I sense danger..”

Review

After a gap of almost 4 months, I once again read a political thriller. The last one I had read was “Key to Rebecca” by Ken Follett. But, UP COUNTRY was nothing like it. Moreover, just like Key.., this one would also stay as one of my favourite books of all time.

The plot starts where ex-military CID, Paul Brenner is asked to return to Vietnam, as a favour and to investigate a murder which took place during the Vietnam War. Both, the murderer and the victim were American soldiers, and the witness to the crime was a Viet Cong soldier. Brenner is asked to locate this VC, who currently lives in North Vietnam, to help the investigators to bring justice to the guilty.

Standard stereotype Vietnam veteran plot. But, once I started reading, I realised that whatever I was reading was anything but “STANDARD”. Brenner starts his journey, and starts relieving the war, which he had participated in, almost 30 years ago. Seldom had I read such an absorbing and heartfelt description, of not only the war, but also the emotions a soldier had to go through. Unlike other novels I had read which were somehow connected to Vietnam War, this book provided me with an unusual POV of a soldier. Mr.DeMille was himself a Viet-Vet. So, it’s safe to assume that a lot of emotions portrayed in the book were personally experienced by DeMille himself. As Brenner starts recounting the incidents one by one, or come face to face with the horrors of the war, of what it could do and what it did do to the people who tried to kill one another. Everyone came out, those who could, of the war with a mental and physical scar that would never heal. As once Brenner remarks that a North Vietnamese in modern day would die with an American but would never share the table with a South Vietnamese. Such was the hatred that got imbibed.

The book was a bit low on the thrill quotient. But, then again the memories of Brenner, his conflicting emotions about his female escort, Susan Webber, the country Vietnam were more than enough to hold on to my attention.

Summing up, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Took some time to complete it, but given the fact that the book was 867 pages long and that I didn’t skip a single page. Definitely one of the most original and heartfelt book written about the Vietnam War, where the writer was himself a Veteran. The book presented us with a heartfelt account of the war through the hero, another Viet Vet.

P.S. Literary snobs, who shout that crime fiction is all pulpy and fake, should read this book. Mr.DeMille showed everyone that you don’t have to be a Booker shortlist author to write a heart wrenching account of a sad incident of which he was a part of. All you need is a little bit of courage and desire to tell a story.
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Nov 24, 2012 Richard Small rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-other

Just finished reading Up Country by Nelson Demille for at least the third time. Enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it. If I can read a book three times and still feel it is as fresh and interesting as the first time I read it, then I believe the book deserves 5 stars.

If you are interested in gaining some insight into the Vietnam War, then this book will satisfy that desire. Demille, an officer who survived two deployments to Vietnam, offers clear and concise information about what...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Sharyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just finished the audio book of Nelson Demille's "Up country" which is sort of the follow up to "The General's daughter". Although written 10 years apart, the time from in the book is only 1 or 2 years. Demille served in Vietnam and was at the Tet offensive of 1968 and also 1972. So this book is written from the perspective of someone who served. The book takes place perhaps around 1988 or so, with a fictional VP. Paul Brenner, who is now a civilian, is sent to Vietnam to look into a 20 year old...more

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May 09, 2012 Carl Brush rated it 2 of 5 stars

My first foray into the world of Nelson DeMille was last November with Nightfall, an entertaining thriller that was contrived to be Deus Ex Machina’d by 9/11. Up Country is similarly entertaining, but not similarly contrived and definitely more substantial fare than Nightfall.
Based partly, according to the acknowledgements, on the author’s own recollections of his military service in Vietnam, the novel’s suspenseful and sexy
chase takes us from Saigon (whoops, Ho Chi Minh City) to Hanoi and many...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Marcus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Initially, this book can give the impression of being standard De Mille fare. Jack Brenner, by now retired military police investigator introduced to us in "General's Daughter", is being sent to Vietnam to investigate vague news about a murder committed in the middle of the Tet offensive 1968.

