First in the John Corey suspense series revolving around a cop in New York City convalescing from bullet wounds. Although, the story actually takes place in Long Island.My TakeOh my god. I swear, if you look up "snark" in the dictionary, you'll find John Corey's picture. He is so incredibly funny as the sarcasm just falls right out of his mouth.Early on, John visits the murder scene (as a consultant for the cops), and the homicide detective in charge is annoyed at what appears to be some lookie-loo on her scene:"Excuse me.""You're excused.""Excuse me, are you supposed to be here?""I'm here with the band."And it just keeps gettin' better!I am curious how the pay offer falls from $100 a day to a week to $1 a day.It's powerplays, subterfuge, history, and plain old detective work that solves this one. An excellent example of keeping one's mind open. Sadly, it's also an endorsement for sticking to the rules, sigh. It's also a lesson in changing your locks!I enjoyed the bit of piratical history for the area. I also enjoyed Corey's idea of a morning-after gift… Who knew guys did stuff like that?The StoryWhile convalescing at his Uncle Harry's 1890s Victorian farmhouse, friends are murdered, and Max wants Corey to be his backup since he's the one with the homicide experience and Max isn't. It's not something Corey wants to be involved in. Partly because he's on the disabled list and isn't supposed to be doing policework, and partly because he doesn't want to be involved with the FBI or the CIA.But the Nashes are friends. And Corey can't resist sticking his nose in, especially when it means he can pull the noses of the FBI and CIA as they try to cover things up!The CharactersJohn Corey is a NYC homicide detective convalescing from gunshot wounds incurred in the line of duty. He "thinks the government should allocate one thousand silent 'e's' to New England and Long Island, and when they're used up, no one can have any more." It doesn't take much to make him horny. Dominic Fanelli is his partner in NYC. Detective Lieutenant Andrew Wolfe is Corey's unhappy boss. Jim and Lynne are his siblings. Robin Paine is his ex-wife.Sylvester "Max" Maxwell is the police chief of the Southold Town Police Department. Corey reckons he always looks out for number one. Detective Elizabeth Penrose is with Suffolk County homicide and in charge of the investigation. George Foster is FBI; Ted Nash is Department of Agriculture, a.k.a., CIA.Plum Island personnelPaul Stevens is the security chief with a stick up his...ahem; Kenneth Gibbs is his assistant. Dr. Karl Zollner is in charge of the labs; Donna Alba is his assistant. Dr. Chen is a colleague of the Gordons, and she spouts the party line.Tom and Judy Gordon are biological research scientists exploring Ebola at Plum Island. They're imports from the Midwest and have really dug themselves into the island life from their Formula 303 boat to cultivating a friendship with a local vineyard owner, Fredric Tobin, who can't seem to remember how friendly he was with the Gordons. Margaret Wiley sold them an acre of useless land. Edgar Murphy and his wife, Agnes, are the Gordons' neighbors. Emma Whitestone is the president of the Peconic Historical Society.The CoverThe cover is very pretty with the night sky and the flashing yellow light of the Plum Island lighthouse.The title is apropos as the Gordons' work---both pleasure and scientific---takes place on Plum Island.
John Corey is a NYPD homicide detective who was shot three times in the line of duty and is staying at his uncle's old Victorian on the North Shore of Long Island while he convalesces. While there, though, he becomes involved in the double murder of a couple that he has socialized with a few times. Thus starts this thriller by Nelson DeMille. I have to say, I had to put more thought into this review than most because I both liked and didn't like this book. Mostly what I didn't like was the main character, John Corey. Usually I love characters with a sarcastic bent, but I felt his sarcasm was a little too much. Instead of making him endearing, as in the case of a Harry Dresden for example, he just came off as an obnoxious asshole trying to annoy the people around him, regardless of who they were. Another of his character traits was supposed to be an ability to "think outside the box" and therefore solve crimes that others couldn't, but in reality it was just a ploy to be able to break the rules and not follow directions, again with the effect of annoying those around him. Then there was his constant demoralizing way of seeing every female as a sexual conquest, which only added to the annoyance. In truth, I think DeMille intended for this character to be annoying, but as a result I just couldn't quite connect with him. He needed some other redeeming characteristics, besides his tenacity when solving a problem. As for his tenacity, while it was supposed to show loyalty and focus, it was hard to believe that anyone would be so emotionally invested in the deaths of people that were such casual acquaintances. Especially when that person is a long-time, hardboiled, NYPD homicide detective that has "seen it all". In fact, this guy tried so hard to piss people off, I had a really hard time believing he could care about anyone, much less a couple that he had just met, or a woman that he had slept with a couple of times. So - what did I like about this book? I really liked the last half of the book when the story line became interesting and the pace picked up. Unfortunately, it took DeMille too long to get to this point. The whole first half of the book was spent building a story line that the author just dropped half-way through, and never finished. It was almost like he got halfway through the book and decided, "I don't like how this is going, I think I will switch gears." Unfortunately, the second story line was much more interesting. In additon, DeMille can really turn a phrase when he wants to. Some of my favorite lines that I have read came from this book. Sometimes John Corey's sarcastic observations were right on the mark. I think one of my favorite lines that I have ever read came when John says, "It occurred to me that the problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished." If the book had been filled with gems like that, I would have loved it. Or Emma's astute observation that, "A lot of our perception of history is influenced by inaccurate movies." These gems were too few and far between, though. In conclusion, of the 511 pages of this book, I think 200 of them could have been deleted and the story would have been much more captivating. The book was just too long and annoying, but since there were things I really liked, I am giving it a 2.75
What do You think about Plum Island (2002)?
