If you enjoyed previous John Corey books, you will enjoy this one. Personally, I found the constant barrage of musing snark and one liners to be overwhelming and ultimately grating. As a detective story/thriller it was lacking as the end seemed somewhat obvious early on. The biggest mystery was what would his relationship be with his new live-in lover turn out to be when all was said and done. Saying any more might turn into spoilers so I won’t.

DNF

Unfortunately, I could not make it very far through this book. The descriptions of women are sexist and just plain unpalatable. It just reeks of misogyny only a few chapters in and I did not desire to read further.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing and completely engaging. I was invested from the very first chapter. The characters were complex. The plot was original.

Nelson DeMille never disappoints and it's fun to be reunited with past characters! Nonstop action and this plot definitely kept me guessing. This would make a fantastic movie too!

When you get over the repeated word salad of John's previous wives and sexual encounters, there's a really good book underneath. There are curve balls and more than one maze to figure out.

The Maze by Nelson DeMille is a action novel that really missed the mark for me. I ready a lot of thrillers of many kinds. This book looked promising but the main character was utterly unlikable and crass. It was hard to find any connection with the characters. Not great. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This was not a love of mine. John Corey was not a character I seem to like anymore. I didn't appreciate his crass, wry and sarcastic nature. It just didn't hit the mark. Too much talk and too little action, which seemed redundant much of the time. It was a DNF for me.

Corey, John Corey. Yep, all the arrogance, sarcasm, irreverance, and ego-driven decisions drive an action packed investigation into murder and corruption. Fast moving and plenty of red herrings that really drive forward. And yes, you may want to slap him silly more than once, and likely will yell at him to keep it in his pants - but that's all part of the fun.

I was lucky to receive a copy of The Maze by Nelson DeMille from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I've read many books by Nelson DeMille and I have to say this book was my least favorite. I typically always finish a book but halfway through this one, I put it down and didn't have much desire to ever pick it back up. I will read more by this author in the future but not this one.

I was first introduced to Nelson DeMille a good many years ago when a book club I joined read THE GOLD COAST. I was immediately hooked and started looking through his back list. Though I haven't ever really caught up, I did put a dent in them.
When I picked up PLUM ISLAND and met John Corey, it was the start of an adventure. I have always loved smart aleck male characters and John sure fit the bill. Yes, he wasn't politically correct and more than a little crude, but he was smart and driven.
In this latest John Corey novel, THE MAZE, our guy really wants to take time to weigh his options after lots of personal and professional upheavals. Against his better judgment, John takes on a temporary job with a group that seem very friendly and sociable. Right away, John gets weird vibes and wonders about why a close friend and his current girlfriend pushed so hard to get him to accept this position.
THE MAZE is a great title for this compelling story. Not only is there a real maze on the company's property, but John feels he is trying to get through one with the twist and turns the case and other people create for him.
THE MAZE is a page-turner that will keep you reading when you should be doing other things, including sleep.
I look forward to more novels by Nelson DeMille and hope there will be another John Corey tale.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Maze by Nelson DeMille. I've been reading DeMille's books for many years, so I was excited for this new one, especially because it features the long-time character, Detective John Corey. This story opens with Corey being somewhat restless, when a former love interest, and also detective, Beth shows up. She has a job offer for him regarding a potential serial killer. What's also interesting about this book, is that it is based around true events. The Gilgo Beach murders are still unsolved and that is what this story is about. DeMille is a wonderful writer, and while I recommend this book to you, I would urge to read his earlier works like Plum Island, The Gold Coast, Night Fall, and so many others.

The Maze by Nelson DeMille is about the main character, John Corey, is a retired NYPD Homicide Detective who has also worked with the FBI. At this point he is out of work and feeling restless while staying at his uncle's beachfront estate on Long Island, when his former lover, Detective Beth Penrose, shows up with a job suggestion: apply at a local private investigation firm called Security Solutions. Their friend, Chief Maxwell, also thinks it's a terrific idea. John Corey has always been brash and his self deprecating humor has been something his readers enjoy. His acerbic, dry wit is legendary. Insight into his character via his internal self narrative has always been interesting and humorous. In The Maze his persona has devolved into extreme crudeness, crass vulgarity, and frequent profanity- shockingly so and not humorous at all. In fact I found it very distracting from the overall story. The story dragged and many times I wanted to give up on this one thinking it would get better, sadly it did not for me. I am sure it may be something others might find entertaining.

I appreciate the detail that DeMille puts into his characters and his storytelling. John Corey is a pretty intriguing lead and I really like him as a character, even through all his flaws. The story here is gripping and funny and harsh and basically contains all the goodies that a good detective thriller should possess. Hats off to DeMille.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sadly, 2 stars was the most I could give this book - I just didn't really enjoy it. On the positive side, it had an interesting premise that's always good for a thriller - a whole bunch of corrupt ex-cops, cops, and public officials, all either blackmailing or being blackmailed, and with plenty of heavy duty armaments and other equipment, and happy to use it.

But, on the downside, we had an incredibly tedious and annoying main character, John Corey. Way too many snarky comments that were supposed to be clever, but that were enormously over-used and tedious. The sexism was over the top, including constant "cute" references to women's body parts. The egotism was absolutely unbelievable, as he repeatedly told us how he was the cleverest, toughest detective ever, and was just too awesome to ever use common sense rather than relying on his balls to guide his actions. And, there was apparently no woman in the world who wasn't panting along after him, just insanely committed to having sex with him.

Basically, all of this made the book tedious and annoying.

Before reading The Maze, I had never read anything by Nelson DeMille.. But I can now see why his writing is so popular. The Maze is the latest in a series of DeMille novels involving the exploits of former NYPD detective and FBI agent John Corey. And like his prior novels, this one is also set on Long Island. DeMille's eminently readable prose is rich with dialogue, interspersed with Corey's snarky thoughts.
The premise for Corey's latest adventure is that he is now on disability, but not very disabled and, although still craving for dangerous assignments, is talked into taking a presumptively cushy job with a private security firm by a detective who happens to be his former and soon to be current lover. Unsolved murders, a suspicious suicide and possible corruption of pubic officials are wrapped together in a very entertaining read. I highly recommend it.

Over the years, I have matured, as should be hoped, and I have become much more aware of acceptable social interaction. John Corey is well aware of how he should be treating people and refuses. While the mystery part of the story was engaging and interesting, Corey's flip commentary was not as funny as it used to be. Reader beware.

I have read Nelson DeMilld in he past and he’s a good author. This wasn’t one of my favorites that he’s written. The plot was slow and the language inappropriate. Just couldn’t get into this book. Thank you for net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

The Maze is apparently book 8 in the John Corey series. I haven’t read any of the other books, so this can easily be a stand alone book.

This was an old school, hard boiled detective story and I enjoyed it. Plenty of sarcasm and politically incorrect humor. Not so much a mystery as we know who the bad guys are, the mystery is whether or not John Corey will win or will the bad guys win.

The story builds kind of slowly, but then really kicks it up a notch at the end. Even though we generally know who the bad guys are, there is enough fluidity and uncertainty in some of the characters to keep you guessing.

I will definitely read more in this series and more from this author. I received an ARC of the book.

A thrilling story from start to finish! A storytelling masterpiece that captures the reader's attention from the beginning and doesn't let go until the final twist. The characters come alive on the pages of the story, and it takes a talented storyteller to achieve this. I highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this review copy, I received this review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I've read all of the previous John Corey books and enjoyed them. for some reason, I found this one to be more of a slog. To me, the many snide "sidebars" were distracting and, in the volume presented, to be too many. While this won't stop me from reading more books in the series, I can say that this one was not a favorite.