For those that know what kind of books De Mille usually writes, it would be easy to expect a story with twists and turns in the plot, with lots of action and one or two femme fatales in distress. And sure...more Initially, this book can give the impression of being standard De Mille fare. Jack Brenner, by now retired military police investigator introduced to us in "General's Daughter", is being sent to Vietnam to investigate vague news about a murder committed in the middle of the Tet offensive 1968.

For those that know what kind of books De Mille usually writes, it would be easy to expect a story with twists and turns in the plot, with lots of action and one or two femme fatales in distress. And sure enough, those elements can be found in "Up Country", but the thriller element moves very quickly to the backseat in favor of completely different topic. You see, Jack Brenner is a Vietnam War veteran and his less than willing return to this country forces him to deal with all the issues connected with his personal participation in that war and how it affected the rest of his life. His search for the truth takes him through the entire length of Vietnam and as he visits his old battlefields and meets some of the people he once fought with or against, he is forced to deal with some very dark personal demons.

Knowing that the author is himself a Vietnam war combat veteran and that he visited Vietnam in the late nineties gives a lot of insight into what this book is about and perhaps why it was written at all. It is not too farfetched to assume that "Up Country" is to large degree auto-biographical and a way for DeMille to deal with some very real personal issues. Parts of the book certainly did sound very personal and it was a touching and fascinating read for me.

However, this book has one major flaw and it is the fact that it is presented as a thriller. Like I said earlier, there is a thriller element in "Up Country", but its primary task is to take Brenner from point A to point B and allow him to deal with his war experiences. Compared with DeMilles previous books, this one has miniscule amount of action and anyone who will pick up "Up Country" in belief that it's another "Charm School" or "Lion's Game", will be very sorely disappointed.I liked "Up Country" a lot, but it's misrepresented and definitely not for De Mille's usual audience.(less)

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Aug 20, 2011 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of three books I read during a week on Cape Cod extending over the fourth of July weekend 2011. It's a rollicking good tale, exciting while it lasts, and well researched in terms of its details about Vietnam today versus Vietnam during the war. I read it because "it was there" in my in-laws house and they had read it before visiting Vietnam. I'm glad I read it, but it's really a TV adventure movie when all is said and done - granted, with a lot of well researched local detail. The au...more This is one of three books I read during a week on Cape Cod extending over the fourth of July weekend 2011. It's a rollicking good tale, exciting while it lasts, and well researched in terms of its details about Vietnam today versus Vietnam during the war. I read it because "it was there" in my in-laws house and they had read it before visiting Vietnam. I'm glad I read it, but it's really a TV adventure movie when all is said and done - granted, with a lot of well researched local detail. The author served in Vietnam in some of the exact areas he writes about, so there's an unmistakable authenticity there.

I recommend Annabelle Nelson's review(I do not know her, but her review is on this site):

Annabelle Nelson
Sep 01, 2009
Annabelle Nelson rated it 3 of 5 stars
Paul Brenner, a former army infantry man in Vietnam, army intelligence investigator, and now retired gets rope into going back to Vietnam on an ambiguous mission of finding a person who had seen a US captain kill a US lieutenant A young woman, Susan Brenner, is an investment banker in Saigon and inexplicably pursues Paul sexually as well as a logistician to help him with his journey north of Hanoi almost to the Chinese border. I liked this book a lot, it was formulaic with the older thick sk...morePaul Brenner, a former army infantry man in Vietnam, army intelligence investigator, and now retired gets roped into going back to Vietnam on an ambiguous mission of finding a person who had seen a US captain kill a US lieutenant A young woman, Susan Brenner, is an investment banker in Saigon and inexplicably pursues Paul sexually as well as a logistician to help him with his journey north of Hanoi almost to the Chinese border. I liked this book a lot, it was formulaic with the older thick skinned, smart ass rebellious hero in league with a younger femme fatale operative, almost like a Sean Connery movie. But the vividly, detailed research on the Vietnam battles, the evenness in presenting both the US and Viet Cong atrocities, and the viciousness of power politics in back room make the book almost great. He draws interesting characters making even me like a male chauvinist, and making the head of the Vietnamese police interesting even as he tortures people. More than a good read.
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Jul 24, 2010 Jerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

A "5" for us boomers: truth, suspense, and sexual tension...