I had been looking for crime fiction with humour, for characters who deal with gruesome crimes but don't take themselves too seriously. Mostly, I was looking for authors who can pull it off. I'm glad I've discovered Nelson DeMille. From the get-go, I liked the voice, which was strong, self-assured and witty. Sample quote: "I should mention that I was convalescing, not from the mumps, but from three bullet wounds, two 9mm ones and one .44 caliber Magnum, not that the size of the holes matters. As with real estate, what matters with bullet holes is location, location, location. Obviously these holes were in the right locations, because I was convalescing, not decomposing."This book is packed with action, adventure and humour. The only drawback is that the pace was not brisk enough for my liking in spots. For example, the tour of Plum Island in Chapter 8 was too long. It did present relevant information, but it seemed to drag on and I found myself wondering how many pages were left in the chapter.
—Eve
A great first story of Detective John Corey!Quite a thriller, one cannot stop and it only took me so many days because I have to work! LOL.The first book I read of these John Corey's adventures was the third of the series - it had been a gift last Christmas... In the mean time I waited for Plum Island to be reprinted in Portuguese (I tried to get the English version, but was also out of print... Now I will try to see which is the second adventure of Corey...What did I like about it? John Corey is both obnoxious and charming, witty and with a revolting yet funny sense of humour... Which is to say that its Author managed to find the exact combination of a bright, efficient detective, slightly chauvinistic, but not enough not to get in love, witty and funny and in the end endearing to the reader. Maria Carmo,Lisbon, 15 December 2014.
—Maria Carmo
Something, Whatever, You Know - 4 Stars Despite a vocabulary that included more non-specific words than a valley girl, I found myself amused and entertained by John Corey. Both irreverent and brilliant, Corey is one of the most entertaining protagonists I have read in a long time. Because of my preference for reading lesser know authors, I have put off reading this series for a long time. Fortunately, it was well written and entertaining and I will certainly continue the series. Plot Summary John Corey is a New York Homicide Detective. After being shot in the line of duty, he head offs to his uncles house on Long Island while he convalesces. Rest does not come easy after a two recently made friends are murdered in what is initially called a bungled home invasion. Had this husband and wife duo been simple fishermen, the investigation would have ended there. In this case, the deceased are two brilliant scientists working on Plum Island. Plum Island is rumored to be working on everything from biological warfare research, vaccine research to planning the next plague. It becomes clear that the murders are tied in some way to plum island and John is brought in by the local sheriff to advise on the case. Never believing the official line, John Corey works with local detective Beth Penrose to follow his own line of reasoning while at the same time dodging the federal agents working the case. John battles man and nature as the case takes him down an unlikely path. My Take Overall, this is an exceptionally written and entertaining novel. John Corey is a funny and intelligent while occasionally being a jackass. Prior to this novel, I did not know that a place called Plum Island existed. It is in realty an island run by the USDA where they undertake research into animal disease. Take any government research facility and place it on a small island and people will spin rumors all day. I thought the setting of Long Island and Plum Island were excellent choice and vibrantly written.Nelson DeMille is quite masterful in his use of dialogue. It is written in a manner that is captivating and is perfectly suited for audio (which is the format I used.) The character interactions are realistic and the exchanges are usually funny. John has a habit of using non specific narration. For example, "I looked to my left on the boat, or the starboard, or the stern or whatever the heck it's called". While entertaining in the first half, it does start to become annoying later in the book and is (in my opinion) overused.I found the plot and the setup to be well crafted and realistic. My only issue was I didn't buy John's "Eureka" moment when he seemed to discovered what was really going on. I just don't know how the heck he figured out what was really happening. It seems as if he was relying on some sixth sense. Given the content, the plot could have easily degenerated into a hokey mess but the author did a great job of using plot elements that could have taken the story down. Final Thoughts Overall, Plum Island in an entertaining and very well written novel. There is nothing to complex or obscure in the novel and should appeal to a wide range of readers. I am a bit late in getting to the series but I will certainly be reading more.
—Tim "The Enchanter"
