The Deserter

Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor #1

by Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille, Scott Brick (Narrator)

20 hours, 5 minutes

When Captain Kyle Mercer of the Army’s elite Delta Force disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines. But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer’s Army commanders leaves no doubt: the trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has willfully disappeared.

When Mercer is spotted a year later in Caracas, Venezuela, by an old Army buddy, top military brass task Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division to fly to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America—preferably alive. Brodie knows this is a difficult mission, made more difficult by his new partner’s inexperience, by their undeniable chemistry, and by Brodie’s suspicion that Maggie Taylor is reporting to the CIA.

With ripped-from-the-headlines appeal, an exotic and dangerous locale, and the hairpin twists and inimitable humor that are signature DeMille, The Deserter is the first in a timely and thrilling new series from an unbeatable team of True Masters: the #1 New York Times bestseller Nelson DeMille and his son, award-winning screenwriter Alex DeMille.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Military Fiction, Suspense, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

21 pages, Audio CD

First published October 22, 2019

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

[Susanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars.


Boy oh boy - Nelson DeMille - I am disappointed in one of your novels, for the first time ever and I am (almost) speechless.

I got through “The Deserter” - barely. It was a buddy read (thank you Kaceey for hanging in there with me!). I am a long time fan of Nelson DeMille and have read every book he has ever written and his latest novel (co-written with his son Alex DeMille) does not hold a candle to any of his prior novels. Where is the wit, the dry humor, and sarcasm that we have come to expect of his characters? Instead what he has given us is long drawn out passages that bored us to tears. So much history that I feel like I received history lessons in both “The Deserter” and his prior book “The Cuban Affair” - though that novel was actually pretty great and the main character in that book - Mac was witty and sarcastic and did in fact remind me of my favorite Nelson DeMille character John Corey.

Here, we have Captain Kyle Mercer, a Delta Force Officer who disappeared in Afghanistan, and was then captured and tortured by the Taliban. After escaping a video surfaced leaving no question that he did in fact, desert. Thereafter he is spotted in Venezuela and CID sends officers after him and so it begins.

CID Warrant Officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor begin their operation in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. Venezuela. Where it’s not safe to go out after dark or anywhere where there aren’t armed guards. Of course, Brodie doesn’t play by the rules, lucky or unlucky as the case may be for Maggie Taylor. What transpires is an extremely dangerous op, where there are no winners. If Brodie and Taylor thought Mercer would be easy to find, they were wrong.

I had extremely high hopes for this novel and unfortunately “The Deserter” didn’t cut it. I can’t say if that’s because this novel was written more by Alex DeMille v. Nelson DeMille or if this is just an outlier, that said I will continue to hope that Nelson DeMille’s next novel will bring back the sarcasm and dry humor I have come to expect from one of my favorite authors.

As mentioned above, this was a buddy read with Kaceey. Thanks for reading this one with me Kaceey! I am so glad we had each other through this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 11.2.19.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Kyle Mercer deserts his unit in Afghanistan. He's captured and tortured by the Taliban. Then he escapes, sending a video of him with dead captors to U.S. Government. Then he is sighted in Venezuela. The Army sends 2 CID investigators to capture him and bring him back for court martial. Scott Brodie has a reputation for breaking the rules and succeeding in his assignments. He is paired with a new partner, Maggie Taylor. But there is more to Kyle's desertion and Scott and Maggie are almost killed numerous times. Venezuela is vividly portrayed as a failed lawless state.
This is a moderately long book at 449 pages, but it moves along at a brisk pace as Scott and Maggie follow clues to Kyle's whereabouts and why he deserted. This is a co-author book with Nelson and son Alex.
Thanks to the authors and Simon&Schuster for sending me this book through NetGalley. I read this book in 2 days.
One quote: "Venezuela wasn't yet a police state like Cuba, or a chaotic failed state like Somalia. But it was a country on the edge, economically desperate, with weak and corrupt institutions and a government openly hostile to American interests."
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

[Kaceey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*
I am likely in the minority here...

This is the second book I’ve read by Nelson DeMille. His prior book The Cuban Affair took our lead character on a trek deep within Cuba. And I was able to view the country through Mr. DeMille’s expert narration and knowledge of the country.

With this latest release it seems he attempted to recreate that same air of mystery within Venezuela. And while I learned much about this country (I had little prior knowledge of), it was really too much. It began feeling a bit more like a politics/geography lesson while the story-line seemed to take a backseat.

If you enjoy learning about different countries with only a dash of suspense, then this will be the perfect book for you! Personally When I pick up a book looking for suspense and mystery I want that to be up-close and center. Just not what I expected.

A buddy read with Susanne that left us both frustrated at times!

Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Simon and Schuster for an ARC to read and review.

