CID – Army Detectives in Peace and War

 Author's Summary

CID: Army Detectives in Peace and War focuses on criminal investigations, both funny and serious, conducted by the author and his fellow special agents. The cases range from thefts to murder, including the murders of two special agents in Vietnam, one of whom was a member of the author’s CID detachment. The book contains cases from WWII through Vietnam.

MWSA Review

MWSA 2005 Bronze Medal for Non-Fiction,Military

Most people knew little or nothing about the law enforcement teams that the military has until the popular TV series NCIS (about Navy and USMC law enforcement) was aired.  The book “CID: Army Detectives In Peace And War” by Hubert Marlow captures that essence of the Army’s own investigative organization better than any TV show could.

The book deals with everything from petty crimes to the murder of the author’s fellow agents in Vietnam.  This is an insider view on an organization that has little or no public profile.  People in the military still do not fully understand the role of the CID or what it is; however, it has a reputation as an organization that you do not want to be investigated by.  They continue to be some of the top detectives and investigators in the world.

The author covers cases from the modern history of the CID, but it is some of his own personal reflections back on his childhood in Hamburg, Germany (the author was born in 1935) that I found to be as interesting as the rest of the book.  He saw the horrors of war first hand as a youth in war ravaged, Germany.  Perhaps, this is what shaped his outlook on the rest of his adult life.  In any case, the book is well written and flows along with story after story about the cases that the CID worked on.

For readers who enjoy a good who-done-it genre of book – this will offer up something of interest.  It is well worth reading and it will give a greater insight into what the CID is; until this book, it was always a mystery to me what the CID was all about.  I found this book to both educational as well as entertaining.

Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2005)