I have read several books by Nelson DeMille and this was not one of my favorites. While I like the story line I found I was constantly looking to see if there were quotation marks to know whether John Corey was actually saying something or just thinking it. I found that very distracting.

Very thrilling novel of the infiltrate-and-take down genre. If you've been following the John Corey series for the past 20 years then you will love this addition. Pay attention because little things become important in the end. The whole situation is tense but Corey's hilarious sidebars had me mostly laughing. Great author!

The Maze by Nelson DeMille is the eighth book in the John Corey series. I have always heard good things about this series. This is the first book in the series I have read. On the plus side I find John Corey to be an interesting character with lots of experience. I appreciated his introspective nature.The storyline though was slow-paced and a little repetitive. I plan to go back to book #1 and see if maybe this one book just doesn't fit with the rest of the series.

If you’ve read other John Corey novels, his personality and first-person repartee are alive and well in The Maze. I found this novel hard to get into. The first half contained a lot of rehashing of his former relationships (developed during previous novels) and the action was slow to start. I enjoyed the last 20% of the book more than the rest. I would certainly recommend this book to diehard John Corey fans but it certainly wasn’t my favorite.

John is an interesting character. He plots his moves but things don't always turn out as he plans. An old girlfriend reappears but she has a motive. She wants him to work as a PI. She wants him to spy for her, a detective on the police force. In John's head it all sounds easy and reasonable safe. Oops! Interesting company he now works for and things are not as they seem. A good story with interesting cast of characters. I enjoyed the book.

suspense, ex-spy, ex-cop, sardonic, satire, secrets, security-systems, self-destructive-behaviors, serial-murder, series, situational-humor, snarky, spoof, subterfuge, verbal-humor, undercover, investigation, mystery, thriller, threats*****

Once you get past all the sophomoric humor and inuendoes (but nothing explicit) and begin to enjoy the spoof of old attitudes never really eradicated, you come up with a very good story. Corey is a been there, done that kind of antihero who has been exited out of all kinds of law enforcement and espionage organizations. Now he is introduced to an overtly sleazy operation and goes undercover on a really difficult investigation. That is well executed and very interesting!
I requested and received an e-arc from Scribner via NetGalley. Thank you

The Maze by Nelson DeMille. My advice, … make sure you read “Plum Island” before reading “The Maze”. This is book number 8, in the John Corey series. I feel previous knowledge of John’s personality is important to enjoying the book. I find he is sarcastic and has quite an interesting sense of humor. This book is full of humor and suspense and kept me reading. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not quite at the level of the GOLD COAST or CHARM SCHOOL, but still an engaging thriller with John Corey at the helm. Some might be offended by his thoughts, actions, and dialogue. He does come off as an egotistical adolescent at times. But I love flawed characters and Corey is certainly that. He’s able to get me laughing out loud at times and sometimes thinking he’s a total moron. In the end, I was cheering him on to bring down the disgusting ring of retired cops who went to the dark side. The action scenes are classic DeMille and kept me riveted to the page.

Another fast paced, fast witted John Corey novel from Nelson DeMille. All is good with the world.
John Corey,(retired NY homicide detective and anti-terrorist special agent), between jobs and separated is spending time relaxing in his uncles holiday home when a past girlfriend Detective Beth Pemrose asks him to go undercover and investigate a Private Investigations firm which may be corrupt and involved in the death of a couple of young women.
This is the eighth John Corey novel. You don't have to have read the previous ones to enjoy this fast paced, well written novel, but you would be missing out if you didn't read them act some stage.
Thoroughly enjoyable

Nelson DeMille's John Corey returns in a "summer" adventure. If you have enjoyed Corey's wise cracks and (mildly) politically incorrect humor in the previous novels, this will be a sure-fire treat for you.

PLUM ISLAND was one of my all-time favorite books. Great story, great setting, and John Cory, a former NYPD Homicide Detective, now retired but not by his own choosing. Still smart, or smart-assed, still confident, sometimes overly so, and still as sarcastic as one can be. Nelson DeMille has created many fascinating characters during is career but for me Cory tops the list. In THE MAZE, he is asked by a former lover Detective Beth Penrose to infiltrate a high-profile PI firm where several of Cory’s old friends, and enemies, are employed. That the firm is corrupt and has its fingers in the political and power structure of the area is a given, but are its owner and principle players involved in a series of mysterious murders? Cory must get inside and sniff out the evidence and in doing so enters a world of good versus evil, right versus wrong, and Cory is in the middle of the stew, which leads to a climax that is literally pulse-pounding. DeMille at his best.

DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series

With his dirty mind and a potty mouth, John Corey revisits an old romance and comes out of retirement – again – in The Maze, the eighth in the series, by Nelson DeMille. Corey becomes suspicious when both Elizabeth “Beth” Penrose, homicide detective for the Suffolk County Police, and Sylvester “Max” Maxwell, the police chief of Southold, want him to reactivate as a PI with a private security firm.

Once again Corey is living in his rich uncle’s Mattituck home after being forced out of his position as a federal agent. After much protest, Corey agrees to go to Security Solutions in Riverhead and talk with former police officer turned PI Steve Landowski about coming on board. Corey puts two and two together that Max and Beth want him on the inside of this operation for reasons they have not revealed.

Turns out, the bodies of dead women have been found in the thick brush around Gilgo Beach – true story – in Balboa, New York, and Max and Beth need somebody on the inside at Security Solutions to flush out the killer or killers. Corey figures out his friends’ game and turns it around on them and goes rogue with the whole setup.