[Maureen Carden · Rating 4 out of 5]

One lesson I’ve learned from both The Deserter and The Cuban Affair you don’t want the DeMille father and son writing team to write a travel guide about your country. Nelson in The Cuban Affair then Nelson and son, with The Deserter strip away all of the misguided romance about the socialist countries of Cuba and Venezuela, two countries that are about a half bubble from being classified as a failed state.
The DeMilles’ expose all of the ugliness, brutality and corruption of those governments their military and financial elites while showing all of the misery of the lower classes with their flashes of beauty.
This particular travel guide, so to speak, begins in Afghanistan, another miserable hopeless country. Captain Kyle Mercer, a member of the elite Delta force deserts his men during the middle of the night, but is soon captured by the Taliban. After enduring a miserable two years Capt. Mercer manages to escape, but resigns form the US Army on video in a spectacular manner. Since Mercer had undergone Taliban captivity he could have returned home and maybe faced lesser charges than desertion. But since two soldiers were killed while hunting for Mercer, nothing will be forgiven. Ever.
After about a year, a reliable source reports seeing Mercer in Caracas. Two Army CID investigators, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are sent to investigate the sightings and if possible bring Capt. Mercer home to face charges. Hints are given that if he isn’t bought home alive, then no harm, no foul.
Brodie isn’t a trusting guy, but his suspicions are always counter-intuitive. He thinks there is more to Mercer’s story so despite strict orders, he really wants to question Capt. Mercer.
At the same time he thinks his new, open- book partner Maggie is full on mess of contradictions and lies. Of course that doesn’t stop Brodie from thinking about having sex with her almost constantly. Or so it seemed. This was distracting and distasteful as he was Maggie’s superior and it seemed more about nailing her than having a relationship with her. I’m not a prude; it was just way over done and became tiresome..
Almost from the beginning Brodie and Maggie have to fight to stay alive in Caracas. They do so with the help of their driver, Luis, who risks the life of his entire family because he has helped them. Brodie insists that Luis immediately take his family to the US to seek asylum after one particular shoot-out. Brodie knows, however, that the US has a spotty record of giving asylum to allies who have helped the US, starting with Iraqi interpreters. The Nelsons make the secondary characters as interesting as the protagonists.
Brodie and Taylor soon pick up Mercer’s trail which leads them into the incredible beauty of Venezuela’s wilderness, the jungle bordering the Orinoco River. It is in this “heart of darkness” that they really encounter danger.
The almost non-stop action makes for a heart-pounding page turning story. I say almost because sometimes Brodie and Maggie spend too much time debating their next course of action with Brodie wanting to go off the rails and Maggie wafting to go by the book. No surprise as to who usually wins.
The dialogue switches from thoughtful to witty, with Maggie easily keeping up with Brodie’s smart aleck ways.
Some readers have been put off by the DeMilles’ descriptions of the economic and political reality of Venezuela. I wouldn’t eliminate a word as the DeMilles seamlessly work the information into the story. The smoothness of Nelson’s writing seems to have been passed down to his son.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this debut father-son collaboration, Nelson and Alex DeMille present a novel that takes the reader into the depths of South America on the hunt for a renegade army officer. While serving in Afghanistan, Captain Kyle Mercer is captured by the Taliban and paraded before the cameras, only to slip out of their grasp and disappear entirely. His desertion is made clear, though he refuses to elaborate and remains on the lam. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) receives a substantial lead and decides to send two of its own, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, out to capture Mercer and bring him back to face court martial. It would appear that Mercer was last seen in the seediest part of Caracas, capital of the increasingly unstable Venezuela. Brodie and Taylor prepare for their mission, knowing little about one another, but keen to bring Mercer to justice. When they arrive, both CID agents use a cover story to allow them the chance to investigate a little further, though this will mean bending all sense of reality, as they enter brothels of the worst kind. While Brodie is keen to crack a joke at every turn, Taylor cannot stomach the depravity that is presented to them, hoping to locate Mercer and depart swiftly. When one of the prostitutes tells a detailed story of Mercer having left the city for a jungle camp, Brodie and Taylor must prepare for new adventures, learning also about a ‘Flagstaff’ mission, which might be key to the desertion. They are also made aware of a competing American group seeking Mercer’s head, though they will likely kill him and ask questions later. Armed with little more than a flimsy cover story, Brodie and Taylor must locate and capture Mercer without him finding out, which is sure to be harder than it seems. A great joint effort that pushes the DeMilles to the edge of their capabilities as they pen a great thriller peppered with off-hand humour. Recommended to those who have long loved the elder DeMille’s dry wit and detailed stories, as well as the reader looking for something set in a newer locale with great description.

