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scott_a_miller's review against another edition
5.0
Now that was a Book! As I’ve said, I like to read “blind”, and I had no idea I was reading my first pirate book. Corey is great. The supporting characters were too. DeMille is something if he keeps this up.
This was so fully and wonderfully layered that surprises were abundant. I thought I was reading a book about terrorism and look how it turned out. I find it hard to believe how many great authors it has taken me the last 30 years to find but I’m glad I have. If you haven’t read PLUM ISLAND, do it soon.
This was so fully and wonderfully layered that surprises were abundant. I thought I was reading a book about terrorism and look how it turned out. I find it hard to believe how many great authors it has taken me the last 30 years to find but I’m glad I have. If you haven’t read PLUM ISLAND, do it soon.
fairygrl3300's review against another edition
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
This would have been much more enjoyable if this was 300 pages max instead of over 500. Fun story just wayyy too much unnecessary detail to slog through.
This would have been much more enjoyable if this was 300 pages max instead of over 500. Fun story just wayyy too much unnecessary detail to slog through.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
I can't believe it - Spenser has moved to NYC and joined the police force. He tried to fool me by changing his name to John Corey, and even the author's name from Robert B. Parker, but I recognize his wisecracking ways anywhere.
OK, well false alarm, but John Corey certainly reminded me of Spenser in a lot of ways. Even as he's about to die, he can't help making jokes and insulting his assailants, but he's often pretty funny and perhaps a little more modern in his lack of PC. Overall, I enjoyed the humor, and some of it was not even too corny. But if I were to try to take the stories too seriously, I'd probably think it's a bit over the top, so my advice is not take this (or anything) too seriously.
But all kidding aside, it was an interesting story that held my attention and I learned a few things along the way.
OK, well false alarm, but John Corey certainly reminded me of Spenser in a lot of ways. Even as he's about to die, he can't help making jokes and insulting his assailants, but he's often pretty funny and perhaps a little more modern in his lack of PC. Overall, I enjoyed the humor, and some of it was not even too corny. But if I were to try to take the stories too seriously, I'd probably think it's a bit over the top, so my advice is not take this (or anything) too seriously.
But all kidding aside, it was an interesting story that held my attention and I learned a few things along the way.
mylhibug's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
zaiborg's review against another edition
3.0
Nelson DeMille books are always on sale, one day my curiosity got the best of me and I picked-up Plum Island. Why? Because it was #1 in a series, had a cute cover plus the book had a map inside. I'm a sucker for those. I did not know what to expect in all honesty, what I got was a light-hearted, by-the-numbers detective story. It has decent charm and I liked how the story evolved into a swash buckling adventure. This is not a figure of speech, if you've read this, you'll know what I mean.
John Corey is a brash and charming detective. He is cocky, has a sarcastic sense of humor and gets the job done. He is not a suave detective and his methods remind me of 80's cops. I think I like this character very much. Nelson wrote him well.
Nelson has a knack for describing things. Each scene can be very very detailed. The conversations can be very long. I can appreciate how much information he stuffed inside Plum Island. Though I think this bloated the page count considerably. I'm not sure if he worked with an editor for this novel or if he had a page count quota but at least 20 percent of the pages could've been trimmed in my humble opinion. Because of it's length, despite it's very strong and engaging start, it overstayed its welcome to me. I felt like everything could've been cleanly wrapped up way quicker. This considerably diminished my reading experience.
I have a trade paperback of Plum Island. I read it while listening to the audiobook. I think the narration was exquisite and fit the character extremely well. I'm still on the fence whether I would continue this series. I'll think about it next year, so I can't honestly say that I recommend this book.
John Corey is a brash and charming detective. He is cocky, has a sarcastic sense of humor and gets the job done. He is not a suave detective and his methods remind me of 80's cops. I think I like this character very much. Nelson wrote him well.
Nelson has a knack for describing things. Each scene can be very very detailed. The conversations can be very long. I can appreciate how much information he stuffed inside Plum Island. Though I think this bloated the page count considerably. I'm not sure if he worked with an editor for this novel or if he had a page count quota but at least 20 percent of the pages could've been trimmed in my humble opinion. Because of it's length, despite it's very strong and engaging start, it overstayed its welcome to me. I felt like everything could've been cleanly wrapped up way quicker. This considerably diminished my reading experience.
I have a trade paperback of Plum Island. I read it while listening to the audiobook. I think the narration was exquisite and fit the character extremely well. I'm still on the fence whether I would continue this series. I'll think about it next year, so I can't honestly say that I recommend this book.
tksimmons02's review against another edition
2.0
Meh
This was entirely too long to be interesting. The main character is a chauvinist, and has no manners. The killer is totally unbelievable (as is the final end sequence). This is my first, and last, DeMille novel.
This was entirely too long to be interesting. The main character is a chauvinist, and has no manners. The killer is totally unbelievable (as is the final end sequence). This is my first, and last, DeMille novel.
bibliomaineiac's review against another edition
4.0
The first in a crime/detective series. John Corey is a snarky detective, rehabbing after being shot in NYC. He gets caught up in investigating a crime on Long Island. The story line was interesting, and got right into the action quickly; no slow build up. I enjoyed the book. The sarcastic dialogue was humorous to me. I look forward to reading more.
hollie313's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
claudetteb's review against another edition
2.0
This book could have been cut down by half and been a good read. As it was, there were probably 150 pages of useless details. In fact, in one part, the narrator is saying how boring it is to have to listen to all this information about Plum Island, and I was thinking, well, yes, this IS boring, so why make US sit through it????
The book drags and drags, and in tne last quarter there's so much going on that it's hard to keep up. DeMille couldn't decide whether this book was about a murder, a biohazard, treasure hunting, or a homocidal maniac. So he tried to to incorporate all 4 themes, but ended up not really engaging me on any level at all.
In short, I don't think I'll be reading any more books by DeMille.
The book drags and drags, and in tne last quarter there's so much going on that it's hard to keep up. DeMille couldn't decide whether this book was about a murder, a biohazard, treasure hunting, or a homocidal maniac. So he tried to to incorporate all 4 themes, but ended up not really engaging me on any level at all.
In short, I don't think I'll be reading any more books by DeMille.