Nelson DeMille
Encyclopedia
Nelson Richard DeMille is an American
author
of thriller novel
s. His works include Word of Honor (made into a 2003 TV movie
starring Don Johnson
), The Charm School
, The Gold Coast
, Plum Island
, and The General's Daughter
(made into a 1999 movie
starring John Travolta
).
DeMille has also written under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, and Brad Matthews.
and resides in Garden City, New York
, a village on Long Island
. He attended Elmont Memorial High School
in Elmont, New York
, and spent three years at Hofstra University
.
DeMille served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant and saw action in Vietnam
.
He is a member of Mensa
.
, and as such his books follow a linear plotline in which the reader moves along with the main character.
Although the tone of his writing varies from novel to novel, one consistent tool is DeMille's liberal use of sarcasm and dry humor.
Most DeMille novels, especially the more recent, avoid "Hollywood endings," and instead finish either inconclusively or with the hero successfully exposing the secret/solving the mystery while suffering in his career or personal life as a result. There are generally loose ends left for the reader to puzzle over, Night Fall
being a perfect example.
, Plum Island
, Word of Honor, and Night Fall
. His most recent novels have followed two main characters, John Corey
(starring in five novels) and Paul Brenner (starring in two novels). In earlier works, the storylines were completely separate, but there have been hints in the novels that they are part of a larger "DeMille Universe" that references events and characters in earlier novels, such as The Gold Coast
and The Charm School
.
DeMille has written himself into Up Country and Wild Fire. He spends approximately two years crafting each of his novels due to the extensive research involved, and because he writes them longhand on legal pads with a number one pencil.
His most recent effort, the 2011 Mystery Writers of America Annual Anthology The Rich and the Dead, edited by DeMille, and to which he contributed its introduction and first story, was released May 2, 2011.
, The Agent of Death
, The Smack Man
, The Cannibals
, and The Night of the Phoenix
. All were republished in 1989 bearing DeMille's nom-de-plume "Jack Cannon".
John Corey
, a retired New York City police detective on special assignment for the F.B.I. He was introduced in Plum Island
and reappears in The Lion's Game
, Night Fall
, Wild Fire, and The Lion.
Paul Brenner, an investigator for the United States Army
's Criminal Investigation Division. He was introduced in The General's Daughter and reappears in Up Country
.
Asad Khalil, a Libyan terrorist. His family was wiped out in an American military attack in 1986, for which he swore revenge.
Kate Mayfield
, an F.B.I. special agent. Introduced in The Lion's Game. She marries Corey and reappears in Night Fall, Wild Fire, and The Lion.
Colonel Petr Burov/Boris/Boris Korsakov Though not explicitly stated, DeMille hints that Burov, the antagonist in The Charm School, is the same person as the mysterious "Boris," a character in The Lion's Game and The Lion who trained Asad Khalil.
Ted Nash, a CIA agent and arch-rival of Corey, who is introduced in Plum Island and reappears in The Lion's Game, Night Fall, and Wild Fire.
Col. Karl Hellman, Brenner's superior officer at the CID. Appeared in The General's Daughter and Up Country.
John Sutter, Susan Sutter, Felix Mancuso, and several other characters of The Gold Coast reappear in the sequel The Gate House.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of thriller novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. His works include Word of Honor (made into a 2003 TV movie
Word of Honor
Word of Honor is an American television film released in 2003. It is based on the novel by the same name written in 1985 by Nelson DeMille.-Cast:*Don Johnson as Lt. Benjamin Tyson*Jeanne Tripplehorn as Maj. Karen Harper...
starring Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
), The Charm School
The Charm School
The Charm School is a 1988 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille.The title refers to a Soviet training facility where Russian spies are trained to infiltrate American society, and the book deals with the U.S. response to this school. According to DeMille's August 2009 newsletter, the novel will be...
, The Gold Coast
The Gold Coast (DeMille novel)
The Gold Coast is a 1990 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about John Sutter, a Wall Street lawyer, and Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, and the conflict between the two that occurs when Bellarosa moves to the same New York neighborhood as Sutter. Bellarosa befriends Sutter and his wife Susan, and...
, Plum Island
Plum Island (novel)
Plum Island is a 1997 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It introduces NYPD detective John Corey, convalescing on the North Fork of Long Island from gunshot wounds sustained in the line of duty...
, and The General's Daughter
The General's Daughter (novel)
The General's Daughter is a 1992 novel by Nelson DeMille about a military investigation agent named Paul Brenner who is put in charge of investigating the death of Ann Campbell, the daughter of a legendary general....
(made into a 1999 movie
The General's Daughter
The General's Daughter is a 1999 murder mystery film starring John Travolta. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent general. The movie is based on the novel by the same name written in 1992 by Nelson DeMille, and was directed by Simon West...
starring John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
).
