May 10, 2010
Asad Khalil (aka "The Lion"), the ruthless Libyan terrorist who menaced ex-NYPD cop John Corey in The Lion's Game (2000), returns to the U.S. 18 months after 9/11, bent on finishing old business in DeMille's fast-paced fifth John Corey thriller (after Wild Fire). In Los Angeles, Khalil dispatches the last of the eight American pilots who dropped the bombs that killed Khalil's family in the historic 1986 raid on Tripoli. In New York City, a daring encounter with Corey, a member of the federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force, and Corey's FBI agent wife, Kate Mayfield, who's also a member of the ATTF, sets the stage for the mano a mano struggle both Corey and Khalil crave. DeMille splices gripping action scenes with accounts of Khalil's horrifically inventive attacks and the ATTF's futile countermeasures. While Corey isn't much more appealing than his foe, those who enjoy starkly black-and-white battles between good and evil will be satisfied.
June 15, 2010
The antiterrorist team of John Corey and Kate Mayfield return to do battle with the murderous terrorist Asad Khalil, aka the Lion (The Lion's Game). Khalil has come back to wreak vengeance on those responsible for the bombing raid in Libya that killed his family. He also targets John and Kate for their efforts in thwarting his diabolical and sadistic plans. Set shortly after 9/11, the action picks up quickly and doesn't slow down in this superbly written thriller. Corey is his usual irreverent self and has to match wits with the Lion after Kate is badly injured. While the Lion murders his way across the country, Corey and the others rightly suspect that he is being funded by al-Qaeda, and his masters want him not only to exact his personal revenge but to commit an atrocity on a par with the World Trade Center attacks. Thus, the chase is on. VERDICT DeMille's latest is a fast-paced grabber of a thriller. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/10.]--Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2010
In The Lions Game (2000), terrorist Asad Khalil, also known as the Lion, came to the U.S. to kill the people responsible for bombing his village in Libya. John Corey, the NYPD cop turned antiterrorist agent, and his FBI trainer, Kate Mayfield, gave chase, but their quarry got away. Now its a few years later, not too long after 9/11. John and Kate are married, and Johns an experienced agent with his own trainee. Out of the blue skyliterally, in a very creative and exciting sceneKhalil swoops down, bent on continuing his revenge against the people behind the bombing. And now hes added Corey to his hit list. Can Corey outmaneuver and outwit a determined, ruthless assassin? This is a well-constructed and satisfying sequel, full of exciting (and occasionally gruesome) visual imagery. Corey is a more developed character this time around, and Khalil is every bit as intelligent, cold, and compelling as he was in The Lions Game. If the book has a flaw, its that it might be a little close in feel, plot, and even dramatic structure to the earlier book. On the other hand, Khalil is a single-minded guy, and it doesnt stretch credibility at all to imagine that hed pick up right where he left off.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)
August 30, 2010
Scott Brick, narrator of 2000’s The Lion’s Game, has wisely been brought back to give voice to this sequel in which the titular master assassin Asad Khalil returns to the U.S. to murder everyone who ruined his fun the first time around, including wisecracking hard-boiled federal agent John Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield. The shocking first strike against Kate occurs in the middle of a recreational sky dive, smartly written by DeMille and heart-thumpingly enacted by Brick. The unwavering Khalil speaks in a slithery, chilling whisper, while series protagonist Corey is full of brashness and bravura. But as the plot proceeds like “a straight ball down the middle,” a description provided by the author in an interview with the narrator, both of the antagonists begin to display signs of strain. Thanks to Brick, they sound a little more anxious, uncertain, and human the closer they come to their final mano a mano confrontation. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, May 10).