Spencerville

by Nelson DeMille

The New York Times bestselling novel is now available in a beautifully repackaged edition.

The Cold War is over, and Keith Landry, one of the nation's top intelligence officers, is forced into early and unwanted retirement. Restless, Landry returns to Spencerville, the small Midwestern town where he grew up. The place has changed in the quarter century since Landry stepped off his front porch into the world, but two important people from his past are still Annie Prentis, his first love, and Cliff Baxter, the high school bully who became the police chief of Spencerville and now Annie's possessive husband. They're all about to reunite and rip Spencerville apart with violence, vengeance, and renewed passion.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Romance

528 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

About the author

Nelson Richard DeMille was an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include Plum Island, The Charm School, and The General's Daughter. DeMille also wrote under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two things:

1. Lately, I really wish that Goodreads had a half star system. This book is definitely a 3.5 for me and there is no way I could go to 4. So, I settled on 3.

2. Seems like I find myself in the midst of a lot of books with sexual torture/rape scenes. This is a pattern I hope to break!

This book was okay. The premise was fairly far fetched, the actions of the characters not all that believable, and the outcomes generally coincidental. I enjoyed parts of it, but all in all it was a bit too scattered. Demille seems to be trying to combine his commentary on the end of the Cold War with a bizarre revenge story.

Entertaining but just "meh and huh?" overall. With how long it is (21+ hours audio) it seemed to drag on with quite a bit of repetition.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love DeMille's books, but this one is not among his best.
There is ore romance than fiction, with quite a violent finish. Not to mention that I find hard to believe that a fine, bright and civilized young woman would marry such a brute, whatever the circumstances.
We are talking about modern times, don't we?

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rat Built a Mountain ⛰


For 6 whole years Annie and Keith were an item. But the war came. Keith went to Nam and Annie married a policeman whose (💀dark💀) true colors emerged right after marriage.

Although Keith and Annie were no longer in a relationship, their love survived. Somehow, deep inside, they both felt an inevitable “meet again” in a faraway future…

And of course they were right. However, Annie’s husband is a hellish obstacle that will do everything to keep them apart …

Banal?! Déjà vu?!
Yes! Definitely!

But this is just a milligram! The seed! The tiny piece that gave birth to a giant story!

You won’t regret if you’ll give this book a chance
The Rat conceived a Mountain!!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💖

[Corey Woodcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You didn’t have to be born in a small town, Keith thought, to have a soft spot in your heart for America’s small towns. It was, and to some extent it remained, the ideal, if only in an abstract and sentimental way. But beyond nostalgia, the small town dominated much of the history of the American experience; in thousands of Spencervilles across the nation, surrounded by endless farms, American ideas and culture formed, took hold, flourished, and nourished a nation. But now, he thought, the roots were dying, and no one noticed because the tree still looked so stately.”

The seedy underbelly of Small Town, USA-can’t help but love these kinds of stories.

Keith Landry is a former government agent, recently let go for ambiguous reasons. His background is initially pretty murky, but it’s clear that this guy ran in some pretty secret circles. He’s a Vietnam Vet, former spy and world traveler-all in all a pretty bad ass dude. After resigning, he decides to move back to his hometown of Spencerville in rural northwest Ohio and get back to his roots. Also, the love of his life lives there—the one that got away—with her overprotective, abusive, scumbag husband, who also happens to be the local Chief of Police. Hijinks and shenanigans ensue.

Ok, I love Nelson DeMille. When asked about who I think one of the most entertaining writers is, there’s no doubt DeMille would be very high on that list. His books all seem to have just enough of everything—action, character, plot, humor...and this book is no exception. His biggest strength though lies in ratcheting up the tension throughout the book to the point where it becomes virtually impossible to put down. The guy is a master at this.

This book may have gotten a little far-fetched at times, but no matter for me. It wasn’t ridiculous, and extremely entertaining. The main character was likable, with definite shades of John Corey; similar cynical, sarcastic sense, but didn’t have me laughing out loud, as is often the case with Corey. The bad guy in this one, Cliff Baxter (somehow a perfect name for this guy), was a truly sick and deranged individual. We got alternating points of view, and it worked very well especially at the climax.

My favorite thing about this book though was the setting. Good ol’ small town, rural USA. The Heartland. While everything looks well on the surface, things are often festering upon closer inspection. Guys are cheating on their wives, small businesses are cheating on their taxes, the Chief of Police is a sadistic scumbag. This took place mostly in rural Ohio and Michigan, and was a great change to DeMille’s usual setting of New York City, Long Island, or Asia. It was something I could personally relate to more, and DeMille actually did a wonderful job of taking you there.

