THE MAZE (John Corey)

I have read all the John Corey books, and have until recently enjoyed them a lot; but they have been tailing off. The previous book, "A Quiet End" should have been allowed to be just that. This tale of local police corruption was a good idea and could have been a good story, but was rather wasted by a number of problems.The now middle-aged Corey never changes or develops. He still has a juvenile obsession with casual sex, which makes the book far too emotionally light. What was funny is now getting irritating.The motivation of his supporters, especially his new girlfriend, is vague and unbelievable.For someone who has been in an elite anti-terrorist unit, his casual attitude to security, and his lack of ability to convince the enemy that he is one of them, is a huge problem. We don't find it plausible, and so are not surprised when they don't.The final glitch in his plans should have been seen by him a mile off, because his readers surely did.The 'twist' at the end was a surprise to no-one but him, and if the book had been fairer he should have been killed. For someone of his experience to survive through a deus ex machine was too cheap and easy.De Mille generally writes well, and I did read to the end; but I found myself giving the book move than it deserved (including 3 stars) out of respect for his previous books, not this one.

I am a fan of DeMille, but, this one has a sluggish narrative, an exhausted style with so many repetitions padding the first half of the book that I almost felt like thumbing through the rest to see when the plot would come alive. Everything that happens to John Corey is so signposted that it's embarrassing. Chapters end flatly, no cliffhangers here.Too bad, his hero deserved better.

Great story line, great characters. Corey at his sarcastic best. 5 out of 5. Hope we won’t have to wait too long for Book 9!

Long winded, sex fixated, no where up to the standard set by earlier books. I think John Corey has got old and tired.

Very disappointing. Too many one liner quips and not enough substance. What a pity in light of the previous John Corey stories.