Since this was the 8th in the series of John Corey, I expected to be inthralled with a good mystery. But, I found the main character, John, to be sarcastic and not fond of much, but perhaps sex. I read where this was to be witty, if not humorous thriller after a seven year hiatus. I was disappointed. Some will probably find this to be a great book…just not me. Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Schuster for the ARC opportunity. The comments and review are obviously my own opinion.

The Maze by Nelson DeMille is the first book of his that I have read. I had a difficult time getting into the novel as it had a very slow beginning and I almost stopped. In the novel, John Corey has been forced into retirement and is relaxing at his uncles when a job opportunity comes along. Corey reluctantly agrees to check it out based on his friend and former lover’s suggestion. He eventually starts hunting for a serial killer who appears to be attacking prostitutes. Can Corey catch this serial killer? Why haven’t the police done so yet? Though I eventually enjoyed the plot and outcome, it took just way too long to get there. As a result, I would say the novel was okay. I received an ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

The Maze
John Corey #8
Author: Nelson DeMille

eARC & Book Review
Publish Date: October 11, 2022

In DeMille's newest John Corey installment, we find Corey with a new job offer extended his way. After going into forced retirement, Corey has been restless and waiting for some excitement again. Having extended him the offer, Detective Penrose, his former lover, has left Corey with decision to make - about his (former) career and about reuniting with her.

In this mystery, Corey goes on the hunt for a serial killer. Based on the still unsolved Gilgo Beach murders, the killer has murdered at least nine prostitutes and hidden their bodies in the thick undergrowth on a empty stretch of beach.

As the case gets traction and makes national news, Corey thinks local police incompetence isn't the only reason this case is still unsolved.

I am brand new to DeMille's writing and it is okay. While it is not my favorite, I can see why it would draw people in for so many years. There is humor that isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I didn't necessarily mind it. I did like the mystery and plot line of this book though!

Thank you NetGalley, Scribner, and the author for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that DeMille is one of my top favorite authors! I was very excited to be allowed to review this book in advance of its release. The details of John Corey are true to character and reminiscent of the prior Carey novels

I found the beginning of the book to drag a little. I felt that there was too much detail, at times a repeat of information which was not necessary, in certain areas, while, on the other hand not enough detail. For example, the missing detail is for the prior relationships that John Corey had with the PIs who were supposed to have a bad relationship with John, the former cops.

I found the descriptions and details in the intro did set-up the issues and the finale, but as I state above too much not leading anywhere fast enough. It felt as if the lead up was too long or not enough to keep me going.

The story and concept were excellent, and the last few chapters were page turners in true DeMille style. The use of the maze imagery and repeated references were excellent.

DeMille comes through again with another story that is full of chuckling, sharp-witted John Corey-isms. Somewhat unfortunately, the whole tale takes quite a while to unwind to the principal plot in the book. Nevertheless, the bantar that occurs with Corey upfront is entertaining and keeps one mostly engaged up to the point where the real story starts to occur.

The Maze is Nelson DeMille's sixth John Corey thriller! If you've followed John's careers from NYPD to two distinct governmental crime fighting agencies, you might be amazed to find him unemployed but healed from his last near death injury! "You can't drink all day unless you start in the morning." John Corey finds himself spending a relaxing summer up in the Hamptons at Uncle Harry's summer place, minding his own business alert to any Russians interest in his whereabouts. "Decompressing is a lot better than decomposing"--John Corey, June 2022. John is between serious female entanglements--no Emma, no Tess, no Kate no Beth; well, at least, for starters. ( Observation, all are four-letter words!) With Plum Island murder mystery a memory, John finds himself being pulled into another multiple murder of nine females--Fire Island Murders! Lt. Det. Beth Penrose with Chief Max encourage him to look into a detective agency owned and run by retired NYPD vice cops, Security Systems. Are these ex-CIA brothers in blue dirty? Can John join them while being an undercover CI for Beth? " This whole place made a psych ward look like a think-tank". With John's usual very high opinion of himself and low opinion of , well, everyone else, he mounts his crusade to vanquish the nefarious evildoers! There's plenty of excitement, tension, twisty twists. "No, I actually said was.... " and Corey humor and Corey action! If I had any, er, negative comments, it could be far too often iterations of the various plans/consequences of "ifs/thens" DeMille could trim say, a thousand words without harming this great story. But, hey, he's the hugely popular author!
I highly recommend this John Corey murder mystery!

I am a Nelson DeMille fan, and if you are a Nelson DeMille fan it will probably be an ok book, but I was a bit disappointed in it. The first part of the book was a lot of sitting around with John Corey thinking about where he was going to be next. He is talked into a temporary assignment because he wants an "arrangement" with a former girlfriend. He does his thing, but in my view, the ending was unsatisfactory. Too many loose ends. I received an arc, and am under no pressure for a positive review.

