A review by liberrydude
The Valley by John Renehan

4.0

This reads more like a detective mystery than a war novel and it's a good read. We have a 2dLT in the rear with the gear, the Battalion S-1, who is assigned a low level investigation. He is an infantry officer who has gotten into some trouble and is all set to get out of the Army. It's such a waste of time too- the bureaucracy and the CYA mentality at work. Some warning shots were fired at some Afghan civilians. He has to leave the safety and security of the FOB for a remote combat outpost on the border with Pakistan that has a bad reputation for nastiness. His plan is get there and get it done and get out. But once he gets there he is met with such hostility he quickly figures out something is very wrong at this COP. The simple investigation morphs into a quest to find out what is going down. His attempts to find out who he can trust as he conducts his investigation keep you turning the pages. It's what you figure might be at the root of the problem but it's more. The author does a good job of keeping the plot flowing butI was very confused at the end as to who was on first and what exactly happened. Still a good read.