The Deserter
By Nelson Demille & Alex Demille
Release Date: October 22, 2019
*Ebook Review - Available from WVReads!”
3.5
Stars - Exciting story of two military agents apprehending a wild,
rogue officer in South America. Demille paints a detailed picture of the
setting and each scene that makes for an engrossing read, including a
likable hero and heroine.
Scott
Brodie is naturally a character that seems destined for a sequel, much
like Demille’s John Corey’s first book. They’re similar in their smart
aleck personalities and general disregard for danger. Brodie’s partner
Taylor is the straight man (woman) to his edgy, humorous attitude. She
is just trying to keep him alive and get back alive. Some will find her
eagerness to jump in on mission aspects she isn’t suited for immature
and annoying, but her whining is kept to a minimum. And their target
Mercer is crafted with enough mystery and darkness that it brings to
mind the adage a hero is only as good as the villian. This is a
slow-paced thriller though so make sure you’re in the mood to settle in.
At
well over five-hundred pages, Demille is drawing out the scenes and
putting in a lot of atmopshere. Regular fans of his, however, will be
used to his style I expect. And they won’t be disappointed. The
transition between writing partners was barely noticeable to me. There
was a lot of political discussion while they are in Venezula but I found
it refreshing compared to so many arguments coming up in novels set in
America. To some, this will get a bit dull though. Personally, I liked
the nods to Heart of Darkness and Apolocalypse Now that Demille play
straight. Fans of Clancy will find it a bit similar to Clear &
Present Danger too. The plot was different from my usual thriller fare,
simple but no less intriguing. This is truly more suspense than mystery.
Toward the end, I was still on the metaphorical edge of my seat but I
was slightly disappointed at how quickly some things were resolved. Some
key points were kept vague and maybe kept as fodder for a sequel.
(NS)
