My Favorite Reads: Nelson DeMille Books Featuring John Corey
by Jenners • 09/30/2009 • 4 Stars, D Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Thriller • 15 Comments
My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.
The idea is to write about some favorite books
that you read before you started blogging!
BOOKS THAT FEATURE JOHN COREY
Here are the Nelson DeMille books featuring John Corey, with brief descriptions of each:
- Plum Island—This book introduces us to John Corey—a wounded NYPD detective who is talked into investigating the murder of a couple, who may or may not have been dealing with genetically altered viruses.
- The Lion’s Game —A “cat and mouse” game between Corey and Asad Kahlil, a Libyan terrorist out to avenge the American bombing of Libya in 1986.
- Night Fall—Corey gets involved in investigating what really happened to TWA Flight 800, which crashed off the coast of Long Island in 1996.
- Wild Fire—Post 9/11, Corey investigates a right-wing plot to nuke two U.S. cities.
As you can probably deduce from the descriptions, DeMille writes thrillers, and he isn’t afraid to use real events as a springboard for his fictional stories. DeMille was one of the few authors that I could get my non-reader husband to read so that says something right there.
WHY I LOVE JOHN COREY
John Corey is a smart-ass and a damn funny one. To me, he is what makes these books so readable and enjoyable. Although I love a good thriller, the true attraction of these books is the character of John Corey. I love his bluntness, his honesty, his willingness to do what he thinks is right (which makes him a nightmare for his supervisors), his humor, and his unapologetic maleness. Plus he is a good (albeit flawed) cop who does what he needs to do to find justice. Although DeMille could write a book where Corey spends the entire time laid up in the hospital and unable to move and I’d read it, the fact that Corey gets involved in these “how is he going to get out of this one?” scenarios makes these books all the more interesting. Sure, the story lines may be a bit far-fetched and the conspiracy theories and politics might not sit right with everyone, but having Corey along as your narrator just makes for a good time and a fun, fast read. These are “candy bar” books for sure—pure, delicious fun that entertains you, thrills you and leaves you wanting more. But what is wrong with a good candy bar every once in a while?
Side Note: I was really pissed that DeMille released a book last year and it was a follow-up to what I consider his weakest book, The Gold Coast. I was waiting and waiting for the next John Corey book and was so mad that DeMille is making me wait longer. To protest, I refused to buy his last book (The Gate House). Take that, Mr. DeMille.
Do you have a favorite character that you love? Who is it? Why do you love them?
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I haven't read any of these John Corey books but I've got them on my list now. I love books with strong characters.
My favorites include Miss Marple (Agatha Christie) and Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy).
John sounds like quite the character!
My favorite character is Mia from the Three Sisters Trilogy by Nora Roberts. I know right? I would think I would have this incredible series character from everything I have read but for some reason Mia has always stuck with me.
She is a strong woman, drop dead gorgeous, owns a book store coffee shop… oh and I did I mention she is a witch?
Yes, I love Eugenides from the Megan Whalen Turner books. He's so smart and clever–how can you not love him? I also love Jacqueline Kirby from the Elizabeth Peters novels.
Jenners-Ruby just posted an update:
http://rubylovesadventure.blogspot.com/2009/10/humbled.html
Thanks for stopping by Ruby-I just received an email from her-all is well there are others worse off than her-but she is concerned about the next storm hitting.
I've not read this seies and affter reading this I'm wondering why. I love wise-ass and I love thrillers. Going on my list right now!
I love Lucas Davenport from the Prey series.
OMG Jenners. I've read or listened to the audio version od ALL the John Corey books. So so entertaining. He is a favorite.
I must admit that I was disappointed by his last book Gate House though.
This brought back memories. I loved Plum island! Smart alecky, wise ass – yup, those are great descriptions of Corey. I have Wild Fire on the tbr shelf and I'm not too sure why I haven't gotten around to it yet. You've renewed my interest. Thanks for a great post (as always very entertaining) Have great week.
I've read quite a few of DeMille's books, but I haven't read any of these. No one can write smart aleck like DeMille can though, so I bet John Corey is a great character.
I never read anything by him either…but you have piqued my interest.
Can I have two please?
My first would have to be Tempe Brenan – the heroine of all Kathy Reichs books. She's so strong whilst somehow vulnerable at the same time, she lives with her cat, her cases are always solved and I'd love her job.
The second would have to be Eeyore, the lovable donkey from the Winnie-The-Pooh stories – he's adorable and I just love his attitude to life, plus wouldn't it be great to have a detachable tail!
You know, I've never read a single book by this guy? I don't know, maybe it seemed like man fiction? Which really is no excuse, because one of my favorite series IS man fiction, and that is the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. He is a big, hard-bodied ex-military guy. He doesn't have a home. He owns the clothes on his back, and a toothbrush. We wanders around, woos the ladies and beats up anybody who is picking on somebody smaller than them. I just love that guy.
I'm laughing because the only book I've read by Nelson DeMille is The Gate House. I hadn't heard of him prior to last year.
One of my favorite characters is Killashandra Ree from The Crystal Singer series by Anne McCaffrey. It's a sci-fi series about a singer who isn't quite good enough to be a soloist (she's going to music school) so when she finds out that she's going to be relegated to the chorus she drops out and sets off across the galaxy to become a Crystal Singer (a dangerous and mysterious job requiring perfect pitch and permanent residence on the crystal planet). Ok, I haven't really said that much about the character and I'm just going on and on here. She's strong, smart and cunning but she's also headstrong and stubborn which can get her into trouble. It just makes for really fun reading.
Very creative approach: highlighting the character in a series. There are quite a few I like, but unfortunately they all have the same name: "you know, what's-her-name in the books by what's-his-name." But still, I recognize them when I read them again! :–)