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A review by cnorbury
Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
4.0
About 1/3 of the way through, I was thinking Plum Island might be one of the best thrillers I'd ever read. Unique MC--smartass, wise-cracking, afraid of no-one tough cop who has a soft side and is loyal, smart, a good cop, has a moral compass that occasional veers 180 degrees (a good character flaw), and is lovable even though he annoys the hell out of most people--romantic interests included. The pace was good, stakes were high (possible bioterrorism) plenty of suspicious characters (even on the "good guy" side), and an interesting setting with a unique set of limitations (the North Fork of Long Island, water all around, relatively remote, access to Plum Island by boat or helicopter only, and an approaching hurricane.
But then the self-indulgence set in. Mr. DeMille, one of my favorite thriller authors, apparently tried to include every wisecrack he could think of for the MC, John Corey. He over-described many details, drew out conversations with all the formalities, beginning and end, (Hi, how are you? Fine. You? Not bad.; etc., etc., etc.). All this fluff dragged the pace down in the middle half of the book.
Then, unfortunately, the climax of the book (the boat chase scene and its aftermath), defied logic and proper police procedure to excess. Corey has a personal vendetta against the bad guy and wants to kill him. The problem? He's not even authorized by the local LEOs and is out of his jurisdiction. The detective on the case, Beth Penrose, tries to stop him, talk sense into him. Makes sense. THEN, she stupidly and against policy decides to accompany him deeper and deeper into the abyss of breaking all the rules and putting both of them into even worse danger and trouble as each minute passes.
I admired Corey's detective work early on when he WAS hired to work on the initial murder investigation. That was some clever research and interviewing. But his wisecracking and gallows humor wore thin about 2/3 of the way through the book. I wanted to reach into my MP3 player, slap him upside the head, and knock some sense into him.
Yet, underneath all that were dozens of moments of writing excellence. Nuance, emotion, metaphor, body language, tension in almost every scene, sharp, witty dialogue at every turn, flawed, likable yet believable characters, and vivid settings. I'll eventually read all of DeMille's novels because he's written some gems and near gems and his skill and talent are undeniable. This book is a bit bloated (about 20 hrs of audio--13-14 hrs would have been plenty). But if you're a DeMille fan, it's worth a read or listen.
And btw, Scott Brick is turning into one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Every book of his I've listened to is of the highest quality.
But then the self-indulgence set in. Mr. DeMille, one of my favorite thriller authors, apparently tried to include every wisecrack he could think of for the MC, John Corey. He over-described many details, drew out conversations with all the formalities, beginning and end, (Hi, how are you? Fine. You? Not bad.; etc., etc., etc.). All this fluff dragged the pace down in the middle half of the book.
Then, unfortunately, the climax of the book (the boat chase scene and its aftermath), defied logic and proper police procedure to excess. Corey has a personal vendetta against the bad guy and wants to kill him. The problem? He's not even authorized by the local LEOs and is out of his jurisdiction. The detective on the case, Beth Penrose, tries to stop him, talk sense into him. Makes sense. THEN, she stupidly and against policy decides to accompany him deeper and deeper into the abyss of breaking all the rules and putting both of them into even worse danger and trouble as each minute passes.
I admired Corey's detective work early on when he WAS hired to work on the initial murder investigation. That was some clever research and interviewing. But his wisecracking and gallows humor wore thin about 2/3 of the way through the book. I wanted to reach into my MP3 player, slap him upside the head, and knock some sense into him.
Yet, underneath all that were dozens of moments of writing excellence. Nuance, emotion, metaphor, body language, tension in almost every scene, sharp, witty dialogue at every turn, flawed, likable yet believable characters, and vivid settings. I'll eventually read all of DeMille's novels because he's written some gems and near gems and his skill and talent are undeniable. This book is a bit bloated (about 20 hrs of audio--13-14 hrs would have been plenty). But if you're a DeMille fan, it's worth a read or listen.
And btw, Scott Brick is turning into one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Every book of his I've listened to is of the highest quality.