DeMille has also written under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, and Brad Matthews.
Biography
DeMille was born in Jamaica, QueensJamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
and resides in Garden City, New York
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
, a village on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. He attended Elmont Memorial High School
Elmont Memorial High School
Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School is a co-educational, secondary public high school founded in 1956 for students in grades 7-12 in the hamlet of Elmont, Long Island, New York, in Nassau County....
in Elmont, New York
Elmont, New York
Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...
, and spent three years at Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
.
DeMille served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant and saw action in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
He is a member of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
.
Writing style
Many of DeMille's books are written in the first personFirst-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
, and as such his books follow a linear plotline in which the reader moves along with the main character.
Although the tone of his writing varies from novel to novel, one consistent tool is DeMille's liberal use of sarcasm and dry humor.
Most DeMille novels, especially the more recent, avoid "Hollywood endings," and instead finish either inconclusively or with the hero successfully exposing the secret/solving the mystery while suffering in his career or personal life as a result. There are generally loose ends left for the reader to puzzle over, Night Fall
Night Fall
Night Fall is a 2004 novel by American author Nelson DeMille.The story begins with the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, New York...
being a perfect example.
Works
DeMille often uses Long Island as a setting in his novels, as in The Gold CoastThe Gold Coast (DeMille novel)
The Gold Coast is a 1990 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about John Sutter, a Wall Street lawyer, and Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, and the conflict between the two that occurs when Bellarosa moves to the same New York neighborhood as Sutter. Bellarosa befriends Sutter and his wife Susan, and...
, Plum Island
Plum Island (novel)
Plum Island is a 1997 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It introduces NYPD detective John Corey, convalescing on the North Fork of Long Island from gunshot wounds sustained in the line of duty...
, Word of Honor, and Night Fall
Night Fall
Night Fall is a 2004 novel by American author Nelson DeMille.The story begins with the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, New York...
. His most recent novels have followed two main characters, John Corey
John Corey
John Aloysius Corey is a fictitious recurring character in Nelson DeMille novels. He is quick-witted and cocky, but would be considered by most to be a brilliant detective.-Fictitious character biography:...
(starring in five novels) and Paul Brenner (starring in two novels). In earlier works, the storylines were completely separate, but there have been hints in the novels that they are part of a larger "DeMille Universe" that references events and characters in earlier novels, such as The Gold Coast
The Gold Coast (DeMille novel)
The Gold Coast is a 1990 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about John Sutter, a Wall Street lawyer, and Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, and the conflict between the two that occurs when Bellarosa moves to the same New York neighborhood as Sutter. Bellarosa befriends Sutter and his wife Susan, and...
and The Charm School
The Charm School
The Charm School is a 1988 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille.The title refers to a Soviet training facility where Russian spies are trained to infiltrate American society, and the book deals with the U.S. response to this school. According to DeMille's August 2009 newsletter, the novel will be...
.
DeMille has written himself into Up Country and Wild Fire. He spends approximately two years crafting each of his novels due to the extensive research involved, and because he writes them longhand on legal pads with a number one pencil.
His most recent effort, the 2011 Mystery Writers of America Annual Anthology The Rich and the Dead, edited by DeMille, and to which he contributed its introduction and first story, was released May 2, 2011.
Joe Ryker Series
- The SniperThe Sniper (novel)The Sniper is a 1974 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille. It was DeMille's first published novel. Like the other books in the Joe Ryker series, it was re-published in 1989 with the author as Jack Cannon....
(1974) - The Hammer of GodThe Hammer of God (DeMille novel)The Hammer of God is the second of Nelson DeMille's Joe Ryker novels. It was published in 1974. It was republished in 1989 with Jack Cannon listed as the author....
(1974) - The Agent of DeathThe Agent of DeathThe Agent of Death is the third of Nelson DeMille's novels about NYPD Sergeant Joe Ryker. It was published in 1974, and then republished in 1989 with the DeMille pseudonym Jack Cannon as the author and The Death Squad as the title.-Synopsis:...
(1975) - retitled The Death Squad when republished in 1989. - The Smack ManThe Smack ManThe Smack Man, published in 1975, is the fourth of Nelson DeMille Joe Ryker novels. It was republished in 1989 with the author listed as Jack Cannon.-Synopsis:...
(1975) - The CannibalThe CannibalThe Cannibal is the fifth of the Joe Ryker books by Nelson DeMille. It was first published in 1975, but republished in 1989 with the author listed as Jack Cannon....
(1975) - The Night of the PhoenixThe Night of the PhoenixThe Night of the Phoenix is a 1975 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille. It is the sixth and last book in the Joe Ryker series, and was republished in 1989 with the author listed as Jack Cannon....