Not a perfect book, but the more DeMille I read, the more I love his style. Some of the romantic stuff was a little nauseating, but it wasn’t poorly done or overdone, that’s just my general reaction to this kind of thing in most books. Also, for being such a big shot, the main character certainly seemed to make some pretty boneheaded mistakes. If you’re into DeMille or these kinds of thrillers, I would definitely give this one a look.

[Revo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hands down, the silliest DeMille book.
The cold war has ended, the MC (ex-CIA) returnes home to a lost love in the heartland and is almost immediately outwitted by a stereotypical, wife-beatin', cheatin', lyin' and theivin' hick cop.
No, really...I'm serious. It's in the book, honest.
Unfortunately, I read this book immediately after "Word of Honor" and was nearly crippled by story intelligence whiplash. I'm still not sure what the moral of the story was behind this one. Maybe it didn't have one.
DeMille is one of my fave author ever, but even he fires blanks on occasion. The hammer fell on an empty chamber in this one.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read several of the reviews of Spencerville, and apparently it had many mixed reviews, in other words, some loved it, some really hated it. In my own opinion, was it right up there with some of DeMille's best, like The Charm School, Gold Coast, General's Daughter or the John Corey series, no, but it was still widely entertaining.

Spencerville introduces us to Keith Landry, who has been forced into early retirement from the Military. Landry has returned to his hometown of Spencerville, Ohio, where he hopes to find peace and rebuild his life. There have been many changes in Spencerville since Landry left to join the Military. But two things still remain, Annie Prentis, his ex-flame, the love of his life, and Cliff Baxter, the famous High School bully, who is now the corrupt Police Chief of Spencerville, and the possessive, abusive husband of Annie. All 3 of them are about to cross paths again, Annie, who has become unhappy in her marriage to a husband who sleeps around and has the law on his side, and Keith, who is still deeply in love with Annie, and wasn't happy with the way they left things, and Annie is still secretly in love with him, and Cliff Baxter, who, since hearing of Keith's return to town, has been watching his every move, also his wife's.

Would I put Spencerville in my top favorites, no probably not, but like I said, still a good book, and I loved the Ohio/country setting, and the character developments! I'll admit the premise was pretty far-fetched, and there's some graphic sex scenes and violence, some a little unnecessary. Still a fun, entertaining tale by one of my favorite writers!

[RJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some artists can work in different styles without diminishing quality. Michelangelo's work with oils and sculpture come to mind. When it comes to action mysteries with humor, Nelson DeMille's John Corey series is at the top of my list. I gave all but Wild Fire a 5 star rating. However, Spencerville is not an action mystery with humor. It's a slow romance with an action climax. It's Michelangelo standing under a bridge holding two cans of spray paint.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel suffers from mis-categorization. If you begin reading it expecting a thriller in the same vein as Plum Island, Cathedral, or Wild Fire, you will be disappointed, as many of the other reviews here admit. However, if you are looking for a more of a straight fiction, character-driven novel, with lots of backstory, and some bits of action thrown in, then you've come to the right place. DeMille is an excellent writer and has a way of drawing you in no matter what he is writing. I think even his grocery list must be an interesting read.

I did mark him down one star on this book though because I felt he drew out some of the events a little too much here and there. For example, the sub plot about the Washington DC recruiting efforts to get the main character back into his old job seemed drawn out and unnecessary. When the action does come at the end it also seems to take way too long and it sort of loses its impact as a result. But having said that, I very much enjoyed the read and would recommend it, as long as you're expecting more of a straight fiction book as opposed to the thrillers we are used to from DeMille.

[Dona Krueger · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors. How this same DeMille could write Cathedral is a critics question. I felt I was reading a very bad romance with a tiny bit of elementary evil thrown in.

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 5 out of 5]

😾 A Guerra é um Gato de Schrödinger 😾


Está-se nos anos 90 ainda sob os efeitos da década de 60 — a guerra do Vietname intrometeu-se nas vidas — a política divide e os pensamentos colidem — a guerra acabou mas continua…

“Havia noites em que olhava para as armas fechadas e pensava se seria capaz de encostar uma delas à sua cabeça, ou à do marido, e puxar o gatilho. Em noventa e nove por cento das ocasiões a resposta era não, mas havia momentos…”

“Contudo, os seus pais não podiam compreender o mundo depois de 1960. As tensões e as alterações sociais tinham sido sentidas com maior intensidade pelos mais novos. Na verdade, o país enlouquecera…”

“A política é uma coisa desgastante, divide as pessoas.”

