Wild Fire - Nelson DeMille

Wild Fire

Nelson DeMille
Warner Books

Thriller

Set in October 2002, WILD FIRE picks up the story of John Corey where it left off with NIGHT FALL (10/04.) Just over a year after the attacks on the World Trade Center, and not willing to wait out the current administration’s plans, a shadowy group plans retribution. They meet at a hunting lodge called the Custer Hill Club. Their plan is to set off suitcase nuclear bombs at strategic points inside the United States, leaving enough evidence to point back to Middle Eastern terrorist groups. Their hope is that the U.S. will retaliate to these apparent further ‘terrorist attacks’ by nuking most of the Middle East down to bedrock. The FBI is not unaware of their plans, and an agent has been dispatched to conduct surveillance on the group. When that agent disappears, anti-terrorist agent John Corey and his wife, Kate, are assigned to investigate.

DeMille says in an author’s note that he based the Wild Fire program on existing information that may or may not be true. His research is obvious, and makes the entire exercise sound more than possible. The villain of this piece is conflicted and complex; while his actions seem indefensible, his motives are understandable. John and Kate have an easy relationship, based mostly on sarcasm. While their one-liners can sometimes become a bit much, for the most part, they add some levity to an otherwise tense narrative. The conclusion of the story is never really in doubt, so it’s a real tribute to the author’s talent that the pacing of the story makes the pages seem to fly.

Rating: 7 ½
November 2006
ISBN# 0-4465-7967-X (hardcover)