Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Searching for Gurney

Author: Jack Estes

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: war stories, military fiction

Publication Date: November 10, 2020

Genre: War Novel

Recommended Age: 17+ (violence, gore, death, PTSD)

Publisher: O’Callahan Press

Pages: 257

Synopsis: Searching for Gurney explores the damaged lives of three U.S. Marines and one North Vietnamese soldier in the late 1960s and '70s. Each character's story begins at a different place-JT, home and struggling with flashbacks; Coop, on leave and getting drunk at his grandfather's funeral; Hawkeye, at the moment a judge gives him the choice of jail or boot camp; and Vuong, leaving his small village to join the NVA with patriotic fervor. Sent home after a horrific ambush, the Marines face new battles with PTSD and a hostile American public that treats them as criminals. Nightmares, anger, and substance abuse destroy family relationships and, ultimately, one character's life. For all of them, making sense of life after war requires the utmost courage.

Review: I was really intrigued by the premise of this book. And throughout the reading I wasn't disappointed by it. I felt like the character development was sound and overall the story was intriguing enough to keep me up from beginning to end.


However I did have an issue with the pacing. I felt like it was really slow and I had to force myself to read through a lot of it. I also felt like the world building could have been a little bit better.

Verdict: It was good, just slow.