Nobody but a Vietnam War (in country) veteran could have written this book. Indeed, Nelson DeMille was an Army First Louie in 1968, a very troubled time for our country and the world. According to his web site, he returned for a nostalgic tour of Vietnam just a few years ago, and from that trip was hatched this book. Part travelogue, part intimate retrospective, it will probably hit home far harder for those of us over 50 than for thos...more A "5" for us boomers: truth, suspense, and sexual tension...

Nobody but a Vietnam War (in country) veteran could have written this book. Indeed, Nelson DeMille was an Army First Louie in 1968, a very troubled time for our country and the world. According to his web site, he returned for a nostalgic tour of Vietnam just a few years ago, and from that trip was hatched this book. Part travelogue, part intimate retrospective, it will probably hit home far harder for those of us over 50 than for those who really don't know what Vietnam was or wasn't about. Even so, the horrors of war depicted are almost too lucid -- in fact, I felt I was almost watching a movie throughout much of the proceedings; and to no little surprise came the author's revelation in his afterward that a screen version is indeed in the making.

There is a gripping plot to go with the history lesson. Reprised from DeMille's novel "General's Daughter" (also a movie) is criminal investigator (now retired) Paul Brenner, who is a twice survivor of tours in Nam. He is persuaded to go back to investigate the 30-year-old alleged murder of a US Army Lieutenant by a US Army Captain. There is more unsaid about the mission and the probable outcome than is revealed, and we get wiser with each succeeding 100 pages (of 700) as to the real motivations and story behind the mission. Meanwhile, our hero meets a sexy "helper", businesswoman Susan Weber, who (eventually) Paul beds during the night while worrying during the day that her orders are to kill him . This relationship adds a great deal of tension to an already excellent premise. The ending, of both the plot per se, and the boy/girl sub-plot are not totally resolved, which will disappoint some readers who like things all wrapped up. What a jump point for a sequel though!

I found myself picking up this book to notch a chapter or two at other than my normal reading times, so it had my attention throughout. And while I personally never got further than Hawaii during the war, one could not help recalling much of one's own experiences, politics, and feelings -- then and now. To the extent much of the material almost has to be autobiographical, I applaud the author's sincerity and courage for telling it like it was and like he recalls. It was not obvious he did a thing to spin the mutual devastation to make things nice. And his descriptions of some of modern day Vietnam were truly frightening.

Possibly a little sharper editing (we could probably have stood a couple of hundred pages less) would be all to move this book, Demille's 12th novel, to the top of the scale. Nonetheless, a very fine book.

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Apr 25, 2010 Dryfly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not quite a terrible book but certainly not very good. I'm not even sure why I bothered to finish it, other than the fact that I read it while on vacation in Vietnam.

To begin with, hardly anything happened in the first 300 pages, other than Brenner's girlfriend smoking a lot. Why did he have to describe her everytime she lit up? At least he didn't bother us with descriptions of her trips to bathroom.

Secondly, there seemed to be some big gaps in logic. I'm still not sure why they hired the priva...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Annabelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Paul Brenner, a former army infantry man in Vietnam, army intelligence investigator, and now retired gets rope into going back to Vietnam on an ambiguous mission of finding a person who had seen a US captain kill a US lieutenant A young woman, Susan Brenner, is an investment banker in Saigon and inexplicably pursues Paul sexually as well as a logistician to help him with his journey north of Hanoi almost to the Chinese border. I liked this book a lot, it was formulaic with the older thick skinne...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Will rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Vietnam veterans

Shelves: vietnam-retro

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 15, 2012 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, historical-fiction, vietnam, mystery-thriller

