Plum Island

Rating:
Summary: Well-executed, Interesting - but not Outstanding
Review: Well-executed, Interesting - but not Outstanding

Having thoroughly enjoyed DeMille's _Lion's Game_, what better book to read than to catch up on the prequel? _Plum Island_ begins with Detective John Corey's recuperation (wounded in the line of duty) at his Uncle's home on picturesque Long Island. Within moments, his friend - the local police chief - has presented him with an opportunity to view a crime scene. Two neighbors - husband and wife - have been shot at their nearby home. Interestingly, the couple both happened to have been employed by the U.S. Agriculture Department's Plum Island facility, specializing in animal-borne infectious diseases.

Given the nature of the work - and its applicability to bio-terrorism - CIA and FBI officials start showing up. The small-town police chief needs a competent detective to help determine what's happened. Thus, the visit to Corey's house. Before long, Corey is swept into a mystery of intriguing proportions: were the victims attempting to sell the tools for bio-warfare and double-crossed... or something else entirely? While Corey is unable to work effectively with the government investigators -given his unoffical stature and lack of security credentials - he stumbles on a plausible, quite interesting, and perhaps fatal (for him) - reason for the crime.

It took me several attempts to grind through the first 70 pages... while not initially as engaging as its successor, once it did grab me, it was pretty darn good. DeMille can, and mostly has, written more compelling material, but even at four stars, it's well beyond what most other authors can ever hope to accomplish.