John Corey, the character in DeMille’s main series, caught my eye in the 2017 collection of short mysteries entitled Matchup. His basic humanity, in part veiled by and in part revealed by his wisecracking attitude, anti-PC attitude, and lightning quick mind struck chords with me. Reading the first book of the series, Plum Island, sold me and I then read straight through all of the Corey books.

Wild Fire (Corey Book 4). This is not quite as good as the first three books in the series because it relies on an barely stated agreement among conspirators instead of solidly building it. However, overlooking that weakness, Corey and his wife and partner Kate Mayfield are show-cased as superbly as any protagonists you will ever find. The final confrontation is really well done.

Well, perhaps I was expecting too much from this book after just reading Night Fall, which I thought was amazing. THe last book with John Corey as the lead character just missed the mark. I would still recommend reading it, assuming you read Plum Island, The Lions Game and Night Fall, but do not expect it to be as good as the others.

Although John Corey came through with his usual wise ass attitude, some of his action were not what I came to expect from him. Mostly, though, I thought the story line was not plausible. Nelson DeMilles other books all brought on conspiracies that I could actually think about, if not believe. In this book, I often found myself chuckling thinking that this is too far out there, which took away from my enjoyment. The ending was even a bit too 'silly' for the characters that I had come to love.

The worst part about this is the fact that Wild Fire is the last book with John Corey, which is disappointing, as I have loved this series more than any other I have read. I am debating going off to one of DeMille's other mini "series", which I believe is the Generals Daughter.

I didn't even continue on to the second chapter. Yes, I finished after reading only one chapter, that is how much I disliked the writing style this author uses. I have never read any of Nelson DeMille's books and received this for free from a friend who was getting rid of books that she hasn't read so I figured I'd try this one out. I couldn't decide if it was the writing style, the main character, or the over-the-top concept that I didn't like, but either way, I couldn't continue to read it.

Yowza!! This is one great thriller. The events seem plausible and that scares me!!

This is one of Mr. DeMilles best work. In the end, the good guy wins...that's all i'm gonna say!

If you like thrillers, you'll love this read...

I was very disappointed with this book. Corey's wise cracks were way overboard. I will read one more book of this series and if it is similar to this, I won't be reading anymore. Was sad as I really have liked the other ones I have read.

This was the first DeMille novel that I have read. I understand there are several others. Wild Fire is a murder/spy/cop/FBI/CIA thriller taking place after 9/11 with a nuclear threat thrown in. I like this kind of book and this was a good one. It reminded me of an updated & modernized novel complete with wise-cracking hero and beautiful FBI agent. Most of the story takes place in the Adirondack State Park and enviorns. So, a lot of familiar area is covered. It's a quick read because you need to know what happens next and just can't put it down. It is quite long...could have been some shorter, and quite a few f-bombs, but if one can see beyond those, it really makes for a decent and good read. Good writing, good narrating, (I listened to it, and Scott Brick did a really good job). Good job of research and had some fun with fiction too. Really excellent. Recommend. Should read another one.

