The General's Daughter by Nelson Demille

Captain Ann Campbell, the daughter of General 'Fighting Joe' Campbell, and poster girl for the US Army is found naked, bound and murdered on the firing range at Fort Hadley. Paul Brenner is one of the Army's elite undercover investigators and the man in charge of investigating the case alongside rape specialist Cynthia Sunhill. In a case that has the potential to be politically explosive as well as potentially career-ending, the duo uncover corruption as rank and sordid as Captain Campbell's secret personal life.

Review

I enjoyed this book and it kept me up long past my bedtime on a couple of nights. As with all of Demille's books, The General's Daughter is witty, tightly written and fast-paced with just enough information revealed in each chapter to keep you guessing up to the last few pages. Plot twists are handled deftly to keep the suspense high and the large cast of characters make sure there are more than enough motives to keep the identity of the murderer obscured until the last minute. At the time the book was written (1992) women had just started to serve alongside men and Demille uses this book to explore sexual tensions in the army and army morality as well as wider themes such as loyalty, revenge, and betrayal. 

However, the characters are largely cardboard cut-outs. Brenner is a wise-cracking, middle-aged investigator who is good at his job but doesn't play by the rules while Sunhill is younger, smarter,and more idealistic. There is some witty banter between the pair (and an entirely unnecessary romantic relationship) but they feel like an earlier and less developed versions of John Corey and Kate Mayfield, main characters in his later books. The exception, ironically, is the victim herself and I changed my mind about her several times through the book. 

In summary, this is a good book, but not one of Demille's best. The characters are a little two-dimensional and the romance contrived, but The General's Daughter provides an interesting insight into the treatment of women in the military at that time.

Read On

Up Country is another Demille book with Brenner as a protagonist but for me Plum Island, the first book featuring Detective John Corey, is the best of the lot.