Rating: 
Summary: There's little fruit in Plum Island.
Review: The detective and narrator of this story is a 40-something NYPD cop recuperating from gunshot wounds on the end of Long Island. He is asked to assist when a couple he knows--scientists at a gov't disease lab--are murdered. His monologue, internal and external, addresses women and authority figures with a smug contempt that is transparent cover for deep uncertainty and longing. This vulnerability, Demille's evocation of the landscape and society of Long Island, as well as the developing mystery, seem ripe with promise of suspense and irony. The reader plows on through this quite long (almost 600 pgs in paperback) book expecting that any moment some twist of plot will shake this overgrown adolescent's self-confidence, that some encounter will teach him a little respect for humanity, that finally he'll stop swilling beer and grow up! Forlorn hope. The story-line takes exactly one turn right at the midway mark--really just a slight jog to re-center the motive for murder--then charges on and on, undeviating, as the bodies pile up and the thriller climax climaxes. No one changes. Every bad guy is bad from the moment we meet him until the hero lays him low. The women are merely marking time until they give way to their insuppressible lust for the detective. And he emerges from the action with every prejudice intact, older but no wiser. A reader, however, would be wiser to skip the process altogether.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the funniest books I"ve ever read
Review: This wonderful and entertaining book is meant to be seen from the view of the main character, an interesting mix of intelligence, courage and offbeat humor. The dialogue contains some of the wittiest observations on life I've ever read. Don't take it so seriously and enjoy this wild ride of a book.
Rating: 
Summary: A boor's dream
Review: The lead character is about as boring and boorish as they come, but every woman he meets has the hots for him. I found myself rooting for the bad guys because they were so much more likeable. Skip this one in favor of any of Demille's other books.
Rating:
Summary: Tchk, tchk, Nelson; you know you can do better
Review: I discovered De Mille some years ago with The Charm School --a Soviest-against-Americas yarn that for once was original, well characterized and well written. Afterwards, I've found some of De Mille's work excellent, especially The Gold Coast and The General's Daughter. Unfortunately, Plum Island is a blot on my personal scorecard on the author. The main character is an unconvincing cross between an overboiled Sam Spade and an overbearing wisecracker. The witticisms ARE witty --and manage to provoque a few laughs-- but there's simply too much wisecracking and not enough depth in the main character. The story line is not full of the sharp twists and turns you've come to expect from his mountain-road like plots, but much more like an expressway where the curves are wide and you can always see the opposite traffic coming. And like expressways, it gets boring after a while --especially when the killer is uncoveiled 100 plus pages before a somewhat anti-climactic finale. A pity that De Mille hasn't tried harder --especially when one knows he can and should do better.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect Long Island Story
Review: This was my first DeMille book and I hardly can imagine, that his other novels should be even better than this one.I`ll have to read all of them.I know Plum Island from the ferry and Long Island from several visits at friends and really enjoyed DeMille`s description of the setting. For me"Plum Island" was the most thrilling and funny book since I read David Osborn`s"Murder on Martha`s Vineyard" and Peter Watson`s"Landscape of Lies".I go on recommending the book to everyone I know(and until now no one was disappointed).Mr.DeMille, please write a sequel soon - I`m addicted to this book!
Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: I'm a big fan of Demille and was extremely disappointed in his latest book. I quit the book half way through (something I rarely do). I found the main character to be obnoxious and the story line tedious. I kept waiting for something to happen...it never did.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Demille's best book
Review: Plum Island is interesting in some ways and disappointing in others. I got really tired of the narrator's attempts at humor. He tried too hard and it did not ring true to me at all. Within hours of a personal tragedy he is wise-cracking. The same things happen at the story's very tense ending. Do people really crack jokes after tragic deaths and when they are in mortal danger? Maybe but it rang false to me. On the positive side the story has fascinating anecdotes about microbe research as well as pirate and buried treasure lore. All things considered don't make a special trip out to buy this book but if you don't have anything else to read it will wile away some time. But be forewarned that Mr. Demille has done much better work!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I'm just beginning to get into Nelson Demille's novels. Having read the Gold Coast and just finishing Plum Island, I'm hooked. The way he writes is amazing....very detailed...I felt like I was right there with the characters. Being a sarcastic person myself, I can relate to the main character....I found myself laughing out loud at times! Excellent book!!!!!!! Keep it up! Off to read "The General's Daughter".
Rating: 
Summary: Fast paced, easy reading with all kinds of twists and turns.
Review: Knowing the locality of the setting made the story more believable. Plum Island was one of the more easily read books from this author. Although the 'names have been changed to protect the innocent', the research that went into this book was superb. The story was fast paced, right from the beginning. This book did not take 50 or so pages to get to the story line, Demille jumped right in and caught your attention from page one. I would whole heartedly reccommend this novel for anyone interested in an easy read with a yen for suspense interwoven with a lot of chuckles. Plum Island will remain one of my Demille favorites. BUY IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating, Wanting more, Unable to put book down
Review: This book has all the necessities to make it a best seller-sex,mystery,intrigue,and unsolvable in the first chapter...I cannot stand a book where you can guess the murderer in the first chapter...I,a native new yorker,found the text up to par with the way new yorkers actually are(especially Cops). With all this I also found it to be informative. For those such as myself that never heard of plum island will find it strangely interesting...I give it five stars in my book..
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