[Tamora Pierce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it just me, or does DeMille really have a problem with women? I read several of his books when he first began publishing and stopped because I didn't like the way he handled his female characters. Then I thought I'd try this one because I was on a trip and desperate for a page-turner, it wasn't one of his military titles, and it took place in small town America. I figured it might be okay. Instead the entire ending revolves around the abuse--pages and pages of it--of the errant wife, far more than is necessary to make the point and set up the ending. So now I know he hasn't changed, and I have to ask--is it me, or does the author have some major issues?

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

For an intelligence officer the guy was pretty stupid!!!!

FACTS:Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society. It connotes an attitude and a policy of control by propaganda, surveillance, misinformation, denial of truth, and manipulation of the past, including the "unperson" — a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments
The adjective Orwellian refers to these behaviours of State and The Party, especially when the Party is the State:
Invasion of personal privacy, either directly physically or indirectly by surveillance.
State control of its citizens' daily life, as in a "Big Brother" society.
Official encouragement of policies contributing to the socio-economic disintegration of the family.
The adoration of state leaders and their Party.
The encouragement of "doublethink", whereby the population must learn to embrace inconsistent concepts without dissent, e.g. giving up liberty for freedom. Similar terms used, are "doublespeak", and "newspeak"
The revision of history in the favour of the State's interpretation of it.
A (generally) dystopian future.
The use of euphemism to describe an agency, program or other concept, especially when the name denotes the opposite of what is actually occurring. E.g. a department that wages war is called the "Ministry of Peace" or Ministry of Defence."

MORE CHINS THAN A CHINESE PHONE BOOK!!!! Nelson has a sense of humour.

The Great Black Swamp, or simply Black Swamp, was a glacially caused wetland in northwest Ohio, United States, extending into extreme northeastern Indiana, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century. Comprising extensive swamps and marshes, with some higher, drier ground interspersed, it occupied what was formerly the southwestern part of Glacial Lake Maumee, a holocene precursor to Lake Erie. The area was about 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide (north to south) and 160 kilometres (99 mi) long, covering an estimated 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi). Gradually drained and settled in the second half of the 19th century, it is now highly productive farm land. Malaria was a huge problem during drainage.


Cincinnātus, Lucius Quinctius, a legendary Roman hero who, according to tradition, was called from the plough to be dictator in 458 BC, when the Roman army under the consul Mincius was blockaded by the Italian tribe of the Aequi on Mount Algidus. He defeated the enemy, resigned his dictatorship after sixteen days, and returned to his farm. He is often cited as an exemplar of old-fashioned Roman simplicity and frugality.
.Cincinnati named after him.

[Andrea Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nelson Demille arrived on my favorite authors list after reading The Gatehouse, so I was anxious to read another selection and found Spencerville in the library.

Keith Landry finds himself without a job after budget cuts in the federal government force him to review his life and decide what comes next. After twenty years of serving as a soldier and then intelligence for Uncle Sam, he decides to return to his hometown of Spencerville, OH. Though he won't admit it to himself at first, his main objective is to reclaim the love he walked away from when he joined the Army.

Annie Prentis has spent the past twenty years in a loveless, abusive marriage to Spencerville's chief of police, Cliff Baxter. They've raised two children together, and now that the nest is empty, Annie has decided she has taken enough from her husband and is planning to leave him. When she sees her high school/college love of her life on the streets of Spencerville, there's no doubt the passion is still there between them, and the lines are drawn between Landry and the former high school bully, Baxter.

[Donna · Rating 1 out of 5]

how do you rate something a -* ? This was horrible a mediocre hero a irritating heroine plot ? then the hero(?) murders a lab, golden retriever and a german shepard with a crossbow Good bye Nelson DeMille

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This long novel is 6 of 10 stars.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happened? I picked up this book as it said Nelson DeMille, I normally enjoy his book, this one I had to force myself to read to the end.

