Nelson Demille arrived on my favorite authors list after reading The Gatehouse, so I was anxious to read another selection and found Spencerville in the library.Keith Landry finds himself without a job after budget cuts in the federal government force him to review his life and decide what comes next. After twenty years of serving as a soldier and then intelligence for Uncle Sam, he decides to return to his hometown of Spencerville, OH. Though he won't admit it to himself at first, his main objective is to reclaim the love he walked away from when he joined the Army. Annie Prentis has spent the past twenty years in a loveless, abusive marriage to Spencerville's chief of police, Cliff Baxter. They've raised two children together, and now that the nest is empty, Annie has decided she has taken enough from her husband and is planning to leave him. When she sees her high school/college love of her life on the streets of Spencerville, there's no doubt the passion is still there between them, and the lines are drawn between Landry and the former high school bully, Baxter.
Keith Landry, the protagonist, returns to his hometown of Spencerville in western Ohio.The willing suspension of disbelief is often a necessary requirement to enjoy well-written fiction. This is a story of the return of a cold warrior from the power centers of Washington DC and Europe. (This story is copyright 1994, well before the rise of Islamic terrorism and threats to western govenments). The cold warrior returns to a farming community in western Ohio, even though he has only distant family remaining in the area. His high school sweetheart has remained in the area, and she is married to the local police chief. The police chief is the villain of this story, and his reach thoughout the county and indeed the state is all pervasive.Interesting, but not overwhelmingly captivating.DeMille writes well, but his talents have been better served on other works.
What do You think about Spencerville (1994)?
This is the ultimate book of love, rejection, revenge, redemption and ultimate reward. I my opinion, this is DeMille's finest work, although it did not achieve critical or sales success for him compared to other titles. DeMille goes beyond putting you there; you actually live the emotion of the struggle taking place. When a book leaves you wondering about life and your own little piece of that grand drama, it has achieved its grand purpose. Spencerville is every small town American's dream of 'i
—Will
Nelson DeMille is my favorite author. Of all times. This book is the ONLY book of his that I would not give 5 stars. I am writing this review many years after actually reading the book - I'm not sure even what year I read it, but I remember vividly thinking... NELSON DEMILLE DID NOT WRITE THIS BOOK!!!! I even had a theory that his wife wrote the book and they published under his name, just to get it published. I don't even remember all the reasons why that made sense to me at the time. I think his wife was from the area the book was set in, and there were other reasons, too, which I have forgotten, but at the time, I was like, "Aha! See... SHE wrote it - NOT Nelson!!" Wasn't his style of writing. If I ever have the great fortune of meeting this dearly loved author - I will ask him... What the hell happened with this book??
—Neva Williams
Savvy woman? There was nothing "savvy" about her, her actions or her decisions. Keith performed similarly. She wanted out? Even closely watched and monitored she had opportunity to get away - the story supported that. Once the two of them decided she was getting out she could have left from dropping her daughter off at Bowling Green and from there rendezvous with Keith and be gone. I don't think Cliff would have the wherewithal to figure out they went overseas.
—Kevin Canwell