(1975)
Stand-alone Novels
- The Quest (1975)
- By the Rivers of BabylonBy the Rivers of BabylonBy the Rivers of Babylon is a 1978 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille.The plot focuses on two new Concorde jets that are flying to a U.N. meeting that will bring peace to the Middle East. However, en route to the meeting, the crews are advised by radio that bombs were hidden during the aircraft's...
(1978), ISBN 0-15-115278-0 - MaydayMayday (novel)Mayday is a 1979 thriller novel by American author Thomas Block. The novel was updated in 1998 by author Nelson DeMille and re-released as a paperback.-Plot summary:...
(1979, updated 1998) (with Thomas Block), ISBN 0-446-60476-3 - CathedralCathedral (novel)Cathedral is a 1981 novel by Nelson DeMille.On St. Patrick's Day, a group of renegade Northern Irish revolutionaries, led by a man named Brian Flynn, seize St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and hold as their hostages two churchmen, an ex-IRA peace activist, and a British government...
(1981), ISBN 0-440-01140-X - The Talbot OdysseyThe Talbot OdysseyThe Talbot Odyssey is a 1984 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about a Russian mole inside the CIA.-External links:...
(1984), ISBN 0-385-29322-4 - Word of Honor (1985), ISBN 0-446-51280-X
- The Charm SchoolThe Charm SchoolThe Charm School is a 1988 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille.The title refers to a Soviet training facility where Russian spies are trained to infiltrate American society, and the book deals with the U.S. response to this school. According to DeMille's August 2009 newsletter, the novel will be...
(1988), ISBN 0-446-51305-9 - SpencervilleSpencerville (novel)Spencerville is a novel by Nelson DeMille. It is about an intelligence officer, Keith Landry, who is forced to enter retirement with the cessation of the Cold War...
(1994), ISBN 0-446-51505-1
John Sutter Series
- The Gold CoastThe Gold Coast (DeMille novel)The Gold Coast is a 1990 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about John Sutter, a Wall Street lawyer, and Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, and the conflict between the two that occurs when Bellarosa moves to the same New York neighborhood as Sutter. Bellarosa befriends Sutter and his wife Susan, and...
(1990), ISBN 0-446-51504-3 - The Gate HouseThe Gate HouseThe Gate House, Nelson DeMille's sequel to The Gold Coast, was released on October 28, 2008.-Release details:*2008, USA, Grand Central Publishing , 28 October 2008, Hardback...
(Sequel to The Gold CoastThe Gold Coast (DeMille novel)The Gold Coast is a 1990 novel by Nelson DeMille.It is about John Sutter, a Wall Street lawyer, and Frank Bellarosa, a mafia don, and the conflict between the two that occurs when Bellarosa moves to the same New York neighborhood as Sutter. Bellarosa befriends Sutter and his wife Susan, and...
) (October 28, 2008), ISBN 0-446-53342-4
Paul Brenner Series
- The General's DaughterThe General's Daughter (novel)The General's Daughter is a 1992 novel by Nelson DeMille about a military investigation agent named Paul Brenner who is put in charge of investigating the death of Ann Campbell, the daughter of a legendary general....
(1992), ISBN 0-446-51306-7 (also made into a movieThe General's DaughterThe General's Daughter is a 1999 murder mystery film starring John Travolta. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent general. The movie is based on the novel by the same name written in 1992 by Nelson DeMille, and was directed by Simon West...
of the same name) - Up CountryUp CountryUp Country is a thriller novel by Nelson DeMille released in 2002. Set in contemporary Vietnam, the novel features the return of the character of Paul Brenner, a investigator for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division and the protagonist of DeMille's The General's Daughter...
(2002), ISBN 0-446-51657-0
John Corey Series
- Plum IslandPlum Island (novel)Plum Island is a 1997 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It introduces NYPD detective John Corey, convalescing on the North Fork of Long Island from gunshot wounds sustained in the line of duty...
(1997), ISBN 0-446-51506-X - The Lion's GameThe Lion's GameThe Lion's Game is a 2000 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It is the second of DeMille's novels to feature the detective John Corey, now working as a contractor for the fictional FBI Anti-Terrorist Task Force in New York. The 2004 novel Night Fall is a sequel to The Lion's Game and takes...
(2000), ISBN 0-446-52065-9 - Night FallNight FallNight Fall is a 2004 novel by American author Nelson DeMille.The story begins with the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, New York...
(2004), ISBN 0-446-57663-8 - Wild FireWild Fire (novel)Wild Fire is a 2006 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It is the fourth of DeMille's novels to feature Detective John Corey, now working as a contractor for the fictional FBI Anti-Terrorist Task Force in New York....
