The Lion

Assad Khalil, a.k.a. the Lion, is a deadly killer and a religious terrorist. Now that he's back on U.S. soil, he is pursuing his personal vendetta. He intends to annihilate all the people linked to his family's destruction from the U.S. Air Force pilots to Federal Agent John Corey and FBI Agent Kate Mayfield. The Lion, like the fictional Jackal (from Return of the Jackal) is one of the world's most skilled assassins and Khalil enjoys the difficult kills. Corey tries to take advantage of Khalil's love for the dramatic and Corey needs all the advantages that he can garner. Khalil seems to have unlimited resources, a wide range of targets, and no inhibitions. But Corey has his own strengths -- careful detective work, his creative thinking, his deep determination and desire for vengeance. The battle of between Corey and Khalil makes for an engrossing read and a satisfying thriller. If you're looking for a fun weekend read or a thriller to escape with, check it out. Action-packed, complex, and engrossing, DeMille's The Lion will surely satisfy!

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it and the reader Scott Brick did a great job. It is the best terrorist/mystery book that I've read by far in 2010.

Nelson DeMille brings back his brash, bad-boy cop (Federal Agent, former cop) John Corey in this sequel to "The Lion's Game." Asad Khalil is back from "The Lion's Game." Having escaped Corey last time, Khalil has unfinished business. He intends to kill all the pilots involved in the US bombing of Libya. Asad is a wily opponent, but also a blood-thirsty sadist. He kills those who help him and those who stand in his way. DeMille ratchets up the suspense in every chapter as the reader knows the targets, and Khalil seems to be ahead of Corey's game. The wild card is that Khalil must also have financial backing from a group and needs to repay them with a major statement of hatred for the US--so what building, city, monument will he attack? Will he do that before or after his showdown with Corey? The dialog is snappy, the action is non-stop, and for all his bravado and cowboy "I can do it myself" mentality, John Corey shares good moments with his friends and wife. It's hard to dislike someone openly disgusted with too much paperwork and too little control over life-or-death situations. Fast, fun, and entertaining if you don't mind the viciousness of the kills.

...I'm so afraid it will be last of the John Corey novels! The anticipation of waiting for this novel exceeds waiting for the last "Harry Potter" book - in fact, I've been waiting for it since "Lion's Game" and it is so satisfying, tying up loose ends, with the usual Corey "smart aleck" comments, both verbalized and silent. Well worth waiting for; I only wish I could make Nelson DeMille write faster! Maybe next will be a book from Kate's point of view...

And by "he" I mean both John Corey (former NYPD and current loose-cannon agent on the federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force), *and* Nelson DeMille (author extraordinaire of political suspense and hilarity, whose last couple of books started to worry me about the extraordinaire part). DeMille's 16th book (the fifth in his John Corey series) is a post-9/11 sequel to The Lion's Game. Here it's 2003 New York City and Asad Khalil is back to finish his revenge against the 1986 U.S. military attack on Libya that killed his mother and siblings. And to finish John Corey. But that's enough said about the plot ... which, whether it's terrorism, conspiracy, or the KGB, isn't really why I read DeMille. I read him for his smart-a**, alpha-male-with-tender-underbelly protagonists. And while a few sections here are by necessity in the third-person perspective of other characters, they thankfully aren't like the long stretches in Wild Fire. Instead, the majority is first-person Corey -- narrating more of a police procedural than rollicking thriller, a slower pace that immerses us in Corey's amusing persona. Also making their usual appearances are Corey's love interest (wife Kate Mayfield), the good guys of New York's Finest, the bungling FBI, and the evil CIA. Though readers new to DeMille might more logically begin with Plum Island (the first in this series and still the best), DeMille gives enough background here for anyone to enjoy this work. (With a caution: there are several brief scenes of graphic violence.) The novel's pacing is good, its length is great (not bloated like The Gate House) -- and its final four sentences are perfection. (Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)