The Deserter
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4.1 • 87 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
***The first in a new series from America's Greatest Living Thriller Writer.***
Military cop Scott Brodie is the guy you send in when the other guys can't solve a case. Now he's on the hunt for a dangerous ex-Delta Force deserter named Kyle Mercer, and may have met his match.
When Delta Force Captain Kyle Mercer disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines. But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer's Army commanders leaves no doubt: the trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has willfully disappeared.
When Mercer is spotted a year later in Caracas, Venezuela, top military brass task Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division to fly to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America-dead or alive. Brodie knows this is a difficult mission, made more difficult by his new partner's inexperience and by his suspicion that Maggie Taylor is reporting to the CIA.
Tense, exotic and inspired by a real-life story, the new thriller from number one New York Times bestseller Nelson DeMille and his son, screenwriter Alex DeMille is an absolute must read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This outstanding thriller from bestseller DeMille (The Cuban Affair) and his screenwriter son centers on a search for an Army deserter who has fled to Venezuela after escaping duty in Afghanistan under strange circumstances. On the hunt for Delta Force Capt. Kyle Mercer are Scott Brodie, a hardened ex-soldier with impulsive, rogue tendencies, and Maggie Taylor, a cunning by-the-book Army cop who does her best to rein in Brodie's urges, both investigative and sexual. Brodie, the senior officer, quickly suspects his commanders aren't telling him everything about Mercer; his desertion may have less to do with disobedience than his knowing too much about military atrocities in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, Brodie and Taylor track Mercer to a jungle hideout far outside Caracas, where he's training a group of mercenaries with the apparent backing of President Maduro. In typical DeMille fashion, the last hundred pages move along like a ballistic missile, exploding in a satisfying finale on a remote airstrip. DeMille and son provide it all in this rumble through the jungle authentic detail, lively dialogue, a vividly drawn setting, and an exhilarating plot.
Customer Reviews
Mostly good
I enjoyed most of this book except for the last chapter. It seemed hurried and there should have been an epilogue.
The Deserter - not up to usual standard
I have always really loved NDM’s books with 2 exceptions - Up Country and this one, The Deserter.
It seemed that the body of this book was mostly no action, and repetitive conversations and observations by the 2 main characters. When there was finally some interest and action in the final pages, the main character makes an altogether stupid decision with the outcome being absolutely predictable - leaving one to query why someone so bright couldn’t see the ambush coming. Hopefully NDM is his usual brilliant and creative self next time around.