I have seen readers all over the map with this piece, so I was slightly apprehensive about wanting to tackle it. Knowing the caliber of Nelson DeMille’s writing, I could only hope that Alex would be able to keep pace and help create a stellar piece of fiction. I did not feel let down and wonder if the harsh critics were perhaps too wrapped up with some DeMille perfection that they did not permit new approaches to thriller writing. Scott Brodie is the usual DeMille protagonist, whose love of his job is balanced out with the need to crack a joke while plotting how to get inside a woman’s pants. Brodie offers much to the story, lightening the mood when needed, but also keeping the reader on their toes with his antics and leadership qualities. There are some breadcrumbs of a past where Brodie was reprimanded or at least criticized for his machismo, but he is also focussed on the job at hand, including how to get out of tricky situations. Maggie Taylor is still coming into her own throughout this piece. A soldier turned CID, she is used to taking orders, but not necessarily handling the brashness of someone akin to Brodie. Eager to please, she has her limits and will not simply let her superior toss her into danger without challenging the decisions. She’s also privy to much, including the aforementioned Flagstaff background, which could come in handy for her and the larger mission, should she tell what she knows. Others provide both humour and action throughout this piece, providing the reader with some entertainment value, as well as a few chills, depending on the point of the story. The premise of this piece is strong, taking the reader out of their usual reading haunts and into Venezuela. A great deal of research surely went into creating this setting and ensuring that at least most of it was plausible. The DeMilles keep the story clipping along, even though it is a long novel, with numerous tangents that serve to enrich the hunt for Kyle Mercer. I was eager to learn that there is more to come, both with the Brodie-Taylor team and collaboration between Nelson and Alex DeMille. This is a new series in the making that has the building blocks for success.

Kudos, Messrs. DeMille, for a great joint debut. I loved the humour, the education, and the entertainment you provided me. Don’t let the critics get you down.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this story, long, boring, pointless and wondered why DeMille wrote in this manner. 1 of 10 stars

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up
Nelson DeMille consistently creates intelligent characters who have trouble following orders and have wicked senses of humor. John Corey remains one of my favorite characters of all time. Scott Brodie is cut from the same cloth. Unlike Corey, who is just a total smart ass, the DeMilles have tried to give Scott more depth in addition to the wisecracks. It doesn’t always work.

Scott is a warrant officer in the Army CID. He and his partner have been tasked with finding Kyle Mercer, a Delta Force officer who’s walked away from his post in Afghanistan, been captured by the Taliban, escaped from them and is now on the run. Someone thinks they’ve seen him in Venezuela.

It took me longer to get a feel for his partner, Maggie Taylor. She’s a newbie, just one year into the job. She’s also suspected of being a spook. But in the end, her character felt a lot more real than Scott. Of course, the most complicated character of all is Kyle Mercer, the Deserter in question.

This time, Nelson is co-author with his son, Alex. The writing was seamless. The authors give us a great sense of time and place. As with The Cuban Affair, the DeMilles place their characters in an unstable country. Venezuela has gone to hell. It’s its own brand of war zone. Unlike some other reviewers, I really appreciated the in depth analysis of the politics and didn’t feel it bogged down the story. That said, I did feel the story itself could use some tightening up. It lagged in spots. And the ending was predictable and unsatisfying. This book is proof of the important job an editor does.

My thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deserter is the first outing for military police officer and all-around legendary hero, Scott Brodie, in the DeMilles's most electrifying and downright exhilarating thriller to date. Action-packed, fraught with danger and with plenty of political intrigue, we are treated to a stellar read from beginning to end and a book that produces so many twisty-turny surprises as well as countless peaks and troughs. Espionage, crime fiction and action thrillers, this has a potent, killer mix with the pages simply turning themselves. It gets you salivating and is clearly, as with all of Nelson DeMille's previous political thrillers, well thought through. It's timely and has your heart racing as the chase heats up. For a book that blends both authors' unique styles, this is a solid, exciting and highly entertaining read.

There is no doubt this co-authored book is up there with some of his past stories in terms of complex plotting, fast pacing and the delicate balance between thoroughly researching the topics but not allowing the narrative to get bogged down in detail. This is a taut and utterly captivating thriller and the first in a planned trilogy featuring Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. The story centres around a Delta Force member who disappears from his post in Afghanistan and is seen a year later amongst the hotbed of unrest in turbulent Venezuela. Brodie and Taylor are given the mission of locating him and bringing him home whether that be alive or dead. Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb military thriller. Well written, plausible, really conveyed a soldier's thinking - after training. The plotting was consistently even throughout the book. The characters - likewise. Definitely i had to stay put and keep reading. So many twists and turns. Always I was thinking why did ...you need to read the book for that. The writing was also highly visual. I saw a movie running in my head.
What stood out for me most of all - was how well the soldier thinking/mentally seem to inhabit my brain while reading.
Unputdownable. I will read more Nelson de Mille.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deserter is a full-throttle intense military black ops adventure that is incredibly hard to put down and a great deal of fun to read. It has all the makings of a blockbuster movie.