Ramona Thompson

I enjoyed this novel. Like the MC's snarky, sarcastic voice. There wasn't much of mystery, but it was a fun read.
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The Maze by Nelson DeMille
Ok, I really struggled to get through this book, the storyline was good for me it was all the snide comments in his head and to himself that I had hard time with. Not a bad book just not for me. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this and leave my opinion.

The Maze, by Nelson DeMille

Short Take: Perfect for people who think Archie Bunker was the good guy.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Well Duckies, I tried. I had vague memories of reading and enjoying Plum Island a couple of decades ago, and the premise of The Maze was right up my alley (burned-out former detective hunting serial killer), so I snagged it.

I lasted six whole chapters, and I’m tapping out. I don’t know if all of Mr. DeMille’s books are this awful, and I don’t care to find out.

“But Nerd,” I can hear you asking, “what was so terrible about it? You ALWAYS finish books, even when you don’t particularly enjoy them. What happened?”

And well, my beloved nerdlings, buckle up, because I’m about to go on a tear. The Maze is told from the POV of John Corey, the aforementioned detective. And he’s everything that makes people think that all cops are bad.

Let’s start with the misogyny. In the very first chapter, he actually says this about his ex-wife: “Robin has never remarried, but every time I run into her in New York, she has a new guy, making me think she’s had more fresh mounts than a Pony Express rider.”

Sure, everyone bags on their exes, but he’s saying that in the middle of bragging about how many women he’s banged over the course of the series. He points out how stupid he thinks activities like “pick your own fruit” farms are, but adds that he went once because he was trying to get laid. You know, because if it’s something a female person enjoys, it’s automatically less-than.

And it never gets any better. His contempt for women oozes through nearly every page. He gets in a few swipes at transgendered people as well, which I suppose is his idea of equality.

Oh, but the woman-bashing does get broken up occasionally by comments about how much he hates being politically correct (which always, without exception, translates to “I want to be openly racist and bigoted without consequences). and misses the “good old days” of “locker room talk”.

There’s a lot of casual racism as well, such as referring to cars as “rice-burners”, which, hasn’t he gotten the memo that pretty much all cars are manufactured internationally now? Like materials from one country turned into parts in a few other countries and assembled someplace else? He even uses the phrase “$hith0le countries”, and I probably don’t have to explain how loaded that one is.

And last, but certainly not least, he continually refers to himself in the third person, and I’ve yet to see anyone who does that who isn’t an insufferable d-bag.

Guys, all of that was after SIX CHAPTERS. I lasted through ten percent of this book, the detective hadn’t even heard about the serial killer yet. It’s almost like Mr. DeMille wasn’t even trying to tell a story, he just wanted to trigger the snowflakes or own the libs or something.

So yeah, if you’re looking for 400 pages of Boomer Bait, go for it. If you want a great detective story with brilliant characters and solid pacing, check out Dennis LeHane.

The Nerd’s Rating: ONE (sad, limp, shriveled, flaccid, pathetic, saggy) HAPPY NEURON. (and a tube of bronzer in Orangutan Orange so the author can flaunt his true colors).

"The Maze" is the eighth book in Nelson DeMille's John Corey series. Recently retired, John Corey is recovering at a beach house on Long Island from gunshot wounds received while working as a Federal Agent. He is contemplating his future when local police detective and former girlfriend, Beth Penrose, approaches him with a tempting assignment.

Corey accepts the job of infiltrating a private investigation group with questionable activities. Many high-ranking political and law enforcement people are part of the company. Corey goes undercover, and as he covertly looks into the agency's dealings, he begins to suspect that the group may have something to do with the unsolved murders of prostitutes whose bodies were discovered on Long Island.

I realized early on that the reader must pay close attention to quotation marks. Corey does a lot of talking to himself which the author makes very clear with punctuation. It is easy to mistake Corey's thoughts for something he actually says out loud. I enjoyed being privy to things he would like to have said but didn't. I liked the humor this added to the story.

I found the going very slow until three-quarters of the way through the book. Many pages were devoted to the Corey recalling past experiences. Some of this was helpful since this was the first of DeMille's John Corey series that I read. However, I would have preferred more action earlier on.

There are many sexual references which some readers may not appreciate.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I haven’t read this author before, and though this is no8 in the John Corey series, it was easy to jump in without reading the backlist.

The first several chapters were about the detective—his career history, next steps, and romantic history. While interesting, that history made the book feel a little slow at first. I’m used to detective novels that literally start with a crime, and character development/backstory unfolds alongside the investigation. Here, I was 20% in before I started to see what investigation/mystery could be at the heart of this book and his objective was finally confirmed for me around the 40% mark.

