DeMille's PANTHER Knocks It out of the Park

Imagine a scene near the temple ruins not far from Marib in Yemen. Bulus ibn al-Darwish (his Al Qaeda nom de guerre is al-Numair – The Panther) wearing a ceremonial jambiyah, the curved dagger of Yemen – butchers a bunch of Belgian tourists.

He yells at the bodies, "You have learned that in Yemen death comes!"

Fade to NYC, where smart-mouth John Corey, ex-NYPD, currently on New York's Anti-Terrorist Task Force, takes center stage.

And his mouth does not stop for 625 tense pages!

Remember that curved dagger…

John and his FBI wife Kate are assigned to Yemen, to hunt down the bad guys who bombed the USS Cole in 2000. John knows that everyone who journeys to Yemen doesn't come back!

John and Kate arrive in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. We can smell the danger…

They are met by another spook, a guy we've met before, the hero of The General's Daughter and Up Country, Paul Brenner, now with the Diplomatic Security Service. Paul is one of the few good guys in this tale, in a desert filled with black hats in every cave, on every camel.

The author and I both revel in writing about psychopathic villains who are bigger than life. The Panther has traits we've met in other DeMille thrillers – the killer in The General's Daughter, the sadistic cop in Spencerville, the slimeball vintner in Plum Island, the mass murderer in The Lion's Game and The Lion, the weird oil tycoon in Wild Fire. Even that likable Mafia guy in The Gold Coast.

My theory is that John Corey existed way before his appearance in Plum Island. I saw shades of Corey in other books: as Keith Landry in Spencerville. And John Sutter of The Gold Coast was a John Corey type, in some ways. And Paul Brenner in his earlier roles could have been a twin of John Corey.

None of these appearances detract from the current power of Corey and his ability to keep on center stage for six major novels!

I see him as a kind of Everyman, who began early in the author's career, a man who has a smart mouth habit, yet has a lot of depth and compassion – and even a tender side - and wears very well – for years and years and book after book after book.

His fans love him and accept him as he is – and want to move with him into his future.

I'd like to see a woman take a stronger role in John's life – perhaps a female villain!

Maybe another place on the planet that has the same authenticity of upstate New York, Long Island, Ohio.

American readers are devoted and loyal to their home turfs. Could the gold coast move to the gulf coast? Could John and Kate get assigned to a small town in Texas?

The sites of Yemen and Vietnam were very authentic and carefully researched. But the home turf hits the reader in the gut.

As I came to Page 625, and slowly closed The Panther, very satisfied with the just ending (and you will be too!) I felt, that as exciting and nail-biting as this book is, the prize still goes to the author for his finale that has no equal – in Night Fall!

His finest literary hour in all 17 novels!

Thelma Jacqueline Straw

P.S. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave us a comment…

Sandy Blasted, a Photo Essay

Whole Foods in Union Square was packed with people as Sandy approached.

After the storm barreled through, the streets of

blacked-out Lower Manhattan were deserted,

All stores, restaurants, etc. were closed.

Above 42nd Street, where the lights did not go out,

it was business as usual.  A refugee from downtown

could eat a gorgeous meal, if she was willing to walk

three and half miles each way to get to it.

Power companies from all along the Eastern seaboard sent their employees
to help New York get its citizens back into the 21st Century.  The visiting
 workers marshaled in Union Square.

The National Guard came to help, too.  All along Park Avenue, one could
see military vehicles, many painted in desert camouflage and guardsmen in
fatigues.

Though the power was off for almost a full week, five hours after it
 came back on, the first store to open in our area  was the venerable
 and  incomparable Strand Bookstore--at 9 AM on a Sunday morning.

With the Sanitation Department stretched to its limit trying to clean up in
 devastated neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten island, the city
stopped picking up recyclables until further notice.  As of November 15th, they are still piling up. 

By Tuesday, November 13th, life was so back to normal, that four stalwart
mystery writers along with their moderator were able to present a panel
at the Mid-Manhattan Branch of the New York Public Library.  Let to Right:
Julia Pomeroy, Jon McGoran, Lucy Burdette, Dirk Robertson, and your reporter.

 Annamaria Alfieri