The story has its beginnings in the Bowe Berghdal story, a soldier serving in Afghanistan who one day walked away from his post and, despite an intense search, was captured by the Taliban and held in captivity for years before being exchanged for several Taliban hostiles and returned to the US to face charges for desertion. This fictional story takes a slightly different arc where the exchange never takes place, the Berghdal character ( here- Captain Kyle Mercer) escapes from the Taliban, and disappears. Years later, he is spotted by an ex-army buddy in a hotel bar in the wreckage that is Maduro’s Venezuela.

Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division are tasked with flying to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America—dead or alive. Brodie is the best at what he does, a bit unorthodox, but cocky, and with a take-no-prisoners attitude that serves him well in the collapsed civilization of Caracas Venezuela. Taylor is a younger blonde woman with looks a fashion model might be jealous of, a sort of odd choice since she could hardly walk through Caracas inconspicuously. Indeed, at times, there’s a cat and mouse game between Brodie and Taylor with Brodie highly suspicious of what agency Taylor is loyal to. Of course, there are sexual sparks between the two.

Indeed, neither Brodie nor Taylor can move through Caracas without being noticed. Nevertheless, the authors do a great job of bringing to life a city under siege where food lines are common, where roadblocks are everywhere, where the only difference between being stopped by the police and the barrio gangs is how much you have to pay, and where the great oil wealth under the surface does nothing for anyone.

From the teeming barrios surrounding the city to the humid jungles in the mountains, the writing is sharp and the story is captivating. A great adventure.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd watch that!

I hope these guys have been in touch with HBO or Netflix because The Deserter is going to be fantastic when it comes to our screens.




This thriller is part Homeland, part Serial season 2 (the one about Bowe Bergdahl), and part modern-day Rambo. Our protagonist, Scott Brodie, has to go to seemingly impossible lengths to try to accomplish his mission of bringing deserter Captain Kyle Mercer home to face justice. The action in this story, along with its plot twists, will make these authors millions when they sell the TV/movie rights.




The novel itself could definitely benefit from another good pass through by a developmental editor. The first 40% or so is bogged down by a lot of unnecessary detail about the setting and the political context in Venezuela. Scenes that are not directly relevant to the plot are described in painstaking detail--this type of description will definitely benefit the people who get to adapt this into a screenplay, but it becomes tedious for readers.




The overemphasis on the desperation and corruption in Venezuela is also a bit of overkill. This plot could work in any authoritarian and corrupt country. The pages and pages of information about the problems particular to Venezuela could be cut considerably.

Making those big cuts to the beginning of the novel would also help solve problems with character development. In that beginning section, Brodie's partner, Maggie Taylor, comes off flat and boring. (She seems to only be there to babysit Brodie and serve as eye candy for him.)



By the time we find out that there's more to her than meets the eye, it's too late for those perceptions to change too much. If her "reveal" comes 100 pages or so earlier, then she'll come off as a more dynamic character.

3.5 stars for the novel version of The Deserter, but I can't wait for the eventual hit TV show!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me a DRC of this novel, which will be available for purchase on October 22nd.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I have eyes in the back of my head"
"But your head is up your ass"

This book is listed as the first book in the Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor series. In many ways it is a typical Nelson DeMille novel featuring a protagonist, Brodie, who is not one to follow the rules and with a strange sense of humor.

Captain Kyle Mercer, a soldier with the Army’s Delta Force in Afghanistan, disappeared from his unit in the middle of the night. A video is subsequently released by the Taliban showing Mercer has been captured and apparently tortured. But the circumstances surrounding Mercer's disappearance and capture are murky. The story made international headlines. Sound familiar? Bowe Bergdahl?

Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are both Warrant Officers with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID). They have been summoned to headquarters in Quantico, Virginia where they are shown a video that has not been made public. It shows Mercer having apparently killed his Taliban captors, committing atrocities on their bodies, and then announcing that he is resigning his Army commission. A former soldier who knew Mercer believes he saw him in Caracas, Venezuela. Brodie and Taylor are ordered to go to Caracas to find and arrest Mercer but under no circumstances are they to interrogate him.

The United States and Venezuela do not have a friendly relationship. Despite the country's oil wealth it's economy is in chaos and is bordering on a revolution. The first thing Brodie and Taylor do upon arrival is to make contact with the U.S. embassy station chief, Brendan Worley to get items they will need for their mission. Weapons, satellite phone, phony passports, etc. Worley appears to be just another burned out diplomat stuck in a backwater country but appearances can be deceiving and Brodie has a feeling there is more to Worley than meets the eye. He also has some questions about his partner. And the Army senior command who ordered him to arrest Mercer but under no circumstances interrogate him.

The story moves from the urban jungle of Caracas with it's high crime and anti-American sentiment to the actual jungle in the southern part of the country where Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall, and tepuis, large table-like mountains are located. What stood out for me was the impact war has on those who serve. Even highly decorated and elite soldiers are not immune. The story the public is not told. The politicians, the generals, the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) with their own agenda that the public does not have the need to know. But the soldiers who are there, boots on ground, see it and are impacted. No matter how many medals they have on their chest.