DeMille's clever take on 9-11 and Islamic terrorism: a rich racist will set off atomic bombs in the U.S. that will be blamed on terrorists, causing a planned, automatic retaliatory strike against all Islamic countries. (This isn't even a little bit of a plot spoiler. The bad guy, Bane, is one of those James-Bond villains who feel compelled to explain themselves at great length to captured enemy combatants. Thus readers endure several chapters of Bane explaining every detail of his horrific plan to kill a quarter of the world. From that point on, we follow DeMille's clever, snarky investigators, Kate and John, as they poke and prod their way to uncovering the plot. But at all times the reader knows everything. This book would be so much better if DeMille had axed his explainy chapters and let us discover the plot from the clues, as Kate and John do.)
There is some suspension of disbelief necessary here: Bane has enlisted a dozen highly-placed government and military people who agree that nuking 200 targets around the world will make it a better place. One guy can be crazy, but who believes a whole organization is this stupid or this suicidal? How are these people recruited? 'Hey, Dave, I was thinking of committing mass-murder of people who are ethnically similar to people we don't like. You want to help?'
And the reader has to accept the ludicrous premise that the U.S. would have a plan to nuke all of Islam in retaliation for one attack, and that they would commit to doing so without examination, analysis, or thought. The logic goes like this: if I'm ever injured in a car accident, it will probably be caused by a drunk driver, so I will arrange to have every liquor-store owner, every bar employee, every distiller, brewer, and their families and neighbors killed immediately, all across the country.
Once we're past the impossibility of the premise, it's an enjoyable read. John spreads snark and condescension every where he goes while his long-suffering wife Kate tries to keep him focused. They battle the bad guys, the locals, their bosses at the FBI, and every metro-sexual they meet.
DeMille is a bit long-winded, the book could have been shorter, but most of it's humorous and fun. Unintended humor: a body is found in the woods, killed by a shot in the back from a high-power hunting rifle. Everybody, the cops, the FBI, the Medical Examiner, keep asking each other, 'Do you think it was a homicide?' They apparently mean 'murder,' which is a distinct subset of homicide. Or maybe he shot himself in the back with the rifle and then hid it. That would be suicide.

couldn't finish it

John Corey book 4

The story begins when Detective Harry Miller of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is sent to conduct surveillance at Custer Hill Club, a hunting club owned by a rich oil baron and reserved exclusively for powerful business leaders.

When he is found dead of an apparent hunting accident, a close colleague and friend John Corey together with his wife FBI Agent Kate Mayfield become interested in this surveillance gone wrong. Corey with his renegade style and disregard for normal procedure and his partner follow their instincts but the investigation quickly turns south.

The premise of the story is exciting and starts strong with a creative and plausible plot, the husband and wife team adds chemistry to the investigation. Although this action/adventure can be heart stopping at times it is too bad the author laid down his entire plan and the villain's intentions early in the novel thus removing some of the suspense from the ending. I found John Corey the main character becomes annoying with his constant wisecracks and rude attitude towards everyone, the excessive use of profanity makes him look more like a gangster and not a representative of the law.

The book is mildly entertaining, an easy read and one easily forgotten.

Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille John Corey apparently a typical New York detective as a citizen with no prior's yet, in New York, I'll take DeMille's word for it. Story has it's moments some smart mouthed comebacks the giggle factor is definitely there. The premise of a nuclear bomb detonation in several US cities and the resulting counter attack to wipe out the entire Muslim world is frankly a stretch but hey it is fiction and it is rather interesting if your a nube to these types of scenarios. There are some good old honest torture prisoner scenes, some escaping, shootouts and some "frick me days" is our hero going to get out of this crap. Overall a fun excursion into the simple world of good bulls%t.
I did like the husband wife team up gives it a different spin.

I absolutely love John Corey! He's a funny smartass ex-NYPD police officer now working with the FBI (and not really enjoying it very much... well, actually what he doesn't enjoy is their rigid rules and the fact that they don't seem to find his jokes funny) who'll make you laugh and at the same time will exasperate you (as well as his wife and FBI partner, Kate). The plot is good, there's action, twists and turns to keep you hooked, but what really makes it five stars is John Corey. Definitely recommend.

Nelson DeMille reminds me a bit of Robert Ludlum in that he takes a really long time to tell the story. It's not that he's boring, he just does a lot of research and includes a lot of information for the sake of authenticity.
The John Corey character is kind of like Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H. He's hilarious as a fictional character, but you'd probably hate him if you had to deal with him in person. He's a smarta$$ extraordinaire. He gets almost all the good lines in this book, which has a lot of great snappy dialogue.
This book is about a secret club of "elites" from various walks of life who have taken it upon themselves to decide when and how we're going to permanently eliminate Islamic terrorism from the planet. Their methods are extreme, and it's up to John Corey and his wife to figure out what they're doing and stop them before it's too late.