“Up Country” by Nelson DeMille is a new kind of adventure, espionage, suspense book for DeMille. Returning again to Vietnam and the places he was stationed during the Vietnam War, Paul Brenner has been persuaded to investigate and resolve the murder of a soldier during wartime. Starting with a long lost letter from a family, following the trail to find the personal effects of the soldier, and the travels across the Vietnam countryside fill the pages of this novel. The book is politically charged...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Amanda Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was fact-checking the entire time! I followed along with a map, used Google Earth and Wikipedia and concentrated much on the war itself rather than the fictional storyline (it was great, also). One page made me want to go to Vietnam to make me see for myself and the next page had me saying, "Never. Ever." At one iodine in the book, I thought I wanted to download a Vietnamese language app- like I would ever need it! I got way into this book and was pleased with DeMille's description of the peop...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vietnam

Good and bad, really. It was a great vehicle for a tour of Vietnam, past and present, and DeMille manages for the most part to keep up the pace over 650 pages - though an editor could have cut out a good quarter, in my opinion.

On the down side, he layers cliche up on cliche, and wrongly assumes that acknowledging the cliches by having the main character occasionally say things like "I felt like James Bond!" negated their predictability.

I was frustrated to once again encounter a strong, independ...more

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May 18, 2010 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like Paul Brenner, but I prefer John Corey by far (from Plum Island, & The Lion's Game & Night Fall) due to the fact Paul Brenner can't seem to get past 3 paragraphs without having a 2 full-page Vietnam war flashback! Not to trivialize the war or whatever, but particularly the trip up to Quang Tri flashback section goes on way long to hold your interest. And yes, there's no less than 854 mentions of "Susan lighting up another cigarette again" references. We get it already! She's a smok...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Donald Gallinger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Up Country is Nelson Demille's suspense thriller set in post-Vietnam. Full of exciting escapes and tense drama, Demille takes the reader on a dangerous adventure through a country teaming with ghosts from previous wars. Superbly researched. Brilliantly paced. A must read for DeMille fans.

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Jan 30, 2009 Bruce Henderson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is set in present day North Vietnam. The main character, a former Vietnam War veteran, is a criminal investigator asked to investigate a Vietnam War-era murder of an American officer by another American officer. Along the way, he plays a cat-and-mouse game with a former North Vietnam soldier who now holds considerable rank within the Communist intelligence service. He also acquires an American ex-pat, a woman who ostensibly works for American corporate interests but turns out to be wor...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Zoey Derrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

This has to be one of my favorite Nelson DeMille Books. I love the character of Paul Brenner and what he does in Up Country astounds me still. I own the physical book, the Audiobook, and the ebook versions and one of the things that captivated me the most was when I listened to the Audiobook version and Nelson does an introduction to the story. With that introduction I felt a deeper connection to the story because Paul's journey through Vietnam on a second tour no doubt had many things in common...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, vietnam-war

Demille revives military criminal invesitgator Paul Brenner from his novel The General's Daughter. He is tasked to travel to rural North Vietnam, poing as a tourist, in order to find and interview a Vietnamese Army witness to a murder of an American lietenant by a captain during the Tet Offensive 30 years before. Soon after arriving he befriends a beautiful ex-pat American woman, who accompanies his on his quest. As to be expected, love and dangers multiply, and Paul can't trust anyone and must...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Gerald rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-demille, genre-fiction, theme-military, genre-suspense, location-se-asia, location-vietnam, all-time-favorites, owned

Nelson DeMille is one of my favorite authors. His protagonist Paul Brenner is an ex-U.S. Army criminal investigator who goes to Vietnam 30 years after the end of the year to investigate the alleged murder during the Vietnam War of one American by another. During the course of his investigation he must travel by various means from Saigon (which Paul refuses to refer to as the renamed Ho Chi Minh City) to the very northern part of Vietnam while avoiding the clutches of the Vietnamese official (for...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do not usually read crime solving books. However, the setting in this book is Vietnam. I will be going there next year. This book took me from the Saigon to Hanoi appreciating the landscape and the towns and cities along the way. I am ashamed to say that I paid little attention to the Vietnam War as I was home raising little children at the time. Today, I would be protesting. The story is about a former enlisted man going back to Vietnam on assignment to solve a crime. He visits and tells abou...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Ted Trembinski rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book

This book is definitely outside my regular reading list. My grandfather, a regular reader of Grisham and the like suggested I pick this up after he finished it. I think he picked it up after receiving recommendations from family friends, and discovering the author was a native Long Islander.