[Don Gerstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

{60-second video review here} ---> http://bit.ly/The_Deserter

Get ready for a long and entertaining read. Father/son team Nelson & Alex DeMille will take you on a journey reminiscent of Apocalypse Now, although the overall flavor of the tale is much different. While the ride is not smooth at times, the thriller/spy aspects will definitely keep your nose buried in the book until the end.

It was refreshing to read a book in this genre where the characters are not enshrined with superhero status. Yes, protagonists Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor excel in their roles as Warrant Officers, but they are not perfect. They make mistakes and bad things can happen to them. The storyline matches their skills, as the plot never jumps into uncharted waters with descriptions of an impossible plot that could never happen. There are multiple layers of misdemeanors and crimes, and Brodie/Taylor have to dig through all the clues to find the truth.

The book might seem overly lengthy at times, due to the deep description. Most of the time I didn’t notice the length as the details were laced with Brodie’s thoughts, much of them sarcastic or irreverent. Seeing the world through his viewpoint kept the book rolling. Without his constant interpretation of events, the book would have certainly bogged down under its own weight.

For those concerned, there is harsh language including f-bombs (more in the beginning than were probably necessary, though these thinned out as the book went on). One early scene had Brodie and Taylor in an embrace while hiding from the Caracas police, with sophomoric references to Brodie’s excited genitalia. One can only wince when an author stumbles down this path. Unfortunately, the DeMilles went from subtle hints concerning the sexual undertones to blatant high school double entendres. The unsaid internal dialogue from Scott Brodie was, at the very least, an unwelcome distraction. Although the number of instances slowed as the ending came closer, they never completely stopped.

Thankfully, none of these small bumps in the road were strong enough to destroy a powerful story. The majority of the descriptions and dialogues moved the story forward at a rapid pace and the ever-present danger kept me interested throughout the entire book. Definitely recommended. Four-and-a-half stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance electronic copy of this book.

[Pamela Small · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Deserter. Please read the publisher’s press release for the summary. This review will address my personal impressions.

Nelson DeMille is a classic in the political, espionage suspense genre. The Deserter falls into this category, but falls a bit short. Actually, it’s a rather long fall from the quality-standard of this author’s previous works.
1. The protagonist is a revisionist character of Mr. DeMille’s aka John Corey fame. I enjoy the wit and banter, but the characterization isn’t authentic; it’s the voice of the old, resurrected John Corey- just a different time and setting. While the sarcasm is clever, it doesn’t ring true in the despair and darkness of present day Venezuela.
2. The story line is interesting, tasking the CID to locate the deserter. However, there are too many ridiculous incidents - it is hard to take the plot seriously.
3. The pacing becomes slow as these ridiculous incidents are slowly drawn out in the middle of the book. The last quarter of the book builds suspense as the deserter, Kyle Mercer, is finally located. His character is well rounded and fully developed. His story is the highlight of the book. One has to sludge through a lot of pages to get there.
4. Although the climax is exciting, it is predictable. Brodie’s superior at Quantico is a big question mark of reliability.
5. There isn’t a denouement..... a very abrupt ending. Disappointing.

My recommendations: wait for the movie on this one, reread the older Nelson DeMille novels, or The Cuban Affair!

[Bret Schwartz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cuban Affair goes to Venezuela. Two people go galavanting around an unfriendly country and surprise..... find trouble. I'm a huge Demille fan but this seemed too similar to The Cuban Affair. The main character reminds me too much of John Corey but not nearly as funny. When i'm on the fence about a book, i ask myself if this kept me awake reading late into the night and unfortunately it did not. Don't get me wrong i enjoyed the book but it took me longer than usual to finish.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading quite a few books by Nelson DeMille and liked most of them. When I borrowed the book I didn't know that is was written just a couple of years ago.

The book got a bit slow in the middle and I'm glad I was reading the book so I could skip over some parts. It was a book that kept me awake, it was difficult to put down. I don't know why Scott and Maggie kept risking their lives! Especially traveling into the jungle where none knew where they were.

I missed the humor and sarcasm in this book that you can find in most of DeMille's books.

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Brick was the reader and he really makes a story "a live". I enjoyed the book and loved the banter and fun that Scott and Maggie had during their investigation. A lot of questions to answer and a lot of different ways to get those answers. I am looking forward to book #2 "Blood Lines", hopefully Scott Brick will be the reader also ;)

[Alex Cantone · Rating 4 out of 5]

CIA. JSOC. Kabul. Peshawar...Caracas. This was the piece that did not fit, the non sequitur in the unwritten study of Captain Kyle Mercer. Brodie looked out toward the eastern hills and Petare, to the great black wash of the mountains and sky. Maybe tomorrow would bring some answers.

“The Deserter” opens in Peshawar, Pakistan, August 2017, where a captive is tortured for information, finally capitulating once his young family is threatened, then moves forward to Quantico, Virginia a year later. Warrant Officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, are brought in to investigate a credible sighting of fugitive Delta force Captain, Kyle Mercer, in Venezuela by a man he trained with years earlier. Mercer is wanted for desertion for walking away from troops under his command in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban. After escaping, he disappeared.

