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johnlway's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mad_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
From the first page, I knew I was going to like John Corey. For a New York City homicide detective, he comes across as down to earth… damn near folksy, if anyone from the Big Apple can be called that. By the end of PLUM ISLAND, he was my hometown hero… I'm originally from the Big Apple, a place with its own peculiar charm.
Detective Corey is on medical leave after being shot three times. He is recuperating on Long Island's North Fork when two of his friends are murdered. Said friends are both scientists working at the top-secret government facility Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The island is thought to be an off the books site for the development of biological weapons. The biologists here work with some of earth's deadliest bacteria and viruses. There you have it… murder with a side of conspiracy that will get your heart pumping. Except for John Corey who likes his clues to make sense with clue 'A' pointing to 'B' and so forth.
The clues and theories surrounding the deaths of Tom and Judy Gordon run hot and cold as they point to one after another possibilities of motive and perpetrator. John Corey, roped into and then excluded from the investigation, keeps his thoughts on the matter mostly to himself. Suffice it to say, his hypotheses do not agree with the official investigation and rumors.
Before I finished reading PLUM ISLAND, I googled Plum Island Animal Disease Center and found that it is a fictitious place. Yes, there is a real Plum Island. It is a barrier island located off the northeast coast of Massachusetts, north of Cape Ann, and nowhere near Long Island. The realism evident in PLUM ISLAND equals that of the very real Three Mile Island incident in 1979.
As an avid reader, I can't believe that I am reading this book 43 years after its first publication in April 1979. I'm hooked, and I plan to read the entire John Corey series.
Detective Corey is on medical leave after being shot three times. He is recuperating on Long Island's North Fork when two of his friends are murdered. Said friends are both scientists working at the top-secret government facility Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The island is thought to be an off the books site for the development of biological weapons. The biologists here work with some of earth's deadliest bacteria and viruses. There you have it… murder with a side of conspiracy that will get your heart pumping. Except for John Corey who likes his clues to make sense with clue 'A' pointing to 'B' and so forth.
The clues and theories surrounding the deaths of Tom and Judy Gordon run hot and cold as they point to one after another possibilities of motive and perpetrator. John Corey, roped into and then excluded from the investigation, keeps his thoughts on the matter mostly to himself. Suffice it to say, his hypotheses do not agree with the official investigation and rumors.
Before I finished reading PLUM ISLAND, I googled Plum Island Animal Disease Center and found that it is a fictitious place. Yes, there is a real Plum Island. It is a barrier island located off the northeast coast of Massachusetts, north of Cape Ann, and nowhere near Long Island. The realism evident in PLUM ISLAND equals that of the very real Three Mile Island incident in 1979.
As an avid reader, I can't believe that I am reading this book 43 years after its first publication in April 1979. I'm hooked, and I plan to read the entire John Corey series.
adrienneambo's review against another edition
3.0
Never having read Nelson DeMille, I was interested more in the Plum Island aspect of the story. Gotta love a book where the main character refers to his private parts as his "meat puppet." John Corey is a macho semi- retired N.Y.P.D cop...a sardonic and charming character that did make me laugh... over the top but in a fun way.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
4.0
Plum Island was written more for the male audience, but it still captivated me from the very beginning. The lead, John Corey, is a NYPD detective who is recovering from several gunshot wounds at his uncle’s beach house on Long Island. He is reluctantly pulled into a murder investigation by the local chief of police when a local couple whom he knows are murdered. They worked on Plum Island, a secret government research facility run by the Department of Agriculture.
John is in his mid-40s and has a sarcastic stream-of-consciousness way of thinking, a cocky attitude, and witty verbal one-liners. He can be annoying at times. And yet, he is VERY astute in his work. He has the deep-seated instincts of a competent detective. Yes, he has frequent unfiltered—and politically incorrect—thoughts about women’s bodies. Even so, I enjoyed his refreshing character very much.
The writing was so compelling and easy to read. And the mystery had many layers. While I prefer to watch police procedurals rather than reading them, this book was very good. Even though it was released twenty years ago, the plot didn’t really seem dated…except for a few references, like The Readers’ Digest, and limited references to mobile phones.
I understand the author intended this to be a standalone, but decided to make it a series based on the response to this book. I’m glad he did, and will definitely continue reading!
John is in his mid-40s and has a sarcastic stream-of-consciousness way of thinking, a cocky attitude, and witty verbal one-liners. He can be annoying at times. And yet, he is VERY astute in his work. He has the deep-seated instincts of a competent detective. Yes, he has frequent unfiltered—and politically incorrect—thoughts about women’s bodies. Even so, I enjoyed his refreshing character very much.
The writing was so compelling and easy to read. And the mystery had many layers. While I prefer to watch police procedurals rather than reading them, this book was very good. Even though it was released twenty years ago, the plot didn’t really seem dated…except for a few references, like The Readers’ Digest, and limited references to mobile phones.
Spoiler
The one part I didn’t enjoy was that the researchers conducted animal testing on Plum Island. NOT cool. At least this wasn’t a significant component of the plot.I understand the author intended this to be a standalone, but decided to make it a series based on the response to this book. I’m glad he did, and will definitely continue reading!
brents's review against another edition
4.0
Really like this book and I think it might fill the niche I've been looking for since I finished the Boach series. John Corey feels like Bosch with Harry Dresden's personality which is a winner for me.
As far as this specific book goes the case and mystery was interesting and it went in an unexpected direction which I enjoyed. I think it was probably a tad too long for what it was trying to do as some of it felt like filler. Still a solid mystery/detective read with enjoyable characters .
