Wild Fire

January 29, 2007
New York City police detective– turned–terrorist hunter John Corey and his FBI agent wife, Kate, head to the Adirondacks to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and, not coincidentally, to stop a right-wing madman from nuking two major American cities and starting World War III. In previous adventures, Corey has been a welcome reminder of the wise-cracking hard-boiled heroes of yore. Here he dances close enough to the edge of self-parody that a narrator unfamiliar with the earlier novels might have been tempted to employ the kind of insouciant smart-aleck approach that would have turned the character into a cartoon figure and flatlined the book's suspense. As Brick states in a 20-minute chat with the author, he's been a longtime DeMille fan and past narrator of two Corey adventures. Brick sees past the character's wisecracks, tempering his brags and brays with a humanizing hint of self-doubt, suggesting that purpose and simmering anger lurk beneath the glib nonsense. He's equally adept at catching the villain's upper class arrogance and Kate's controlled, no-nonsense approach to life. He can switch attitudes and voices in a split second. Brick turns the talky book into an entertaining and effective full-cast comedy-drama. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 11)

Starred review from September 11, 2006
Set in October 2002, bestseller DeMille's can't-put-it-down fourth thriller to feature ex-NYPD detective John Corey (after 2004's Night Fall
) involves an American right-wing plot to suitcase-nuke two U.S. cities. The idea is to provoke an existing government plan called Wild Fire that automatically responds to nuclear terrorism in the homeland with a nuclear attack that will wipe out most of the Middle East. That such a plan probably exists, according to an opening author's note, heightens the tension. Corey and his FBI agent wife, Kate Mayfield, set off to find antiterrorist agent Harry Muller, who has disappeared after being assigned surveillance duties at the Custer Hill Club, a rich man's hunting lodge in upstate New York. John and Kate are a wisecracking, affectionate, deadly duo, with a new resolve born in the tragedy of the World Trade Center bombing. This tour de force of relentless narrative power neither stops nor slows for twists or turns, but charges straight ahead in the face of danger.

Starred review from October 1, 2006
This is the exciting sequel to DeMilles hugely successful "Night Fall" and is his fourth novel to feature the irrepressible and irreverent retired New York Police Department cop John Corey ("Plum Island" and "The Lions Game" were the others). Its been a year since 9/11 and Corey is still searching for terrorists. The United States is contemplating invading Iraq and a right-wing fanatic wants to start a nuclear war against Islam by nuking two American cities. Very rich and very crazy former army officer Bain Madox heads an organization of highranking government officials, and they have four suitcase nukes. Obviously, it is up to Corey and his FBI agent wife, Kate Mayfield, to stop the mayhem. Wild Fire is the name of a government program guaranteeing an automatic and massive nuclear response in case we are attacked by atomic weapons. This book is fast-paced and thrilling, and if the plot may seem implausible and over the top, a check of recent headlines is in order. An excellent read for a multitude of reasons. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 7/06.]"Robert Conroy, Warren, MI"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
John Corey, the ex-NYPD detective who now works on a government anti-terrorism task force, returns in this exciting and uncomfortably realistic thriller. Bain Madox, a brilliant and probably insane villain, has hatched a fiendishly clever plot to force the U.S. to launch an all-out nuclear attack against the entire Islamic world. It's up to Corey, with the help of his FBI agent wife, to stop Madox before he can detonate nuclear weapons on American soil. Set in 2002, barely a year after 9/11, the novel presents a what-if scenario that's so plausible we have to remind ourselves that DeMille is making the whole thing up. Or is he? As usual, DeMille appears to have done a ton of research; what sets his thrillers apart from those of some of his competitors is the way he seamlessly incorporates real technology and real government organizations into his stories. It really is tough to tell what parts of his novels are real and what are the products of his imagination. And although Operation Wild Fire, the American nuclear retaliatory strategy that Madox hopes to jump-start, is fictional, DeMille makes us believe that something very like it could and possibly does exist. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)