All in all. John Corey is a hoot, and a helluva ballsy cop.
He’s back out on the far eastern end of Long Island (again). He’s been shipped out by the feds on a ¾ disability and is recovering in a house owned by an uncle. One of the local cops he knows from an earlier adventure, Max, alerts him that a local private investigative company is looking, and Max thinks Corey is a good match. The office, a converted farmhouse, sits in the rural outlying area where the primary landmark is a next door corn maze.
So does Beth Penrose, Max’s subordinate homicide detective and former paramour to Corey. Corey doesn’t think the PI business (wayward husbands, stakeouts, tracking down missed alimony payments, etc.) is too interesting. But he needs something seeing as how his uncle has rented the house and Beth Penrose not only is trying to help John find a job, but she’s also willing to take him in to be more than a roommate.
John’s not interested in the job, but he is interested in Beth so he agrees to an interview. The boss PI, Steve Landowski, is a former vice cop from NYC. On the payroll are two other former cops as PIs, a slew of freelancers, a disbarred lawyer, a deviously hot receptionist, and a couple of middle-aged bookkeepers/file clerks. Landowski wants to hire Corey to use Corey’s notoriety to snare new and bigger paying clients and maybe do a little actual PI work. Besides, Landowski offers some enticing perks like invites to Landowski’s ledgendary parties and his weekly Thirsty Thursdays (exotic dancers one week, Date night the 2nd week, open bar and poker the third week, party girls/all-bets-are-off the fourth week-attendance by invitation only).
The invitation list for the 4th week is a who’s who of Long Island and New York law enforcement bosses, defense and district attorneys, judges, politicos and other elected officials. And being no fool, Landowski has the entire office space covered with cameras. Anything that happens on the Island that might help or hurt the business can be handled with a little arm twisting and video evidence.
What Landowski wants from Corey differs from what Beth and
Max want from him. They have some long-standing cold cases. Nine ‘working’ women
have been found in various shallow graves on the outer reaches of the island. A
part-time PI committed suicide. A reporter hasn’t been heard from for a couple
years. And for reasons not initially apparent to John, the local cops don’t seem too
keen to do much investigation. Max and Beth want John to go undercover to learn
what he can learn.Everybody want something from John.
John, Max, and Beth spend an inordinate amount of time playing the ‘maybe’, ‘what if’, ‘why’, ‘or’ game as they try to piece together just what the hell is going on in that farmhouse, who might be involved, who benefits, who kills.
I’ve read many of DeMille books, all of which are top shelf. DeMille also wrote what I still consider to be the best espionage book I’ve ever read, The Charm School. With that at the top of my DeMille pile, the John Corey books are right behind. Written for a male audience (ya think?), most any guy with an ounce of testosterone who likes police mysteries will find a friend in John Corey. If he’s a new character to you, start with Plum Island and work your way forward. Each book can be a standalone, but Corey’s work/relationship history will be clearer by reading them in order. There’s 7 or 8 as I recall.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reviewer opportunity. The Maze will be released on October 11.
ECD
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