Sadly, I have mixed feelings, though I would still give it 3.75 stars.

I love books by Nelson DeMille and eagerly await each one every 2 years. The Maze was delayed by Covid and other editorial reasons so the wait was more like 3-4 years so I was thrilled to get an advance reader copy of it.
Unfortunately, it didn't thrill me as his past books had done.

Way too many "dick" jokes made it seem a bit juvenile or geared towards men who find that funny. One or two would have been fine, but it seemed like every page or two which was annoying. Another peeve was that some of the characters would be referred to by first and last name, several times per page, when there was no one else who had a similar name so why? It would have been just as easy to use the first or last name, but both? Annoying.

The story line is whether there is corruption or not and who could be the one to break the case and was only ok. Past books have been so much better at making you wonder and trying to work through to a solution than this.

I'm glad I finally got to read it, but I won't wait as impatiently for his next book if this is an example of the kind of writing he is doing now. I feel I have moved him down from my favorite author category, which is sad in a way.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Love this book. Kept me looking for more. Would highly recommend. Looking forward to reading more from this author!!!!

My first book by this as author I had no interest in. Seems plodding, uninteresting characters and the plot has no real direction until.more than half through. No depth to the characters and Joe constantly guided by 'little Joe's
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

"The depths of human depravity are astounding, but the mind is resilient, though the soul is always in danger." Nelson DeMille - where have you been all my life?? I think Plum Island is on my TBR, but The Maze was my first DeMille. And what a freakin' ride! John Corey is funny, irreverent and totally incorrigible - and I love him! At a few points near the end, I actually had to put the book down and walk away, it was so tense, and I was SO nervous that something bad was going to happen...Corey just seemed too confident to be rushing headlong into his (and I don't use that term loosely) mission. The one liners and bon mots do NOT stop. What a terrific read! Highly recommend!

P.S. Thanks to #Netgalley and #edelweissplus for the ARC.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The first fourth of the story was basically a recap of the other books in the series; this seemed to take forever. Then the next part was detailing the characters’ hypotheses regarding the suspects. These ideas get repeated over and over by multiple characters multiple times. Then the action kicked in at the end, but there was nothing surprising about what happened. Most everything had already been predicted by the main characters. John Corey was an interesting character, but he was kind of one-note and his “jokes” got pretty tired, especially when he would tell the reader that he said something shocking/crude and then revealed that he did not actually say those things. The whole book seemed way too long, and the ending just didn’t pay off for me.

Calling all Nelson DeMille fans... John Corey is back!!!!! As a long time DeMille fan I was thrilled to receive an ARC of his new book "The Maze". Many thanks to NetGally and Simon and Schuster for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

The Maze is DeMille's 8th book in his John Corey series and while it rambled a bit it did not disappoint. Corey, a former NYPD cop with a massive ego and macho/sexist personality remains intriguing in this book. He finds himself on the North Shore of Long Island at loose ends and restless after forced retirement from his last gig as a Federal Agent with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Enter his ex girlfriend and partner from a previous case who has an assignment for him as a confidential informant in a corrupt private investigations company.

As usual for Corey, he uses his brash (but charming when necessary) persona to wrangle his way into the corrupt company and that's when the action starts. Personally I would have loved an epilogue with this one but hopefully the fact that I'm left guessing means there is more John Corey to come. I hope so anyway.

This book was sent to me for review by Netgalley. This is a talented and gifted author who weaves a cannot put down book. The characters are divers and changeable. The story moves quickly…it is entertaining and thought provoking. Don’t miss this one.

Nelson Demile never fails to draw me in keep me turning the pages.Really enjoyed this is a perfect beach read will be recommending.#netgalley #scribnerbooks.

This is an entertaining mystery that brings John Corey back for another investigation. This one is convoluted with characters and stories twisting around themselves until the truth is unrecognizable.

I'm a fan of this author's work and have loved all of his books, however, this one fell a bit short to me. It seemed to lag and drag, without any real action until the last chapter. There were lots of humorous lines, mostly things John said to himself, but they were very funny with a cop's dark humor. However, they didn't stop the book from dragging. For me, this is 3.5 stars.

Nelson DeMille is an icon for a reason, each book is a rousing adventure and a slam dunk read. I loved having John Corey and the gang back, with the nail-biting success and razor sharp wit. And the title plays such a major part of the book. This would make an excellent movie.

Bring on the next one!

I’ve read all,of Nelson demilles books and have found some more enticing then others. This is a good beach read but probably not his best mysteries as the characters felt a bit recycled. Thanks for the opportunity to read.