Author Nelson DeMille takes the reader on a fascinating tour of Caracas, the once-powerhouse of a wealthy country reduced to ruin by incompetent and corrupt governments, from the fleshpots of Petare, to the yacht club where shady CIA operative, Colonel Brendan Worley, gives as much misinformation as help. The pair are assisted by an embassy driver, Luis, who provides timely backup and vital information, all pointing to a political and military cover-up.

Brodie asked the front desk to call them a taxi, and a few minutes later a black Ford Explorer pulled into the hotel drive. The car had a yellow seal on the door that said TELETAXI, and their driver – a graying man in his fifties – was running a meter and had his cab license displayed, so Brodie figured the odds were good that this was not a kidnapping.

After an inevitable shootout in a brothel, Brodie and Taylor are ordered to leave the country to avoid government forces, and instead they charter a small plane to Ciudad Bolívar on the Orinoco River to refuel, before heading south to the Canaima Nation Park, in the south of the country, with its massive ancient flat-topped mountains rising high above the jungle, and where Kyle Mercer is running a training camp.

I enjoyed the travel aspects of the story – even though the author takes a certain poetic licence to places and travel times – especially around Caracas. Kyle Mercer is portrayed as a man conflicted, who can never find peace, and I found myself empathizing with him every step of the way. Maggie Taylor plays a strong role to Scott Brodie’s cynical gung-ho attitude and wisecracks - was there ever a fictional character more annoying?

He glanced back at Maggie Taylor. She had a moral compass, even if the needle wandered a bit…he was certain that in the days and years to come he’d thank her for keeping him from acting on his worst primitive instincts. Without women, there would be perpetual war and chaos. With them, there was only chaos.

Overall, an engaging read, and for me the best line of all was: “As the spooks say, ‘It’s not important to know who fired the bullet – it’s important to know who paid for it.’ ”

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems to be kind of a modern day version of DeMille's Up Country book which I LOVED :) This book was on its way to a 3 star rating until the very end. A great ending with sad closure to a sad story. Is there ever a happy ending to a war?

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nelson DeMille's latest novel and first in a new series (co-authored with his son), The Deserter (Simon and Schuster 2019), as we have come to expect from DeMille is a spine-tingling, fast-moving, complicated story of international intrigue. Chief Warrant Officer and Army CIS officer Scott Brodie and his partner Maggie Taylor are tasked with finding a Delta Force Officer, Kyle Mercer, who deserted his post in the Middle East for no known reason. When soldiers die searching for him, it changes his desertion from odd-but-probably-explainable to how-could-he-do-that. Despite the Army's best efforts, Mercer disappears, finally showing up in an underage whorehouse in Venezuela two years later. Brodie and Taylor are sent to bring him back to America for trial.

Brodie is a wise-cracking smart-aleck while Taylor is a by-the-books investigator. Once they arrive in Venezuela, they go through innumerable problems, solved cleverly with lots of death-defying confrontations in what has become a lawless nation. Each step gets them closer to not only the deserter but unraveling the conundrum of why a patriotic kid from Iowa who achieved the highest level of trust the Army could offer--Special Forces--would dump it all to seemingly aid the enemy.

When I got this book I was worried. So often great authors like Nelson DeMille can't deliver the same spectacular level of storytelling when working with another writer, even if it's their son. I could give examples but I’ll keep them to myself. In this case, I needn’t have worried. The Deserter is true DeMille from its blistering pace to its nuanced understanding of the environment and its well-developed characters. I also worried whether I would like this character as much as I liked, say, John Corey. Again, I shouldn't have. The author's voice for Brodie is friendly with enough humor to soften serious issues while Taylor plays his foil expertly. Check these out:

“I have eyes in the back of my head.” “But your head is up your ass.”

Taylor asked, “Are you very cool in a dangerous situation, or do you just not understand what’s going on around you?”

“Mr. Brodie. Enjoying Caracas?” “Not even slightly.” “It grows on you.” “So does toe fungus.”

“The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.”

The only negative of this book is the endless hammering about the destruction wrought in Venezuela by their government and how heavily it weighs on its people. I appreciated the education the first time he built it into the story, didn’t mind it the fifth time, and wished I could hide from what is an impossible humanitarian nightmare by the fifteenth time. I started feeling guilty that I was reading fiction instead of doing something productive to help these well-meaning people.

Anyone else read this and feel that way?

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has a tendency to be either very good or so-so at best with his novels. This one falls in the so-so category. It may be that he co-wrote this one, but I tend to believe it is just not one of his better efforts. The main character is a copy of the main character from The Cuban Affair with just a different name. The story bogs down in several places and then has a very abrupt ending leaving a reader somewhat unsatisfied. It is like he got bored with it and decided to wrap it up.