The humor is unapologetically offensive—as if that’s charming—but once the detective had a clear investigation to start working on, the story improved. Unfortunately, the details of the case were given mostly through conversation. I wanted strong unfolding action—find some clues!—but there wasn’t much action in the first half of the book. The last third of the book was more intense and enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

An excellent story with great characters. John is a retired detective with a penchant for finding trouble. He is funny, witty and always has a sarcastic comment to add to the conversation. He is drawn into a case with his friends Max and Beth which grows more complicated each day. You never know who you can truly trust as things start to unravel. The story is told from John’s perspective and he keeps an internal running monologue that is very interesting.

I find it hard to believe that I haven't kept up with the John Corey series by Nelson DeMille but that didn't matter jumping into this new one, The Maze. DeMille has always been a prolific writer and John Corey is a fantastic character.

I was happy to be in his world again but Lion's Game will always be my favorite followed by Plum Island and Wildfire.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to enjoy The Maze. Holy Mackerel!! Nelson DeMille does it again!! John Corey is back and better than ever. Hang on to your hats, because this is one wild ride!! This book is well written, funny and dangerous. I devoured The Maze in 24 hours. This book is amazing.

This was my first Nelson DeMille book and it will probably be my last. I did not really like it. John Corey the main character is so into himself and his penis that it turned me off not on. It was a long drawn out story that really did not get interesting until the last 15% of the book. It was just a lot of talk amongst the characters about the same thing. I did finish it but I would not recommend it.
Thanks to #netgalley and #delacortepress for an ARC of this book.

I read and liked The Cuban Affair, so when I saw this book was part of a series by the same author and available on NetGalley, I grabbed it and hit my local library in order to read all previous installments in this series to get caught up.

As much as I liked the setting and plot of the first installment, Plum Island, I found the main character, retired NYPD homicide detective John Corey, to be an obnoxious ass. His horn-dog humor and childish behavior was off-putting and made getting through the book difficult, so I bypassed all subsequent installments to skip to the most recent. My hope was the 20+ year difference between the first installment and the latest release would result in the main character having grown up and evolved.

I don't know what the six installments in between were about, but this really felt like it picked up where Plum Island left off, and that I hadn't missed anything by skipping ahead. The first chapter opens with the main character once again at his uncle's waterfront Victorian house overlooking the Great Peconic Bay, and even included a summary of his career path that led him back to where this series started.

Sadly, he's still a middle-aged pig, behaving like an arrogant, horny teenager; making frequent and sometimes rhyming references to his penis, and reducing all women to their anatomical parts. What woman can resist that? Apparently, none of the women written in this book, including Beth Penrose, local homicide detective first introduced in Plum Island. She's back and unofficially investigating the suspicious death of a fellow officer and the murder of nine prostitutes. And for some reason, she's eager to rekindle her romance with John Corey, under the guise of recruiting him to assist in her investigation.

John reluctantly agrees to work as a private investigator at a security company owned and operated by a sleazy ex-vice cop (which made John seem slightly less crass by comparison), along with some other shady former cops. The plot isn't well-paced and gets a bit lost, so it doesn't really shift into action until the last quarter of the book. Until then, the focus of the book seems to be the characters discussing the case, and John and Beth reestablishing their romantic relationship—though John appears reluctant about that, too.

When the book does finally kick into gear, there's very little cat-and-mouse action, and since the plot doesn't seem to have been thought through, it leads to a pointless and disappointing ending. While this book certainly wasn't for me, perhaps there are others who will find the main character's alpha male ego, one-track mind, and penis-humor entertaining enough not to notice the plot doesn't go anywhere.

Simon & Schuster via NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Finally John Corey and Beth Penrose are back and Nelson DeMille hasn't missed a beat with his two "famous" characters. I've really missed the Corey series and I'm certainly not disappointed in yet another fiction based on true events novel. Thank you Nelson DeMille and thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Two of my favorite all time books are Upcountry and The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille. I was excited to read his newest novel, The Maze. It did not disappoint. I love his sarcastic character, John Corey, NYPD homicide detective. Corey is back on the scene from retirement investigating a grisly murder. A shocking plot filled with intriguing twist keep you entertained. Loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this title. John Corey is back! He is living in his uncle's house on the North Shore of Long Island, licking his wounds from his latest career exploit?, blunder?, contemplating his next divorce, and waiting to be killed by the Russians. His old work flame, Beth, reenters the picture, and she and a local police chief, Max urge John to join a local PI firm. John is suspicious, as this firm seems sketchy at best. He realized that Beth is using him as a CI as well as re-igniting their love affair. John moves in with her, and joins the firm with the plan to get evidence and deliver it to the FBI as soon as possible.
The characters are fully-drawn, and the action is swift. I would have liked a more detailed conclusion or an epilogue, and I do not remember John being as crude in previous installments of his story. If Corey is going to reappear, he needs to keep his sharp wit, but class it up!