Dimiter [Hardcover]

William Peter Blatty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2010

William Peter Blatty has thrilled generations of readers with his iconic mega-bestseller The Exorcist. Now Blatty gives us Dimiter, a riveting story of murder, revenge, and suspense. Laced with themes of faith and love, sin and forgiveness, vengeance and compassion, it is a novel in the grand tradition of Morris West’s The Devil’s Advocate and the Catholic novels of Graham Greene.

Dimiter opens in the world’s most oppressive and isolated totalitarian state: Albania in the 1970s. A prisoner suspected of being an enemy agent is held by state security. An unsettling presence, though subjected to unimaginable torture he maintains an eerie silence. He escapes---and on the way to freedom, completes a mysterious mission. The prisoner is Dimiter, the American “agent from Hell.”

The scene shifts to Jerusalem, focusing on Hadassah Hospital and a cast of engaging, colorful characters: the brooding Christian Arab police detective, Peter Meral; Dr. Moses Mayo, a troubled but humorous neurologist; Samia, an attractive, sharp-tongued nurse; and assorted American and Israeli functionaries and hospital staff. All become enmeshed in a series of baffling, inexplicable deaths, until events explode in a surprising climax.

Told with unrelenting pace, Dimiter’s compelling, page-turning narrative is haunted by the search for faith and the truths of the human condition. Dimiter is William Peter Blatty's first full novel since the 1983 publication of Legion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Blatty fans looking for straight-up horror in the vein of The Exorcist will be disappointed, but those with broader tastes will find this a beautifully written, haunting tale of vengeance, spiritual searching, loss, and love. In 1973 Albania, Colonel Vlora (aka the Interrogator), the head of a team of torturers, questions the Prisoner, who the reader later learns is Paul Dimiter, an American clandestine agent referred to in some quarters of the world as 'legendary,' while in others as 'the agent from hell.'  (Rumor has it Dimiter poisoned Ho Chi Minh while the Vietnamese leader was visiting Albania shortly before his death in 1969.) Dimiter escapes to Jerusalem, where he encounters a number of engaging characters, including a doctor of neurology, a sharp-tongued nurse, and a grief-stricken Israeli policeman. The complicated plot confounds until the isolated pieces of the psychological puzzle that's Dimiter match up and fall into place, revealing surprising truths. (Mar.)
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Review

“Gripping and intelligent, Dimiter is part detective story and part religious thriller in the grand tradition of The Name of the Rose.” —Allan Folsom, New York Times bestselling author

"Almost 40 years after The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty's  new novel 'Dimiter' is another headspinner." —The New York Post 

"Dimiter is an intelligent, tightly wound, suspenseful novel with a surprising and explosive climax. One can only hope Blatty will publish another sometime soon." —USA TODAY 

"Riveting."—The Los Angeles Times

"Gripping and enthralling."—The West Australian

"An amazing tale that should be read twice — once for the captivating and faith-affirming story, and a second time to savor the author's elegant writing and masterful craft."—Book Reporter.com

"An astonishing piece of literature. You will want to reread it as soon as you put it down."—Horror Drive-in

"A must-read. Had me frantically turning pages to find out what happens next."—The Buffalo News

"Sure to keep readers' attention until the final pages."—Suite101

"A thrilling psychological suspense thriller."—Genre Go Round

"A wonderfully written, mind-twirling mystery chock-full of suspense and wonder."—Stem Shots

"A depth of mysery, imagination, and eloquence that will captivate mystery-lovers and suspense enthusiasts until its final pages."—BookSwim

"Magnificent literary visuals...An all-round fascinating piece of work."—Thriller Book Club

"Exorcist author thrills again!"—The Herald Net

"The Exorcist author Blatty is back -- and he's in fine form!"— Delawareonline

“Blatty’s writing contains much grace and beauty."—The Dallas Morning News

“The author of  The Exorcist has outdone himself.”—Dreadlord_Logix

“The novel was worth the wait.”—The Pittsburgh Tribune

“William Peter Blatty balances philosophy, thrills”—The Palm Springs
Desert Sun

“Enfolds a message of faith in a fast-paced thriller.”—The Brothers Judd
Blog

“A Christian thriller with ‘Lost-‘like intrigue.”—Lost Wire

“Blatty has outdone himself. Atmospheric, suspenseful and hugely satisfying, Dimiter is a triumph!”—The Speculative Scotsman

“Gripping. You will be hooked. I was completely unable to put it down.”—Full Circle

“A page turner.”—News-Press.com

“A complex, suspenseful, and fast paced thriller, which does not shy away
from the problem of evil contrasted with the mystery of faith." —The
Catholic Media Review

"A wonderfully written, mind-twirling spiritual thriller that is
chock full of suspense and wonder, Dimiter pulses with an aura of mystique that almost begs you to revisit the whole novel as soon as you've finished."—The Horror Fiction Review