I received a free Kindle ARC courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.

[Stephanie]

NOTE: some of this is taken from my review of deMille’s The Cuban Affair (2017).

Nineteen years ago, someone whose opinions on books NEVER matched mine recommended Lion’s Game by Nelson DeMille, and I LOVED it. Since then, I’ve grabbed every new DeMille book and been puzzled by the inconsistency: for example, Night Fall was terrific. The Panther? Not so much. And don’t even get me started on Radiant Angel. I kept thinking, “what happened?”

But I couldn’t quite give up on any author who has provided me with so many hours of entertainment, so I had a positive attitude when I received an advance copy of DeMille’s latest, The Deserter, written in conjunction with his son, screenwriter Alex deMille (thanks, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley!)

Prior to reading The Cuban Affair, I thought quite a bit about why I had been so disappointed reading some of deMille’s recent books (was it him? Was it me?), I had concluded that the John Corey character was the problem. In the earlier books, he was witty and could be charming. In the more recent books, his wisecracking had become constant, was more annoying than entertaining, and it seemed to have become his dominant characteristic, to the point where it came across as somewhat cartoonish. So, I was pleased to read that The Cuban Affair was introducing a new protagonist, Daniel Graham MacCormick (aka “Mac”). While I found Mac to be tolerably entertaining, the protagonist of The Deserter is…well, think of John Corey on steroids.

Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, of the Army’s CID (Criminal Investigation Division), are assigned to track down a deserter. Captain Kyle Mercer, a member of the elite Delta Force, disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, and a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines (think Bowe Bergdahl). The circumstances aren’t clear, even whether he deserted before he was captured by the Taliban. A year or so later,
Mercer was seen in Caracas, Venezuela by one of his old army buddies, so the Army sends Scott and Maggie to Venezuela with the assignment to bring Mercer back to America—preferably but not necessarily alive. Scott is challenged by the level of difficulty of their mission, made more difficult by a combination of Maggie’s lack of experience, his suspicion that Maggie is reporting to the CIA, and their mutual attraction.

Mercer is basically Captain Kurtz of Heart of Darkness (or Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now) – he has seen too much and gone too far to be easily convinced to return to the U.S. with the CID team. And Scott is a combination of every Harrison Ford – Tom Cruise – Arnold Schwarzenneger action hero, with a touch of Ryan Gosling. Frankly, I frequently wanted to throw the book across the room as a reaction to a few contrived plot points and the MANY smartass comments from Brodie. Apparently The Deserter is the first in a new series from the DeMilles. Frankly, this one mostly held my interest, but seemed deliberately written for the screen (not surprising given that Alex deMille is a screenwriter).

I can only give it three stars, and two of those are pretty much based on my memories of how good the earlier deMille thrillers were.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and love all of Nelson DeMille's books. This one is his first collaboration with his son Alex and it is just as good as all of DeMille's other novels. It introduces two new characters, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor and DeMille promises that this is the first of a series with these characters which I definitely look forward to. (The Audible version read by the incomparable Scott Brick, is excellent).

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Father/Son authors have set the first story in this new series within the Army Criminal Investigation Division. When the Army’s Delta Force Captain goes missing from his post in Afghanistan and is seen years later in an unexpected location, CID Officers are given the task to bring him in - alive.

Novel highlights smart witty dialogue, surprising revelations, highly charged action scenes and interesting secondary characters within some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Venezuela while tracking down the dishonorable Captain.

A great inaugural thriller to a hopefully long series.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Kyle Mercer, decorated Delta Force veteran of the war in Afghanistan, has deserted. Why, is not clear. The Taliban have released a pair of videos showing the brutal acts of Mercer and it is clear the trained assassin has gone rogue. A year later an old Army buddy spots Mercer in Caracas, Venezuela and so the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) dispatches a couple of agents to track him down and bring him back to the US.

We follow the story through the eyes of Scott Brodie, a former infantryman in Iraq and now veteran CID agent. He displays plenty of wise-ass humor to remind readers of DeMille’s other protagonists, especially John Corey. His partner is Maggie Taylor, a former Civil Affairs E-5 in Afghanistan, now also working for CID, and a person who operates much more by-the-book. She also happens to be drop-dead gorgeous, a factor that doesn’t always help her in the exotic settings in the novel. Together they follow Mercer’s trail to the harsh and corrupt city of Caracas, and then into the deeper and even more dangerous interior of Venezuela. Adding to the tension, is Brodie’s suspicion that Maggie is hiding a secret of her own, perhaps even being a CIA asset.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Nelson DeMille and am seldom disappointed. Joining him in writing this novel is his son, an award-winning film writer, director and producer. Father-son writing teams don’t always work well in my experience, but I am happy to report this team has produced a winner. I can easily see it being picked up for a movie at some point if it hasn’t already. Not only is the plot extremely relevant to current international news, it has all the right elements: action balanced by excellent characters, vivid settings, and morally ambiguous circumstances. As Brodie and Maggie track and get closer to Mercer, they uncover a horrible secret perpetrated by the US forces, leading to difficult decisions on how to handle the situation. In fact, the ending is impossible to accurately predict, due to numerous possible outcomes. Brodie and Maggie make an interesting team, often at odds, but also sexually attracted to one another. I’m not aware this is being marketed as the first in a series, but I can certainly see that potential.