Another note before I get to the meat is that I read most of this book on a quiet lake during a quiet vacation. That being said, it was an enjoyable summer read.

Overall, Up Country is a modern day and self aw...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Mike Tueros added it

A masterpiece from DeMille and featuring the second installment of Paul Brennar (from the General's Daughter). Recently retired, Brennar is called back into action for the CID to solve a 30 year old murder in Vietnam. A high ranking US Captain murdered a Lieutenant, which was unknowingly witnessed by a North Vietnamese solider. 30 years later, evidence surfaces that Brennar must investigate, and is thrust back into Vietnam where he served 2 tours. DeMille captures emotions from the war and a cou...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Judy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't read this when it first came out because I read a review of it which said there was way too much detail about Vietnam and it bored the person reviewing it. I should have known better. Nelson DeMille is my favorite author and the story is about the investigation of a murder which happened in Vietnam 30 years ago. How could it be "boring?" Add to that the fact that my husband (a Marine) was in 'nam just before the Tet offensive, which is when the murder took place, and Paul Brennan (a pre...more

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Dec 02, 2009 Denis Farley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nice mystery set in Vietnam in 1968 around the time of the Tet Offensive.

This book was a gift. Having been sucked up into this maelstrom and led blindfolded to the brink of the precipice as a young provencial, I somehow with luck and a certain innate determination, avoided jumping over.

I suppose I turned the corner in bayonet training. I had been in better physical shape then 95% of my comrades, taking many firsts in physical events and competitions, including staff pugilism . . . but I had disc...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I kept putting off reading this because I had no interest in Vietnam. Thought it was too long (854 pgs) and perhaps boring. I couldn't have been more wrong. I could have read 854 more. DeMille could rewrite the phone book and I would be mesmerized. His skill of weaving an intriguing plot and combing it with as much detail and history was (and I hate using such an overused word) awesome. I grew up during Vietnam but was unaffected. This novel brought to me the horrors of war as seen by everyone w...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not bad but could have been a lot better. Usual DeMille quality in atmosphere and dialogue. But--it takes a long time for anything to happen. Basically the first third of the book could have been cut drastically. Another problem I had was with the obnoxiousness of the main character. I realize that Brenner showed up in a previous book, which I have not read, but he is also very similar to the main character in the Gold Coast and Plum Island. That is, the typical DeMille main character is a tough...more

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About Nelson DeMille

Nelson Richard DeMille was born in New York City on August 23, 1943 to Huron and Antonia (Panzera) DeMille. He moved as a child with his family to Long Island. In high school, he played football and ran track.

DeMille spent three years at Hofstra University, then joined the Army and attended Officer Candidate School. He was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army (1966-69) and saw action as an...more

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Trivia About Up Country

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Quotes from Up Country

“Most guys arrived here normal, and they were shocked and sickened by the behavior of the guys who'd been here a while. Then within a few weeks, they'd stop being shocked, and within a few months a lot of them joined the club of the crazies. And most of them, I think, went home and became normal again, though some didn't. But I never once saw anyone here who had gone around the bend ever return to normal while they were still here. It only got worse because in this environment they'd lost any sense of. . . humanity. Or you could be nice and say they'd become desensitized. It was actually more frightening than sickening. A guy who'd sliced off the ear of a VC he'd killed that morning would be joking with the village kids and the old Mama-sans that afternoon and handing out candy. I mean, they weren't evil or psychotic, we were normal, which is was really scared the hell out of me.” — 2 people liked it

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Up Country (Paul Brenner #2)

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