Copyright 1994 by Nelson DeMille. Published by Warner Books, New York.
This is a long book – 640 pages. And virtually nothing happens for the first 600. I guess if you were kind you would say that he carefully and painstakingly developed the plot and the characters. If you weren’t so kind you would say that he was stringing you along. It isn’t like there were big surprises at the end – the finish is pretty much what I expected after 200 pages. I can’t say it dragged because I did finish it. But it seemed, when I was done, that I could have spent my time better.
If you care, the plot is basically about Keith Landry, a retired career DIA operative who returns to his home town of Spencerville IN, to resurrect the family farm and see what has become of Annie Prentis, his old high school and college flame. Well, she has been, for 20 years, the wife of the Spencerville Chief of Police, Cliff Baxter, a Neanderthal man who is controlling and emotionally abusive to everyone around him. The story is a long search for an answer to the question: How can Keith rescue Annie?
The question in my mind, never answered to my satisfaction, is: What did Annie ever see in this jerk and why did she stay with him?
5 out of 10.