James R Westergreen’s captivating debut novel, Lincoln Park, reads as eerily realistic – you have the sense of roaming the streets of Saigon. A well-crafted thriller that looks at the dark side of the war, the drug trade, organized crime, rampant corruption and the CIA’s Phoenix Program, Westergreen uses real GI speak and phrases of the day throughout to make readers feel as if they are really there.

         A Vietnamese Colonel lies dead on the bathroom floor after a night of passion at Cholon’s Hotel Fleur. MP Captain Tobias Riley is on special assignment to help find the killer, and his investigation uncovers an American deserter partnered with the mysterious Madam D running a heroin ring out of the Fleur. When Phoenix Program killer Jack Flash shows up, things become unglued. Air American pilots, Chinese warlords, and rogue soldiers scramble to find a C-47 loaded with the heroin that goes missing – and Riley’s duty becomes a quest for vengeance.

         A gritty page-turner with something for everybody – mystery, history, romance – Lincoln Park is a wartime thriller ranging from the pleasure districts of Saigon to the back-alleys of Chicago – Westergreen’s own city of residence. Readers are offered fascinating views into places both far away and close to home.