Radiant Angel
by Nelson DeMille is the 7 th novel
in the John Corey series. Mr. DeMille has been writing political
thrillers for approximately thirty-five years, but like a
fine wine he has gotten better with age. With this new novel
he has pivoted from the antagonists of Arab terrorists to
the dangers of a newly resurgent Russia.
DeMille's new novel takes readers into the heart of a re-birth
of the Cold War with a clock-ticking plot that has Manhattan
in its cross-hairs. It will remind readers of the earlier
book, The Talbot Odyssey, about the Russian plot to knock
out all electronic communications while attempting to do great
damage to the US. As with all of his books, DeMille warns
of dangers to America and explores wider worldwide issues.
In Radiant Angel the threat is a Russian plan to explode a
suitcase nuclear bomb, a “Radiant Angel,” in New
York’s Harbor. This believable and realistic plot takes
place over a twenty-four hour period.
DeMille noted, “I regret not writing more on the Cold
War. I did write The Talbot Odyssey and The Charm School,
but by the time the paperback of The Charm School came out
the Soviet Union was imploding. I also was tired of writing
about Arab terrorists, which is why I gave John Corey a new
job. Finally, I thought the events of this book could happen.
In the real world, the Russians are being aggressive in their
area of influence in Europe and, to some extent, in Asia,
but also they’re hacking into our computers. I took
resurgent Russian to an extreme. The Russian story is still
unfolding. It is a huge country. Let’s not forget that
during the Cold war they were our military equivalent and
that can happen again. Russia has been badly handled since
the end of the Cold War, specifically this administration.
President Obama after the election said he was going to have
a different relationship. Well, he was right, but it is not
a good one, but a bad one.”
The book begins with John Corey’s new job in the Diplomatic
Surveillance Group, after he was unofficially asked to seek
other employment by his Anti-Terrorist Task Force superiors.
It is known to be a dead end job, and is called “a quiet
end” for a reason. His duties include watching Russian
diplomats working at the U.N. Mission, mainly Colonel Vasily
Petrov. After the Colonel mysteriously disappears from a Russian
oligarch’s party in Southampton, Corey knows he must
track him down. Fans of this main character will not be disappointed
knowing that John will take a seemingly routine job and find
a substantive danger, which is the motif of the book. What
makes it even better for Corey is that he is no longer under
the thumb of the FBI, free from the bureaucratic office life,
and does not have his wife constantly looking over his shoulder.
Readers will enjoy the mixture of thrills and laughs as this
wisecracking protagonist once again strives to save America.
DeMille also discussed his future projects. Unfortunately
the John Corey TV series is no longer. Because there was only
a commitment to making Plum Island, the first John Corey story,
he decided to shelve the idea. He is looking at cable TV where
they will buy the series as a package.
The next book is a stand-alone and will not include John Corey.
The status of John is up in the air since the new publisher,
Simon and Schuster, wants a new character. However, DeMille
made it very clear that any future Corey book will have the
return of Suffolk County detective Beth Penrose who made a
cameo appearance in Radiant Angel.
The ensuing novel will hopefully be released a year from this
October. The setting will be in Cuba and Florida. The main
character, Mac, is a US veteran who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After being severely wounded he decides to start a fishing
and tour boat business. Because of his expertise a Cuban exile
group hires him. DeMille does not have the plot down but gave
a heads up that it could possibly include searching for millions
of dollars of treasure buried by the Batista government; finding
six nuclear warheads left behind by the 1962 Russian pullout;
and/or finding a convicted police killer, the Black Liberation
Army militant.
As with all his books the characters are well developed, the
plot fast paced, and the story thought provoking. Readers
will not want to put down Radiant Angel and will
want to finish it in one sitting. This book is not DeMille’s
prototype since it is only about 300 pages; yet, it has substance
and reality.
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