(2006), ISBN 0-446-57967-X - The Lion (Sequel to The Lion's Game) (2010), ISBN 0-446-58083-X
Short Fiction
- "Revenge and Rebellion", in The Plot ThickensThe Plot ThickensThe Plot Thickens is a compilation of old and new tracks from the Houston, Texas band The Jonbenet. It was released on August 26, 2005 by Pluto Records.-Track listing:#"Eating Lightning Pt...
, ed. by Mary Higgins ClarkMary Higgins ClarkMary Theresa Eleanor Higgins Clark Conheeney , known professionally as Mary Higgins Clark, is an American author of suspense novels...
(1997), ISBN 0-671-01557-5 - The Rich and the Dead (Anthology) (2011), ISBN 978-0-446-55587-6
Non-fiction
- Hitler's Children: The True Story of Nazi Human Stud Farms (1976) (as Kurt Ladner)
- Killer Sharks: The Real Story (1977) (as Brad Mathews)
Recurring characters
Detective Sgt. Joe Ryker, a tired, no-nonsense plainclothesman whose natural understanding of his environment gives him an enhanced instinct for tracking down criminals. A loner, he carries two weapons: a standard police special .38 in an ankle holster, and a shoulder-holstered .357 Magnum. He appeared in the first six novels by DeMille — The Sniper, The Hammer of GodThe Hammer of God
The Hammer of God is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke originally published in 1993. It deals with an asteroid named Kali headed toward Earth. Captain Robert Singh of the spacecraft Goliath is sent to deflect it. Kali is discovered by Dr...
, The Agent of Death
The Agent of Death
The Agent of Death is the third of Nelson DeMille's novels about NYPD Sergeant Joe Ryker. It was published in 1974, and then republished in 1989 with the DeMille pseudonym Jack Cannon as the author and The Death Squad as the title.-Synopsis:...
, The Smack Man
The Smack Man
The Smack Man, published in 1975, is the fourth of Nelson DeMille Joe Ryker novels. It was republished in 1989 with the author listed as Jack Cannon.-Synopsis:...
, The Cannibals
The Cannibals
The Cannibals may refer to:* The Cannibals , a garage punk band active since the end of the 1970s* The Cannibals , a 1970 Italian film...
, and The Night of the Phoenix
The Night of the Phoenix
The Night of the Phoenix is a 1975 thriller novel by Nelson DeMille. It is the sixth and last book in the Joe Ryker series, and was republished in 1989 with the author listed as Jack Cannon....
. All were republished in 1989 bearing DeMille's nom-de-plume "Jack Cannon".
John Corey
John Corey
John Aloysius Corey is a fictitious recurring character in Nelson DeMille novels. He is quick-witted and cocky, but would be considered by most to be a brilliant detective.-Fictitious character biography:...
, a retired New York City police detective on special assignment for the F.B.I. He was introduced in Plum Island
Plum Island (novel)
Plum Island is a 1997 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It introduces NYPD detective John Corey, convalescing on the North Fork of Long Island from gunshot wounds sustained in the line of duty...
and reappears in The Lion's Game
The Lion's Game
The Lion's Game is a 2000 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. It is the second of DeMille's novels to feature the detective John Corey, now working as a contractor for the fictional FBI Anti-Terrorist Task Force in New York. The 2004 novel Night Fall is a sequel to The Lion's Game and takes...
, Night Fall
Night Fall
Night Fall is a 2004 novel by American author Nelson DeMille.The story begins with the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island, New York...
, Wild Fire, and The Lion.
Paul Brenner, an investigator for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
's Criminal Investigation Division. He was introduced in The General's Daughter and reappears in Up Country
Up Country
Up Country is a thriller novel by Nelson DeMille released in 2002. Set in contemporary Vietnam, the novel features the return of the character of Paul Brenner, a investigator for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division and the protagonist of DeMille's The General's Daughter...
.
Asad Khalil, a Libyan terrorist. His family was wiped out in an American military attack in 1986, for which he swore revenge.
Kate Mayfield
Kate Mayfield
Kate Mayfield is a recurring fictional character in Nelson DeMille novels. She is an FBI agent working in New York City. She is described by her husband, John Corey, as a "Wendy Wasp from Wichita"....
, an F.B.I. special agent. Introduced in The Lion's Game. She marries Corey and reappears in Night Fall, Wild Fire, and The Lion.
Colonel Petr Burov/Boris/Boris Korsakov Though not explicitly stated, DeMille hints that Burov, the antagonist in The Charm School, is the same person as the mysterious "Boris," a character in The Lion's Game and The Lion who trained Asad Khalil.
Ted Nash, a CIA agent and arch-rival of Corey, who is introduced in Plum Island and reappears in The Lion's Game, Night Fall, and Wild Fire.
Col. Karl Hellman, Brenner's superior officer at the CID. Appeared in The General's Daughter and Up Country.
John Sutter, Susan Sutter, Felix Mancuso, and several other characters of The Gold Coast reappear in the sequel The Gate House.