A military officer, Keith Landry, who is suppose to be in intelligence and works at the White House, is put out to retire. He had not thought of retiring at this time, and the way he was treated by his government has not been good. He returns to his home town of Spencerville, why? Well, it appears years ago, his H.S. and college flame, who sent him a Dear John letter, as he is off to Vietnam, is still there. Oh give me a break! You are going back to get to a women who dumped you on the way to fight in Nam, a women, who did not care if you died, no packages from home, no candles lit, what does she do, stays home and marries someone who does not fight for his country, and your suppose to be intelligent! For real! There were no home fires burning for this Vietnam Vet.

Onward, she is married to a bully who is screwing everything in town, and is an overbearing crooked Chief of Police, who treats here despicably. However, she takes it, although she was at one time working on her doctorate, she has now become a door mat! Along comes our Military Officer Keith, who decides he is going to rescue her. Why, because he still loves a person who wrote him a dear John letter. (sappy).

Cutting to the chase, the jerk, Cliff Baxter, Chief of Police, (wife of the door mat Ann) bullies his way through town, their lives and even burns down Keith's family farm house, kidnaps Ann, his wife, kills a Vietnam Vet and tries to kill Keith. In the meantime the Government want Officer Keith Landry back, why? He is defiantly playing with a full deck at this time!

The whole situation becomes a complete mess, with the Government sending in the cleaners, and the Officer and door mat riding off into the sunset.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, DeMille has created a book to keep me up all night. After having read only so-so books for the last couple of weeks, what a pleasure it was to finally pick up a red-hot page-turner.

Spencerville is one of his stand-alone books (i.e., not a John Corey novel), and although it was first published in 1995, it stands the test of time well. Part of artistry he brings to his craft is the ability to create believable three-dimensional characters. That along with a consistent fast pace make reading his books feel like a fun romp through a world of fascinating people ripping through a kaleidoscope of wild rides.

Add to that, the narration by Scott Brick and I feel compelled to give it 5 stars.

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Keith Landry, an intelligence officer who has been forced into retirement. He returns to his home town of Spencerville, OH, to find that the love of his life, Annie Prentis, is married to the Chief of Police, Cliff Baxter, who is a sadistic, psychopath who uses his power as police chief to do anything he wants. Annie hates him, as do a lot of people in the town. When Keith & Annie attempt to run away together, Cliff kidnaps his wife and puts her in manacles at his hunting camp. It's up to Keith to save her. An exciting, tense story, as are all his books.

[Marcia Chocinsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love anything by Nelson DeMille, but this must be an earlier work and his writing wasn't as great as it is now. I found the story itself interesting and I would get caught up in it for a time. Then it would switch gears and I would want to skim over parts just to get through them. I forced myself not to skim and would have quit reading it (something I can't remember doing in forever) but I did want to know how it ended, AND I kept hoping it would improve - after all it is written by Nelson DeMille!

[Rick Pucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional read. Unique plot. So different from Nelson's other novels. First book I've ever read with Ohio as the setting. I'd love to see this made into a movie. I would cast Anya Taylor Joy as Annie and Liam Hemsworth as Keith. Brad Pitt as Charlie and when I imagined Cliff Baxter's character I came up with Biff Tannen, the bad guy in the Back to the Future Series.
Good solid read about inside crime plus an excellent love story in The Mid West and one I would recommend.

[Danny Darke · Rating 1 out of 5]

no

[Neale Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

DeMille's writing, as always, is fast-paced and explosive.

Landry's humour, wit and sarcasm is something I really enjoyed.

My only problem with this exciting story was that Cliff Baxter never quite got what he deserved.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

O tema do livro ao mesmo tempo senti que era basttante banal mas nunca tinha lido algo assim, dois amantes que se separaram, viveram vidas separadas e querem se reunir outra vez. Só que um deles casou... Mesmo assim foi um livro que me cativou em partes, o suspense da perseguição, o afeto que tinham um pelo outro, mas por outro lado sinto que se esticou desnecessariamente no fim e tanto o título como a frase que estava na capa da edição que li "Ele jurou nunca mais matar, e depois voltou a Spencerville" são exageros abusrdos que nao representam nada bem o conteúdo.

[Michael Mattioli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a few of this authors other books. Definitely a departure from the John Corey series and no where near as good as Word of Honor which I think was his best book. However the book was entertaining and the biggest complaint is the characters seemed shockingly underdeveloped for a 630 page book.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subjective Reader's Review with Plot Spoilers Follows:

I wrote the below review almost eight years ago, and have since re-read 'Spencerville' three times spaced years apart. Based on my own set of life experiences and what is relevant to me, this is the greatest novel I've ever read, but some of DeMille's others, like 'The Charm School' come close.