The operation has secluded itself in an old farmhouse in the country, and the farmer next door has an intricate maze with which he makes lots of money in the fall from visiting families. When John gets in a tight spot with the bad guys, he seeks cover in the maze with very few bullets in his backup weapon as he dropped his Glock while escaping from the farmhouse with three killers on his trail. Every bullet must count against a team who have outgunned him. How can Corey find his way out of the maze without adding to his collection of bullet wounds?

John Corey is all big ego with a macho personality, using an internal self-narrative that is insightful and often worth an out-loud chuckle. He will never buy into political correctness. This book can be read as a standalone as DeMille gives plenty of background to previous books, especially Plum Island where Corey made his first appearance.

A member of MENSA, Nelson DeMille arms his detective with all kinds of stingers, most of them very clever and almost artful. In his 80th year, DeMille is just as delicious a writer as ever producing complicated plots and high-tension climaxes. A Long Islander, DeMille relies on that area for the setting in the Corey series. The Gilgo Beach Murders remain unsolved.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting September 1, 2022.
I would like to thank Simon and Schuster Publishing, Scribner Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

The Maze: Nelson DeMille

I’ve read almost every Nelson DeMille book there is, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of them. Since reading Plum Island in 1997, I have been a John Corey fan. Maybe it’s because I love a competent but wisecracking smart aleck, and John Corey is certainly that.

Over the last few books, however, he has become increasingly harder to take. Unfortunately, The Maze continues this trend. Corey is still a cocky, irreverent roué. But for every comment like, “She wanted to make love and I wanted to have sex, so it worked out,” which is rakishly funny, there were multiple forced quips like “the browser in my trousers” or “the lovelock on my peacock.” It’s almost as if he’s regressing into adolescence in both his interpersonal relationships and his internal monologues. A little bit of this goes along way; a lot of this is too much.

I’m not above enjoying a little juvenile humor. In moderation, politically incorrect remarks are fine in novels, and crude sex talk doesn’t really faze me. I mean, it _is_ fiction, after all. If the story is compelling, the action is organic, and the main guy is inherently good and likable, it’s all in good fun. Everyone loves a picaresque saint, a lovable rogue—a character who is flawed, goofy, endearing, and loyal all at once. And when the character combines a high level of competence in with a humorous persona, you have the ingredients for an entertaining bit of light-hearted escapism.

This was John Corey, once upon a time. He was always an anachronism, even 25 years ago. When it comes to relationships and social graces, the world passed him by before we ever heard of him. But his competence made up for his shortcomings. Now, it sure seems like this iteration of John Corey is more cad than Sir Galahad. Perhaps The Maze would have been more tolerable with the help of a good editor. This is a 430+ page book that could easily have been 300 pages long, if not for the repetitive crude jokes, the redundant observations of the protagonist, and the constant reminders of past exploits. A little less would have definitely been more.

I was very excited to get the opportunity from NetGalley to read this book in exchange for an honest review. To be frank, if Nelson DeMille writes another John Corey book, I will probably read it too. I’m just afraid it will feel more like a chore than it should.

Although this was the first book I read by Nelson DeMille it certainly won’t be the last. He brings his characters to life as he spins his tale. His main character John is a brilliant, sexy, character who is totally fearless. He manages to have an inane sense and lust for danger. He’s witty yet has a warped sense of humor. I found myself not being able to put this book down as I had to see what was happening on the next page. This story is filled wit action and is guaranteed to entertain you on every page..

DeMille's irreverent investigator John Corey is back, this time to unravel corruption in a small town His outrageous style makes this a fun read which moves at a good clip despite the predictable plot.

This book is 8 of 8. It is definitely a stand alone read.
John Corey was an NYPD homicide detective. Now he is living in a forced retirement from his last job as a Federal agent. Because of the federal agent job he constantly thinks Russian spy’s are plotting his demise.
John hates being retired and has become very restless even with Russian spy’s trying to kill him. Then he receives a visit from a former lover detective Beth Penrose. She is offering John a job to work for a private security company. John reluctantly decides to take the job. He later finds out that Beth thinks the people at the security company are involved in the actual unsolved case of the Gilgo Beach murders. Together John and Beth attempt to find an apparent serial killer who may be responsible for at least 9 murders.
The character John Corey is a politically incorrect kind of guy with a snarky humorous attitude. Despite his huge ego and a little bit of a womanizer he is very good at his job.
There are many twists and turns, hence “the maze”, peppered with Johns humor and ego. The Maze by Nelson DeMille should be added to your TBR pile.

This was my first book in this series and I could follow without the others. I wanted to love John Corey when I started reading but then I soon realized he was a bit egotistical for me. I can understand why he has several ex wife’s or soon to be. The wit and fast comeback did make me laugh out loud several times but then it got a little immature for me always talking about his browser in his trousers. But it was exciting to go behind the scenes if you well on a take down of the bad cops. I would like another one to see what happens between him and Beth or Amy? I will definitely read another book by this author.

I received this ARC from the author and Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope he writes more! I am totally hooked!

The Maze by Nelson DeMille tells the adventure of Detective John Corey. I’m a John Corey fan and looked forward to reading this book. The story kept me wanting to read. I love John’s thoughts and comments. Based on true events, maybe more of an explanation should be included at the end. There was a slow buildup to the end but then kind of fell a bit flat. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

A bit of a disappointing read, DeMille spends too much time on John Corey's wisecracks and Corey playing house with Beth Penrose then offering a compelling story. And he had a good premise: Corey helps solve the serial killings of nine girls on Fire Island, inspired by the real unsolved Gilgo Beach murders. I was expecting a good police procedural but...nope. The story just went off in too many different directions for me. Other Corey fans might like it, though, and I would still recommend his books to my students, like always..

But thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this sneak peek, I'm always appreciative of the opportunity.