Thank- you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

[Rizwan Khalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woaw, the second half of this book was AWESOME! I was literally biting my fingernails (if I had any fingernails remaining to bite) in the last third of the book, till exactly the last page of this huge thriller, constantly at the edge of my seat. Heart beating faster, breaths becoming quicker at every turn...what's going to happen, what's going to happen?! Less dhoom-dhaam action, just Pure. Breathtaking. Suspense.

On the other hand, the first half of this 550-pages looong book was too slow, pages after pages after pages about Venezuela's current disastrous political and social situation, painstakingly detailed at every point, but not enough about the actual plot or the story developing. Yes, I was mostly enjoying all of these, because of DeMille's usual masterful writing at full flare with witty and gripping storytelling, combining continuous dose of laugh out loud dry humor, so I was never bored. The authors painted quite a vivid nightmarish grim picture of the current situation there. Of course, stupid that I am, I kept thinking all the interesting information about Venezuela and the city of Caracas will be relevant later in hunting the titular The Deserter Captain Kyle Mercer, who after mysteriously and seemingly without any reason deserting his post in Afghanistan (then was captured by Taliban and was in their captivity for two hellish years), for some incomprehensible purpose showed up in Caracas now. But as it turned out, not so much. It could've been any other hellhole in the world. In retrospect, the book felt at least 100-pages too long with completely unnecessary background political fillers in the first half of the book. That hampered with the pacing of the main really intriguing plot developing considerably.

Anyway, as I stated in the beginning, once the story finally moved out of Caracas and into the jungles, the later made up for the earlier lagging., All in all, the book was (most of the times) positively thrilling, brilliantly written, with the main characters trio (including the mysterious Mercer) as likable as they were very interesting. The revelations behind Captain Mercer's supposed desertion and the conspiracies revolving around it were truly gut-punching shocking, not to mention till the very end the readers had to keep on guessing with bated breath if everything really were just in Mercer's head or not.

For almost a six hundred page long read, if I literally had to be on my edge of chair even at the very last page, I should say it is a reasonably successful well written thriller. Which deserves a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

“When shit happens, you turn it into fertilizer for your tree of knowledge."

Loved that line, as were so many countless great ones from the endless sardonic wisdom of Chief Warrant Officer Scott Brodie.

This one is supposed to be the first book in a new series, so I'll be eagerly waiting for the next one.

[debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. There was the usual sarcasm, dry wit, etc supplied by the character of Scott Brodie via the narrator Scott Brick.

[Paula Hagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I just had a lost weekend listening to the newest Nelson DeMille novel. It's been a long time since I read or listened to anything by him, and I'd forgotten how much I like him. And with the narration by THE BEST narrator of all time - Scott Brick - this one kept me glued to the headphones for, as I said, an entire weekend, wherein NOTHING got done except finishing this book. The story is a good one - I won't recap it here as others have done that - but I did find the ending to be more than a little disappointing and anti-climactic. Without that letdown this would have been a 5-star read. But getting to that ending is a story rich with gruesome details of military life in Iraq, Afghanistan, now, Venezuela.

I knew things in Venezuela were very bad, but I had NO IDEA just how bad they were, as this novel makes all too clear, in rich and horrifying detail. Life in the slums is described in violent details that really bring the novel to life. Now I understand why my Venezuelan Spanish teacher feels she cannot go back to visit her family. Yikes!

I particularly resonated with this review of the book: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment...

[Roberta (Always Behind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a big Nelson DeMille fan since reading THE GOLD COAST for a bookclub in 1999. There is always plenty of action and quirky, yet brave characters.
The DeMille have done a lot of research into life in present day Venezuela. In a short video, Alex shared that this research was mainly from ex-pats who warned him not to go to Venezuela to do any of his own.
Scott Brodie is a first rate soldier who saw action in Afghanistan before becoming part of the Army CID. He is paired up with Maggie Taylor to go to Venezuela to find and recover Kyle Mercer who deserted in the Middle East, but now has been spotted in Venezuela. Of course, nothing is ever easy and Scott and Maggie embark on a dangerous mission through Caracas and the jungle beyond.
Scott has some of the same smart aleck attitude as another one of DeMille's characters, John Corey. Maggie may be beautiful, but she is all business.
I was glad to see that THE DESERTER is the first in a series.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly I didn’t care for this one. Unlike DeMille’s others I wasn’t grabbed by the stories nor characters. The characters seemed detached from each other and their situations.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc