Nelson DeMille (1943–2024)

Great characters, very deeply drawn...both the heroes and villains. I felt I got to know them all. The plot is straight forward, but the journey to its conclusion is fast paced, tense, filled with twists and turns and makes you turn the pages rapidly.

There is enough wry humor, sarcasm and cynicism from the protagonist (Keith Landry) and his allies to allow the reader a chance to relax from the nonstop action...refreshing and almost necessary in a book this lengthy. The major bad guy (Cliff show more Baxter) is truly despicable, but devious, dangerous, deadly and cunning (and he wears a badge). It is quite easy hoping he gets what's due him. show less

I was in high school as the world judged the actions of Lt. Wm. Calley at the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. This novel is a portrayal of a different incident - a fictional incident - but is no less provocative & riveting. Why do civilians, politicians, & news media pretend they know what it’s like in war? Only a soldier* knows. We ask them to defend, to protect and to serve. They answer with their life & some give their last breath in service. This book deserves our attention and each show more reader's soul-searching before supposition of a soldier's experience in service, in war, or on return home. Regardless of your view or opinion of the Vietnam War, regardless of your politics, regardless of your thoughts about the news media, this book is an important read. I hope it stays in print for years to come.

*I use the word "soldier" in this review regardless of what branch of the military first comes to mind when one thinks of U.S. Military Service and regardless of gender, etc. show less

between 2 and 2.5 stars. i hate the voice of john corey so much that i almost didn't make it past the first 40 or so pages of this book. he is such a bombastic asshole and i can't believe that demille has made him his hero, and that people go for this shit. i cannot stand him.

luckily, this book had another point of view early on that really brought me in. and an idea for the terrorist threat that was actually interesting and exciting. by the time it was narrated only by corey, i was involved show more enough to keep going. but i don't think i can read another corey book; he is absolutely insufferable. (and it's not even slightly believable that a strong, smart woman like kate would even associate with him, much less marry him. not a chance in the world. men just like to think they can act like despicable pigs and still get the fiercest woman in the room, but it usually doesn't work that way. those women would eviscerate him. i am certain that kate would, so the entire relationship is unrealistic and rings false in the extreme.)

here's what i like about this one, though: this takes place a little over a year after 9/11, and it was written when a ton of thrillers were all about islamic terror and all the brown terrorists that were coming to destroy america. this book flips that on its head by being about a rich white guy that wants to destroy islam and muslim people. so to save the world, it's saving islam and muslims and trying to stop a white american. (it's not *entirely* framed that way, though, but it is the main concept.) the idea was really good and it was even well executed. i just really hate the way he writes this macho man and how he's sending a message to readers that this is an okay way to be a person in the world. if not for that (which makes me want to rate the book 1/2 star) it would be rated higher. it makes me think that i could keep reading demille, just not his corey books. show less

This one rests in my top 10 books of all time. The pacing was perfect, and the plot kept me intrigued the whole time. John Corey is one of my favorite characters in literature. His humor and sometimes mindless banter never cease to catch me off guard and at some moments laugh out loud. Take all of the perverseness of the world, a kick ass police officer-turned retired cop-turned ATTF detective agent, throw in a little talk radio quick wit, and loads of sarcasm and that would be the recipe show more Nelson Demille cooked up for Mr. Corey! In this novel John finally goes against someone who is able to go toe to toe with him in dialogue. I nearly want to slap Nelson Demille and hug him at the same time. For he not only gives you an incredibly believable story that brings you in and cranks everything up to 11, but he also takes away that false sense of security that everyone has and gives you the realization that somewhere in the world some crazy crap is going down and we could all pretty much die! I'm already waiting for another John Corey Novel and perhaps a movie take on the whole franchise. show less