The Lion [Hardcover]

Nelson DeMille (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

In this eagerly awaited follow-up to The Lion's Game, John Corey, former NYPD Homicide detective and special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is back. And, unfortunately for Corey, so is Asad Khalil, the notorious Libyan terrorist otherwise known as "The Lion." Last we heard from him, Khali had claimed to be defecting to the US only to unleash the most horrific reign of terrorism ever to occur on American soil. While Corey and his partner, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, chased him across the country, Khalil methodically eliminated his victims one by one and then disappeared without a trace.

Now, years later, Khalil has returned to America to make good on his threats and take care of unfinished business. "The Lion" is a killing machine once again loose in America with a mission of revenge, and John Corey will stop at nothing to achieve his own goal -- to find and kill Khahil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In The Lion's 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 it's a few years later, not too long after 9/11. John and Kate are married, and John's an experienced agent with his own trainee. Out of the blue sky—literally, in a very creative and exciting scene—Khalil swoops down, bent on continuing his revenge against the people behind the bombing. And now he's 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 Lion's Game. If the book has a flaw, it's 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 doesn't stretch credibility at all to imagine that he'd pick up right where he left off. --David Pitt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044658083X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446580830
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in New York City in 1943. My father was a Canadian, serving at that time with the American Navy, and my mother was a Brooklyn native, trying to figure out how to grow a Victory Garden for the war effort.

My family moved to Elmont, Long Island, New York in 1947 where my father was a house builder, and my mother was a homemaker raising four boys.
I attended Elmont public schools, played football, ran track, and was on the wrestling team. I graduated Elmont Memorial High School in 1962 and spent the summer at the beach.

I attended Hofstra University, but left before graduation to join the Army in 1966. I served three years in the United States Army as an infantry lieutenant and spent one year in Vietnam as a platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division. You'll see that I used this experience in my novels "Word of Honor" and "Up Country."

After the end of my military service, I returned to Hofstra where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. I married and had two children, Lauren and Alex, and eventually divorced.

I held a series of good and bad jobs between 1970 and 1974, and in that year, for some reason I can't remember, I decided to be a writer. My first books were paperback originals, New York City police detective novels, thankfully all out of print and hard to find.

In 1978, I published my first major novel, "By the Rivers of Babylon," which was a commercial and critical success. Since then, I've written fourteen other novels and had a good time creating my characters John Corey, Ben Tyson (played by Don Johnson in the TNT movie of "Word of Honor"), foxy Emma Whitestone, Paul Brenner (played by John Travolta in the Paramount movie of "The General's Daughter"), sexy Susan Sutter, the never-say-die CIA officer Ted Nash, and my favorite villain, Asad Khalil, a misunderstood Libyan terrorist with unresolved childhood issues.

I am a member of The Authors Guild, the Mystery Writers of America (past President), American Mensa (thank God I don't have to retake that test), and I hold three honorary doctorate degrees (thank God I didn't have to study for them) from Hofstra University, Long Island University, and Dowling College.
I'm married to the love of my life, Sandy Dillingham, whom I met while I was on a publicity tour in Denver. We have a son, James, two years old, and he's keeping me young.

There's more about me on my website. Thanks for reading about me here, and I hope you enjoy my novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

160 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DeMille in good form!, June 8, 2010

By 

Philly gal "phillygal" (PHILA, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lion (Hardcover)

No spoilers here. John Corey, the ex NYPD homicide detective who now works for the Federal anti terrorism task force is the main character. This is DeMille's fifth John Corey novel (Plum Island, Lion's Game, Night Fall and Wild Fire). You do not have to read these novels to enjoy this one although DeMille does make references to events in those earlier books.

This story is set in NYC thirteen months post the 9/11 attacks. Corey is working alongside his wife Kate Mayfield an FBI agent. In a terrifying, suspenseful scene involving a skydiving trip, they encounter the Libyan terrorist Asad Khalil. DeMille presents the motivations of both Corey and Khalil; unusual for this type of thriller you can actually understand the roots of Khalil's terrorism. Events move along quickly following the initial meeting. The action is centered in the metro New York area and exploits the difficulties the federal/state/local agencies have had cooperating and sharing intelligence information. Corey stands above the bureaucracy and has a singular focus on bringing down the terrorist. The characters in this novel are engaging, funny and sharply drawn. Corey is non-stop with the wisecracks, I find them funny and occasionally laugh out loud funny but I can see how some readers might be annoyed by the frequency of these comments. I think you either like the Corey character or you don't.

This is a top-notch action thriller. Differing from some of DeMille's earlier novels, this one is tight and well edited coming in at around 400 pages. The novel gathers in the reader with a strong opening, the plot is well organized and believable, the ending a little abrupt. I think DeMille fans will be pleased with this installment in the John Corey series and no doubt staying up late to finish this thriller.

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's back -- and on game!, June 8, 2010

By 

litaddiction (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lion (Hardcover)

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.)

41 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Needs a better editor, July 19, 2010

By 

Mark D. Mestel "bjj geezer" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lion (Hardcover)

As a Nelson DeMille fan I hoped that this novel would be better than his last. Alas, it seems that his success has inflated his ego to the point where his writing has suffered. This book is awful. The hero, John Corey, comes across as Bruce Willis in a poorly scripted and totally unedited action film. The book is hundreds of pages too long. Sections which may be entertaining on first reading become tedious as they are repeated and repeated. When you get to be a famous author do you abandon editors or do the editors simply become sycophants helping to stroke your ego? The plot is predictable and not worth the read. Perhaps if Mr. DeMille pays attention to the readers' reviews he will take a critical look at how his writing has deteriorated. Once an excellent author he should strive to regain that position.