Panther John Corey Nelson DeMille
Once again Nelson DeMille has delivered a fast moving story with his new novel "The Panther." With 640 pages there is not a moment when the reader will want to put this book down. This time DeMille returns with John Corey and Kate Mayfield who as members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City are given an assignment in Yemen to help capture the "Panther." The "Panther" is an American born terrorist who they believe is responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole and the killing of numerous others. The plot is timely placed with Yemen making the news this week (Oct 18, 2012) where a drone strike near Jarr, a city in southern Yemeni ( a key placed in the novel), killed seven Al-Qaeda suspects along with a local Al-Qaeda leader.
Arriving in Yemen, John and Kate are partnered with members of the CIA, State Department, and ex-military to form an A-Team to hunt down the terrorist known as the Panther. As the plot unfolds we find that there may be more than one agenda to this mission and perhaps more than one target as cooked up by the CIA.
The story is fast paced which makes it difficult to find a place to stop and eat dinner or sleep. Interspersed throughout the novel are "one-liners" by some of the main characters that some may find annoying but I felt added to the reading enjoyment. The characters are believable and unforgettable. The dialogue's pacing drops the reader right into the action.
I have read all of DeMille's novels and have always looked forward to his next release. As in the past this one is not a disappointment. He is one of the few author's who take the time to research and write a truly great novel, unlike others who churn out poor quality novels ever few months. This is a 5 Star novel and I highly recommend it.
Couldn't put this book down. Kept me intrigued the whole way. DeMille at his best, to say the least. I
ReplyDeleteloved it!
First, let me start by reminding Amazonians that this should be a place for reviews of the book itself, not for complaints about pricing and availability. I'm a writer with published books on Amazon, and it is very damaging and disheartening to read 1-star reviews which have nothing to do with the content or quality of my work. Please, people, be aware that your words here do have an effect. Even a well-established writer like Mr. DeMille can be affected by them. I know I am. As for Kindle pricing, those are set by the publisher. Amazon has nothing to do with it. Neither does the writer. If you have a complaint, write to the publisher.
ReplyDeleteNow, as to the book itself. In recent years I came to feel that Mr. DeMille had lost some of his power. I wasn't a huge fan of "Wild Fire" or "The Gate House," but with "The Lion" and now "The Panther," he is back at the top of his game. "The Panther" is the DeMille we all came to love. Full of action, suspense, and a terrific cast of characters. He truly paints a portrait of the confusing nature of war, and creates a universe where each person may or may not be what they seem. This is not easy to do, and he pulls it off magnificently.
He's also the master of slow-building suspense. But the build-up itself is never boring. He keeps us entertained even as he's setting us up for the payoff. This is nearly impossible in the days of instant action, when our short attention spans demand constant bombardment. I enjoyed "The Panther" as much as the best of his books. In fact, I think it might even be his best. That's truly saying something for a writer who's been in the game so long. Well done, Mr. DeMille! You've proven that old boys like us can still bring it on.
First Nelson DeMille book I've read, and I found John Cory very funny. I like him, and ordered Plum Island
ReplyDeleteIf you like DeMile, you'll love this one. For a change the setting is not Long Island, which makes the story a bit more interesting.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I am a long-time John Corey fan. I keep expecting the author to eventually run out of the smart-alec remarks that John Corey is famous for, but he just keeps 'em coming. In The Panther, John and his wife Kate are sent over to Yemen ("If the earth had an anus, it would be located in Yemen"), ostensibly for one purpose, but of course office politics within the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, FBI, and CIA quickly turn it into something entirely different and, of course, far more dangerous. Nelson DeMille's talent lies in maintaining the irreverent character of John Corey while simultaneously writing a tense, thriller plot. The story is fast-paced, which keeps the reader's attention, while experiencing laugh-out-loud moments when Corey makes his random observations ("But the problem, as I saw it when I was there, was that we had a very small American presence in a very hostile environment. A recipe for disaster. Ask General Custer about that.")