"The author of the mega-famous THE EXORCIST has written another grand and breathtaking tale, a stunning and powerful puzzlebox of psychological horror by a true master of modern fiction.”—Dark Delights

"A grace-haunted novel.”—Raymond Arroyo's "The World Over"

“Dimiter is exciting and terrific. Like all of Blatty’s stuff, it’s a theological thriller that you can take on as many different levels as you want. It’s strange and enigmatic and very ambitious. It would make a great film.”—BookTrust

"Dimiter is a milestone not only because it comes from an award-winning author, but because he's not written a full-length novel since his 1983 best-seller LEGION - until now... Gripping … A ‘must' for any Blatty fan and many newcomers."—California Bookwatch

"Blatty proves not only that he still can write compelling prose nearly
40 years after his acclaimed Excorcist but also that he makes a fine
narrator." © AudioFile

"(Blatty) writes with an unrelenting pace that totally grips you. (The novel) ends in a fantastic climax that's really unexpected."—London Daily Telegraph

"At one and the same time, Dimiter is a page-turning detective yarn, an affectionate portrait of the Holy Land, its people and Christ’s lingering presence there, and a story about the search for faith —all told with author William Peter Blatty’s mordant wit, acute powers of observation and truly beautiful writing."—Family and Faith

“Dimiter slowly pushes the thriller throttle back and requires you to feel
and think. Read it!”—Boston Book Bums

“Absolutely enthralling.  The best literary puzzle I've ever read, it's a
book that cannot be visited only once to be truly appreciated."—Shocklines

"The author of the mega-famous modern horror novel, THE EXORCIST, has written another grand and breathtaking tale of terror."—countgore.com

“A stunning saga ... Blatty alternately hides and hints at the nature of the forces at play, building to a spectacular climax which will compel most readers to return to page one upon completing this masterful suspense novel."—Books.Com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (March 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765325128
• ISBN-13: 978-0765325129
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #628,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Resounding Triumph, March 30, 2010

By 

Vaughan (Brentwood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dimiter (Hardcover)

One need not read an interview with Blatty to recognize this novel as the product of years of a well articulated, self-examined life. If the cliché rings true, and good writers begin with writing what they know, then Bill Blatty can be said to have written about the things he knows perhaps better than anyone: the hopeful grief of the faithful, the Problem of Evil balanced by what he calls the "Mystery of Goodness," and the power of that goodness when channeled by those ready to let it work within them.

The editorial and reviewer plot synopses cannot do justice to the tightly woven suspense of this novel, due to elemental spirituality that lies beyond the gripping plot and elevates the work to something more than a "thriller." As is typical of Blatty, his characters are eccentric, complicated, at times funny, and likeable. For the long-time Blatty fan, this novel will provide some rewarding moments of the off-beat humor within his previous work, but this book is noticeably different also.

No one else writes quite like this author. This has been evident at least since The Exorcist, and in Dimiter, we see a unique and gifted author at his most refined. His sentences are at once long, rhythmic, and beautifully descriptive. We are allowed to experience not only the artful presentation of bad things that happen to good people and the ensuing, surmounting dread, but also a good long look at an inexplicable goodness that causes evil to scream its throat raw and in vain.

And the beautiful thing is - the mystery retains its mystery.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Mystery Will Keep You Guessing Until the Final Pages, March 20, 2010

By 

Sheila Clover "Book Trailer Lady" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dimiter (Hardcover)

Length:: 1:39 Mins

During 1973, a mysterious figure is taken captive in the totalitarian state of Albania and interrogated by authorities using extreme methods of torture. Impervious to pain and unwilling to speak about his true identity, the prisoner confounds his captors until his remarkable escape. One year later, a series of strange occurrences that include the unexplainable healing of a boy with an incurable condition and the discovery of a body in Christ's tomb have gained the attention of local authorities and intelligence officials. In their struggle to understand this enigmatic case, they discover a plot that is utterly confounding in its complexity. And at the center of it there is a man without an identity, a man who is very dangerous. He is called Dimiter, the Agent of Hell. Dimiter, a fascinating and well-crafted suspense novel, is the newest release by William Peter Blatty, the author of the horror classic The Exorcist. Its mystery has a depth that will captivate readers until its final pages. With imagination and eloquence, William Peter Blatty writes Dimiter, a story that is sure to have mystery-lovers and suspense enthusiasts enthralled for some time to come.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars religious suspense, March 22, 2010

By 

Charles Bayne "taxicab33" (Rockville,MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dimiter (Hardcover)

Ah, it is so good to have such a wonderfully well written, suspenseful book from William Blatty again! His writing is such a joy to read and savor. The story is mysterious,and complex,with deeply mesmerizing detailed descriptions. This is a book than can be read over and over, each time finding new details and wonders of language.

My only complaint (spoiler alert) is how Jean, his wife, got his last letter which he never intended to send. We know Merel sent it, but how did he know where to find Jean???? I may well be missing something here, and if someone can enlighten me, I would be delighted to find out. This is the only flaw, to me, in an otherwise superb book.