"The Panther" by Nelson DeMille~Awesome!

SUMMARY : 

John Corey returns in the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille.

Anti-Terrorist Task Force agent John Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield have been posted overseas to Sana'a, Yemen - one of the most dangerous places in the Middle East. While there, they will be working with a small team to track down one of the masterminds behind the USS Cole bombing: a high-ranking Al Qaeda operative known as The Panther. Ruthless and elusive, he's wanted for multiple terrorist acts and murders - and the US government is determined to bring him down, no matter the cost. As latecomers to a treacherous game, John and Kate don't know the rules, the players, or the score. What they do know is that there is more to their assignment than meets the eye-and that the hunters are about to become the hunted.

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :
Publisher:  Grand Central/Hachette Publishing
Pages:  640
Genre:  Fiction/Suspense Thriller
Author:  Nelson DeMille
Series
Purchase:  Barnes & Noble



MEET THE INFAMOUS MR. DEMILLE!

Nelson DeMille is the author of 16 previous novels. He lives on Long Island, New York.

Biography

Nelson DeMille has a dozen bestselling novels to his name and over 30 million books in print worldwide, but his beginnings were not so illustrious. Writing police detective novels in the mid-1970s, DeMille created the pseudonym Jack Cannon: "I used the pen name because I knew I wanted to write better novels under my own name someday," DeMille told fans in a 2000 chat.

Between 1966 and 1969, Nelson DeMille served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. When he came home, he finished his undergraduate studies (in history and political science), then set out to become a novelist. "I wanted to write the great American war novel at the time," DeMille said in an interview with January magazine. "I never really wrote the book, but it got me into the writing process." A friend in the publishing industry suggested he write a series of police detective novels, which he did under a pen name for several years.

Finally DeMille decided to give up his day job as an insurance fraud investigator and commit himself to writing full time -- and under his own name. The result was By the Rivers of Babylon (1978), a thriller about terrorism in the Middle East. It was chosen as a Book of the Month Club main selection and helped launch his career. "It was like being knighted," said DeMille, who now serves as a Book of the Month Club judge. "It was a huge break."

DeMille followed it with a stream of bestsellers, including the post-Vietnam courtroom drama Word of Honor (1985) and the Cold War spy-thriller The Charm School (1988) Critics praised DeMille for his sophisticated plotting, meticulous research and compulsively readable style. For many readers, what made DeMille stand out was his sardonic sense of humor, which would eventually produce the wisecracking ex-NYPD officer John Corey, hero of Plum Island (1997) and The Lion's Game (2000).

In 1990 DeMille published The Gold Coast, a Tom Wolfe-style comic satire that was his attempt to write "a book that would be taken seriously." The attempt succeeded, in terms of the critics' response: "In his way, Mr. DeMille is as keen a social satirist as Edith Wharton," wrote The New York Times book reviewer. But he returned to more familiar thrills-and-chills territory in The General's Daughter, which hit no. 1 on The New York Times' Bestseller list and was made into a movie starring John Travolta. Its hero, army investigator Paul Brenner, returned in Up Country (2002), a book inspired in part by DeMille's journey to his old battlegrounds in Vietnam.

DeMille's position in the literary hierarchy may be ambiguous, but his talent is first-rate; there's no questioning his mastery of his chosen form. As a reviewer for the Denver Post put it, "In the rarefied world of the intelligent thriller, authors just don't get any better than Nelson DeMille."

Good To Know

DeMille composes his books in longhand, using soft-lead pencils on legal pads. He says he does this because he can't type, but adds, "I like the process of pencil and paper as opposed to a machine. I think the writing is better when it's done in handwriting."

In addition to his novels, DeMille has written a play for children based on the classic fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin."

DeMille says on his web site that he reads mostly dead authors -- "so if I like their books, I don't feel tempted or obligated to write to them." He mentions writing to a living author, Tom Wolfe, when The Bonfire of the Vanities came out; but Wolfe never responded. "I wouldn't expect Hemingway or Steinbeck to write back -- they're dead. But Tom Wolfe owes me a letter," DeMille writes.

THE DAME'S REVIEW :  

I make no bones about the fact that Nelson DeMille is one of my very favorite writers of action, espionage novels...if not my favorite.  I love him not only because his novels are always compelling in the genre, but because he is a genius at so many things in the craft of writing.  "The Panther" is just another showy example of his extraordinary skills. 

DeMille's book is thoroughly engaging with a crusher of a beginning showcasing our favorite couple: DeMille's practically stand up comedy of a wise-cracking character, former full-time NYPD detective gone gov't agent, John Corey, and his foil of a brilliant wife, FBI agent, Kate.  For anyone who's read the John Corey series, you know this is the couple who "whop" many a terrorist and militant plotter against our country.  They are mighty, contemporary fighters, and hilarious at the same time.  A thoroughly fabulous combination that keeps me coming back for more, and keeps me turning pages like a machine gun! 

"The Panther" is a hard core thriller.  From the first pages I was completely captivated.  The rogue terrorist, an Al Quaeda leader who happens to have a secret past, kept me on my toes in anticipation of learning more.  And John and Kate plus Team USA fighters are stellar characters with unbelievably complex resumes and personalities.  I loved the whole crew, terrorists and all. DeMille is a master at characterization and plot.

The action is fantastic in this book, as is the primary trait of a DeMille book.  Once you think you have the story figured out, you're thrown a hand grenade of a new twist.  Fabulous writing and  intense action that's just genius. 

I can do nothing but highly recommend this novel to everyone.  Can't tell you how very much I enjoyed it, and how much I think you will, too.  DeMille writes for an audience who enjoys suspense, espionage, action, comedy, and current events.  Do yourself and your significant other a favor and get this one today!

 

HERE'S A FIRST CHAPTER EXCERPT OF THE AUDIO BOOK!

ENJOY...

 

5 stars               Deborah/TheBookishDame