As far as this specific book goes the case and mystery was interesting and it went in an unexpected direction which I enjoyed. I think it was probably a tad too long for what it was trying to do as some of it felt like filler. Still a solid mystery/detective read with enjoyable characters .
rlse's review against another edition
2.0
I'm normally all about the snark, but I just couldn't connect with the protagonist's POV.
alyssamillie13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
weaselweader's review against another edition
3.0
John Corey ... what a piece of work!
Take Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch, a hard-boiled, talented, nearly burnt-out loner with lots of psychological baggage and absolutely no respect for superiors or procedure. Add the self-deprecating faux stumble-bum approach of Peter Falk's Columbo and toss in a heaping helping of smart-aleck motor mouth Rodney Dangerfield complete inability to control the flow of virulent sarcasm and wisecracks! Sounds a little much, doesn't it? But he's our hero for Nelson DeMille's Plum Island.
John Corey, NYPD homicide detective, is on medical leave recovering from bullet wounds when his friend, chief of the Southold Police Department, enlists his aid looking into the double homicide of Tom and Judy Gordon, also friends of Corey, and employees of Plum Island, the nearby high-level bio-containment facility studying deadly animal diseases such as anthrax and simian Ebola. First terrifying appearances were that some sort of biological terrorist threat had gone sour but the old rule of "follow the money" lead to a somewhat more tolerable line of investigation. It seemed the Gordons had stolen a vaccine with the motive of peddling it to the pharmaceutical world for billions.
But Corey's in-your-face persistence was uncovering clues and details that just didn't seem to mesh with that story. Simple drug-running was a possibility but even that didn't quite click. Eventually, Corey uncovers an amazingly entertaining story of greed, money, murder, mayhem and political skullduggery spanning three hundred years of history and ranging geographically from New York, to the Caribbean, to England and back again.
In a style that reminded me of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's incurable penchant for technical sidebars, DeMille has tossed off a bewildering variety of essays that entertained, informed and, at the same time, moved the story forward. The staged lecture tour of Plum Island's hazardous facility, hosted first by Security Chief Paul Stevens and followed by the facility's director Dr Zollner was worth the reading of the book all by itself. But you'll also be treated to snippets of detail on coastal marine navigation, a cornucopia of procedural information on the necessary foundation police work to solving a homicide and (are you ready for this?) a rather extensive history of Captain Kidd and his 17th century privateering exploits that ultimately ended in his execution in England!
Lots of promise to be sure and there's certainly no doubt about DeMille's skill as a writer! But, just as a little bit of someone like John Corey would go a long, long way in real life, his constant cracking wise left me cold on the printed page as well! If DeMille had seen his way to lopping 100 pages off the final draft, it would have been just right and I would have ended the story not only entertained by the police procedural but laughing at Corey's antics in the bargain. Just three stars but recommended as a quick and entertaining piece of brain candy anyway! Enjoy!
Paul Weiss
Take Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch, a hard-boiled, talented, nearly burnt-out loner with lots of psychological baggage and absolutely no respect for superiors or procedure. Add the self-deprecating faux stumble-bum approach of Peter Falk's Columbo and toss in a heaping helping of smart-aleck motor mouth Rodney Dangerfield complete inability to control the flow of virulent sarcasm and wisecracks! Sounds a little much, doesn't it? But he's our hero for Nelson DeMille's Plum Island.
John Corey, NYPD homicide detective, is on medical leave recovering from bullet wounds when his friend, chief of the Southold Police Department, enlists his aid looking into the double homicide of Tom and Judy Gordon, also friends of Corey, and employees of Plum Island, the nearby high-level bio-containment facility studying deadly animal diseases such as anthrax and simian Ebola. First terrifying appearances were that some sort of biological terrorist threat had gone sour but the old rule of "follow the money" lead to a somewhat more tolerable line of investigation. It seemed the Gordons had stolen a vaccine with the motive of peddling it to the pharmaceutical world for billions.
But Corey's in-your-face persistence was uncovering clues and details that just didn't seem to mesh with that story. Simple drug-running was a possibility but even that didn't quite click. Eventually, Corey uncovers an amazingly entertaining story of greed, money, murder, mayhem and political skullduggery spanning three hundred years of history and ranging geographically from New York, to the Caribbean, to England and back again.
In a style that reminded me of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's incurable penchant for technical sidebars, DeMille has tossed off a bewildering variety of essays that entertained, informed and, at the same time, moved the story forward. The staged lecture tour of Plum Island's hazardous facility, hosted first by Security Chief Paul Stevens and followed by the facility's director Dr Zollner was worth the reading of the book all by itself. But you'll also be treated to snippets of detail on coastal marine navigation, a cornucopia of procedural information on the necessary foundation police work to solving a homicide and (are you ready for this?) a rather extensive history of Captain Kidd and his 17th century privateering exploits that ultimately ended in his execution in England!
Lots of promise to be sure and there's certainly no doubt about DeMille's skill as a writer! But, just as a little bit of someone like John Corey would go a long, long way in real life, his constant cracking wise left me cold on the printed page as well! If DeMille had seen his way to lopping 100 pages off the final draft, it would have been just right and I would have ended the story not only entertained by the police procedural but laughing at Corey's antics in the bargain. Just three stars but recommended as a quick and entertaining piece of brain candy anyway! Enjoy!
Paul Weiss
kflan123's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25