Product Description

Nelson DeMille's narrative engine is one of the best in the business, and it chugs away in grand style in this story of buried treasure and biological warfare on a tiny spit of land off Long Island. As told by a wry, wounded New York City detective who is drafted to explore a couple of murders, Plum Island is a rich pudding of flavorful (if familiar) ingredients, including a ferocious storm at sea. Other DeMille epics in paperback include By the Rivers of Babylon, The General's Daughter, The Gold Coast, Spencerville, and Word of Honor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32203 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.com Review
Nelson DeMille's narrative engine is one of the best in the business, and it chugs away in grand style in this story of buried treasure and biological warfare on a tiny spit of land off Long Island. As told by a wry, wounded New York City detective who is drafted to explore a couple of murders, Plum Island is a rich pudding of flavorful (if familiar) ingredients, including a ferocious storm at sea. Other DeMille epics in paperback include By the Rivers of Babylon, The General's Daughter, The Gold Coast, Spencerville, and Word of Honor.

From Library Journal
While investigating the murder of a young Long Island couple, an NYPD detective is stunned to find that they may have been involved in dealing genetically altered viruses. A 500,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
This enthralling tale of murder, lost treasure and romance is so skillfully abridged that the listener doesn't feel shortchanged. An added bonus is a fascinating interview with Demille, who has a voice that would have been perfect for his homicide detective, John Corey. The narrator, who uses a huge repertoire of voices, unfortunately sounds like Rodney Dangerfield on occasion and uses a singsong cadence that would be very distracting if the story itself weren't riveting. When he speaks in a woman's voice, he sounds like a man trying to sound like a woman. D.T.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Plum Island
I'm half way through this book and I can't put it down! I've read a few other books by DeMille, all also great, but this is the best so far.

A Fun Read With Little to Remember
I quite enjoyed this novel but I think parts of it are going to keep coming back to bug me as I think about it more. John Corey is a riot, I really had fun reading his wisecracks but by the end they were coming a little too hot and fast to make it believable.

I think I was expecting more from it, this is in line with Michael Palmer and other thriller writers. If you enjoy them, I think you will enjoy this.

My only real problem with this book is the character development, there really isn't any. With the exception of John Corey and Emma Whitestone you never do figure much out about anybody. Ted Nash, the "USDA" representative on the trip to Plum Island drops completely off the map after being introduced as a major player in the story along with the FBI agent (Foster?).

I'm glad I read it, I'll probably read mor DeMille novels but I won't expect all that much from them in the future.

Part 1 of the LION'S GAME
Unintentionally, I always seem to read novels out of their proper sequence. PLUM ISLAND lays out the character development for NIGHT FALL, WILD FIRE and THE LION'S GAME (my favorite). Unlike other authors, DeMille does a good job of composing a series of novels that can be coherently read out of sequence.

DeMille lays out the chauvinistic but likable character John Corey. In the preface, DeMille notes that feminist readers like the Corey character despite his overt chauvinism. The women in these novels are brighter than and as adventurous as Corey. He treats them as equals; so he is redeemed - somehow.

Unlike his later novels, within PLUM ISLAND, DeMille doesn't let the reader know the thoughts of the main characters. In this novel, the strategy works. There are 4 paths the storyline could follow. Since the reader is not invited into the mind of Corey, a great deal of suspends is injected. On the other hand, once the reader learns Corey's hypothesis, PLUM ISLAND becomes anticlimactic. However, the story peaks once again during the chase. The reader will immediately realize that DeMille has no qualms of killing off leading characters - even smart, attractive, girl friends can be killed. If she survives, the reader will not know until chapter 37 (second to last chapter).

DeMille is well-known for his one-lines. My favorite comes from PLUM ISLAND on page 1. John Corey notes, "In occurred to me that the problem of doing nothing is not knowing when you're finished."