The Lion (John Corey Book 5)

In this next installment of the John Corey series, we find John dealing with a return of The Lion. It’s a real page turner, to the very last.

Loved it. Great ending to the lion story. Great characters. Very fast read. Can’t wait to read the next one Thank you Mr DeMille

This book was all about exciting and the antics of John Corey. This is the third book of his that I have read and it was outstanding.

Some reviewers of "popular fiction", which is what Nelson DeMille writes, compare it to better, more nuanced fiction, books that win all sorts of literary awards. And the "popular fiction" always comes out worse in the comparison. Sort of like comparing "War and Peace" with the latest Danielle Steel. Couldn't, shouldn't be done. I believe in comparing books like "The Lion", with other books the author has written. I mean, if you didn't like previous DeMille books, you probably wouldn't even be thinking of buying and reading this one.So, I'm giving "The Lion" five stars because it compares favorably with previous DeMille novels, particularly his previous John Corey novels. Nelson DeMille seems to have a great fondness for smart-mouthed middle aged men named "John". He uses "John Corey" as the protagonist of this series of books, and "John Sutter" as the protagonist of the Long Island series of books. The "Johns" are basically interchangable; foul-mouthed, sexists, and fairly contemptuous of anybody with power."The Lion" is a sequel of "The Lion's Game", which was published right before the attacks of 9/11. This book takes place in 2003, the post-9/11 New York City. The same protagonists, John Corey - ex-NYPD and current FBI - and his by-now wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield are back. The villain - possibly the meanest, cruelest, and nastiest since Hannibal Lector - is again in the US, to finish up his killing spree begun in the previous book. He is The Lion; a Libyan who was trained in terror killings by the KBG and is intent on killing anybody who was complicit in a bombing raid the US carried out against Libya in 1988, in which his entire family was killed. And killing any and all who tried to end his killing spree. Oh, and killing in the most grotesque ways possible. Garroting, face-peeling, and beheading are just a few of the Lion's favorite means of dispatch.And this is why I am taking a star away from the five I originally gave "The Lion". Because I feel that Nelson DeMille "chickened out" in his story telling. So many people are killed in his book and he lets one of the characters - one of the main characters - survive a "Lion-attack" that by rights she shouldn't have. It makes the plot less believable. I would have admired DeMille's story-telling "chops" if he had allowed this character to die, but I think he was afraid to do so because it might upset the readers. You can argue that the survival of this character was intrinsic to the ensuing plot line, but I will say the plot line would have been stronger had the character died.So, for that small but irritating bit of plotting, I am selfishly deducting a star from my review. However, "The Lion" is a good, fast read that most people, including me, will enjoy. John Corey is an interesting character and I'll look forward to another in the series.

These John Corey novels are excellent. They are never dull...the stories coincide with previous John Corey cases while telling a new story!

This book keeps you coming back wanting to turn the page and not stopped!! I’m so invested in John Corey on to the next in the series!!

Continously intriguing and non-stop adventure with John Corey again! Can't wait to start book number 6 of the series! Great stories 👍

2 words that describe the book: Smart-Ass Cop Thriller3 setting where the book took place or characters I met* Setting: New York City, modern day* Former NYPD Detective, terrorist task force member and perennial smart-ass John Corey returns to face-off against the "one that got away."* Libyan terrorist Asad Kahil ("The Lion") previously faced off with Corey in The Lion's Game, but the stand-off ended in a stalemate. This time, only one will be left standing.4 things I liked or disliked about the book* I liked visiting with my favorite smart-ass cop John Corey. I've been a fan of DeMille's Corey books since I first read Plum Island, and I always look forward to the next installment. There is just something about Corey that I find incredibly amusing.* I disliked that this book felt a bit tired. I'm not sure if it is me or DeMille, but I didn't enjoy this Corey installment as much as I did previous outings. Perhaps it was the plot, which had quite a lot of "sitting around waiting for the other guy to make a move."* I liked the intense sky-diving scene. As I was reading, I could totally envision it happening in a movie. (And I wonder if there are any Corey movies in the works? He seems tailor-made for the silver screen.) Perhaps part of my disappointment with the book was that this scene took place near the beginning, and I felt the rest of the book never lived up to that level of excitement.* I disliked that I found myself actually wishing for one of the major characters to die. After the set-up that DeMille gives, I felt it should have happened, and I think it was a bit of a cop-out to have the character recover so easily. Plus, it would have made for more of an emotional read, which I think the series has been lacking.5 stars or less for my rating:I'm giving the book 4 stars. I'm a big fan of John Corey books, and although I thought this was one of the weaker books in the series, it was still a fast, exciting read. Even when he isn't at his best, I think DeMille does thrillers better than most writers out there. For Corey fans, you'll enjoy seeing your favorite wise-ass back in action. For newbies, start with Plum Island and work your way through the books to get to know Corey better. If you enjoy fast-paced thrillers with a smart-ass edge, this book would be a fine choice.

This is the least good of the books in the series that I have read so far, (I am reading them in order). It is very predictable and for once, has no real tension in the storey telling. Even the humour is lacking. There is no development in either of the main characters in this plot and given that the lead John Corey keeps saving the day in extraordinary fashion starts to strain the suspension of belief that he is still so mistrusted by his superiors. In any other world he would be running his Dept by now. Having said all that if you really like the books then ths one is Ok in a plodding sort of way.

After enjoying the first book a couple of years ago but disappointed by the end (not realising there was sequel) I couldn't wait to read this one and on the whole it was pretty good despite few surprises and the main character starting to irritate. I am not a prolific reader other than on holiday and the spreed I went through this book is testament to how easy this book is to read.In my opinion not as gripping as Night Fall but still worth a read and although The Lion has few twists and turns it goes to prove that you don't always need to over-complicate matters to produce a good book.

I am a huge fan of Nelson DeMille, I have read most of his books and all of the John Corey character books. I was really looking forward to reading The Lion as The Lions Game was such an excellent page turner. However, I found that The Lion was pretty poor.It was extremely drawn out as has been stated in some other reviews, realistically it could have been squeezed in to about 250 pages. Also while it focuses on John Corey for most of the time as it should towards the end there is a long period of time where there is no info about Khalil. So you have a big gap between when he kills the last person and when he meets John Corey. Whats he supposed to have been doing all this time? Relaxing having a few cocktails perhaps.I gave this book 2 stars because I am comparing it to the other DeMille books, perhaps if you read this without knowing how good the other books were you might give it a better review.All in all underwhelming.

Well constructed story which is fast moving times and exciting in the last two chapters. In the middle it did get bit slow moving. Hence my four stars a opposed to five.

This is an amazing sequel to The Lion's Game.Lovers of Nelson deMille's work will be familiar with the story, but for anyone who hasn't yet read it. Buy it. It is a page-turner. A word of warning. Start reading on a day when you don't have work the following day because you won't be able to stop reading well into the night. Nelson deMille's last three works have been his best so far and I can't wait to read his next one. I bought several copies to give to friends to whom I had given The Lion's Game. We were all impressed with how the tension and action did not abate with this sequel. Watch out with Amazon for his next.