ReplyDeleteAs usual, DeMille uses current Middle East events to fuel his plot. Given his character's ties to 9-11, he creates taut, believable (for those of us not in law enforcement, lol) scenarios that keep you on the edge of your seat. If you haven't read a John Corey novel, it's perfectly okay to start with this one. Just be prepared to want to go back and read all the previous ones! As long as DeMille keeps writing them like this, I'll be buying them.
Years ago I read The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille; I wasn't impressed. While an interesting story, I thought it was too long and too slow. Since then, friends have pushed more from DeMille. I resisted.
ReplyDeleteUntil now.
I got my hands on DeMille's latest novel, The Panther. It is the latest in the John Corey/Kate Mayfield series. The short version of this review: I can't believe I've missed the first five in the series. I have a lot of catching up to do!
Of course, I've never given the short version of anything, so here is the rest:
John and Kate are married, both working on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City. John is an NYPD Detective, Kate an FBI Special Agent. The story is told from mostly in the first person from the point of view of John, a smart, reflective, witty, pain in the ass. The same qualities that make him a good investigator make him difficult to get along with and even more difficult to supervise. That, of course, makes a great story!
In The Panther, John and Kate are given an assignment in Yemen: to arrest the terrorist responsible for the attack on the USS Cole. Well, "arrest" might not be the most accurate way to describe what the team is really supposed to do, but that is the official assignment. They've been specially selected, since the American born and raised Panther would like to "arrest" John and Kate, too, to avenge the death of an al Qaeda terrorist that they were responsible for. The two are working with agents from myriad intelligence agencies on this mission: military, State Department, the CIA. All are hardened and experienced patriots, and all have secret agendas that are slowly revealed throughout the book.
The book includes loyalty, deception, betrayal, murder, and more, and that's just among the good guys! Despite being over 6o0 pages, it is a page turner, helped along by fast dialogue and the laugh out loud wit of the protagonist.
I don't know if was DeMille's intent, but I felt Corey's distrust and cynicism, along with the methods used on their Panther hunt, was a critique on the War on Terror, or at least the way it's being fought.
The Panther is more about the story than the characters. John Corey is a New York cop, and narrates as one would expect from a New York cop. Although he has depth so far as recognizing the danger of the mission, and that there is a good chance he'll be killed, he isn't complex. He knows what he knows and doesn't seem to worry much about what he doesn't. Even the private moments between John and Kate are light. But the danger of the mission always looms, and even reading from the safety of my home I was tense waiting for the surprise attack, ambush, or explosion that I felt was imminent.
The Panther is an excellent book that I'm confident will return Nelson DeMille to the Best Seller list. His other John Corey books are now on my read list, and I've even considered giving The Gold Coast a second read, thinking there must be something I missed!
Once again Nelson DeMille has delivered a fast moving story with his new novel "The Panther." With 640 pages there is not a moment when the reader will want to put this book down. This time DeMille returns with John Corey and Kate Mayfield who as members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City are given an assignment in Yemen to help capture the "Panther." The "Panther" is an American born terrorist who they believe is responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole and the killing of numerous others. The plot is timely placed with Yemen making the news this week (Oct 18, 2012) where a drone strike near Jarr, a city in southern Yemeni ( a key placed in the novel), killed seven Al-Qaeda suspects along with a local Al-Qaeda leader.
ReplyDeleteArriving in Yemen, John and Kate are partnered with members of the CIA, State Department, and ex-military to form an A-Team to hunt down the terrorist known as the Panther. As the plot unfolds we find that there may be more than one agenda to this mission and perhaps more than one target as cooked up by the CIA.
The story is fast paced which makes it difficult to find a place to stop and eat dinner or sleep. Interspersed throughout the novel are "one-liners" by some of the main characters that some may find annoying but I felt added to the reading enjoyment. The characters are believable and unforgettable. The dialogue's pacing drops the reader right into the action.
I have read all of DeMille's novels and have always looked forward to his next release. As in the past this one is not a disappointment. He is one of the few author's who take the time to research and write a truly great novel, unlike others who churn out poor quality novels ever few months. This is a 5 Star novel and I highly recommend it.
Very few novels make me laugh out loud, but the Demille/John Corey combo is hard to beat. Great story and good fun. Highly recommend!
ReplyDelete