I was a 'peace dividend' of the end of the Cold War just like Keith Landry, but man, did he have another mission to complete! I've corresponded with Nelson DeMille about 'Spencerville' and he doesn't understand why it wasn't more well-received than a Goodreads average rating of 3.5 stars would indicate. In my opinion, 'Spencerville' is the greatest novel never adapted to film on the big screen, plain and simple. I enjoyed reading this book the fourth time so much I almost wished I hadn't seen it before!

Man, talk about the ultimate 'love conquers all' novel, you just can't find this kind of karmic reflection in modern novels; it seems like you gotta go back a decade at least to find the truly meaningful novels. I'm gonna make the most clear cut suggestion of my reviewing career: if you haven't read 'Spencerville' go find it and do so. I know us 'children of the sixties' are thinning out, but 'Spencerville' is timeless in its need to be read, felt and reacted to spiritually. That's the highest regard I can convey to an author and his work. Incredible read, and I can only hope to see it as a movie.

Most very sincerely, X. W. Kavanagh


This is the ultimate book of love, rejection, revenge, redemption and ultimate reward. I my opinion, this is DeMille's finest work, although it did not achieve critical or sales success for him compared to other titles. DeMille goes beyond putting you there; you actually live the emotion of the struggle taking place. When a book leaves you wondering about life and your own little piece of that grand drama, it has achieved its grand purpose. Spencerville is every small town American's dream of 'if I had it to do all over again.' DeMille mentioned that Ben Affleck was interested in playing the role of Keith Landry in the film adaptation, and I still think that'd be a good casting decision. I highly recommend Spencerville to all readers as the ultimate blending of action, adventure, sex, love and thriller. Few authors are able to achieve the level of superior storylines DeMille does, especially when not relying on characters built up from previous novels. My hat goes off to the master storyteller, Nelson DeMille. If this one doesn't keep you up at night missing sleep, you've got a blood pressure problem. Now I'm not saying every DeMille novel achieves the brilliance of this one--his most recent The Quest being a good example--but for my money, he's the American novelist laureate, and you can always count on him taking you along like you're there with the action. Incredible read!!!!!


Small town rivalry leads to decades long war over Annie Prentis. Keith Landry is pushed from government service to retirement and moves back to his rural Ohio hometown of Spencerville, hoping to re-engage his lost love Annie Prentis. The reunion is complicated by her 20 year marriage to the town bully and Police Chief, Cliff Baxter, who has been a rival of Keith's since high school days. Although young lovers for six years, their romance was interrupted by Keith's draft and subsequent career in the Army, which he keeps mum about. Scorned by Keith's departure, Annie ends up marrying Cliff out of revenge and spends 20 years badly regretting her decision. As her last child departs for college and she is formulating an exit strategy, Keith shows back up in Spencerville and they are drawn to each other like magnetic forces. They bury the hatchet of prior mistakes and begin extracting vital bodily fluids from each other again. They decide to run away, but their plans are interrupted by Uncle Sam calling Keith back to the fold, which gets him in contact with his former spy boss. When they finally cut and leave, they are tracked by a homing device and Cliff finds them in a Toledo motel and badly beats Keith and snatches Annie. Keith follows them to upper Michigan where Cliff is torturing Annie in recompense, but is ultimately killed by Annie in the showdown.

[Dennis D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've enjoyed most of Nelson DeMille's books, but this one was an exception.

Spencerville is a standalone story unrelated to some of the author's recurring characters. Keith Landry is an ex-CIA agent who returns home to the rural Ohio town that gives the books its title. Landry still has the hots for his high-school sweetheart, but she’s now married to the abusive and misogynistic small-town sheriff. Can you see where this is headed? Me, too.

The central character is well-drawn, but there’s little else to recommend about ‘Spencerville’. Overall, I felt DeMille phoned this one in.

[Angela Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOMETOWN LOVE

Retired from Washington before his time. Keith Landry comes home to his roots and family farm. Also to his first and only love Annie. Who is married to a controlling, mean police chief. Suspenseful, awesome, and a fabulous READ!!! HARD TO PUT DOWN!!HATED TO SEE IT END!!!!!!!!

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read by the ubiquitous Scott Brick

Let's see...

Okay story, nothing new or memorable

[Steve Tornello · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cliched.

[Kaye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly stupid.