The Panther

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Nelson DeMille returns with another heart-pounding John Corey thriller—this time including Corey’s FBI agent wife Kate Mayfield...and their mission is to catch an elusive terrorist mastermind before he catches them.

Anti-terrorist Task Force agent John Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, have been posted overseas to Sana'a, Yemen—one of the most dangerous places in the Middle East. While there, they will be working with a small team to track down one of the masterminds behind the USS Cole bombing: A high-ranking Al Qaeda operative known as The Panther. Ruthless and elusive, he's wanted for multiple terrorist acts and murders—and the US Government is determined to bring him down, no matter the cost. As latecomers to a deadly game, John and Kate don't know the rules, the players, or the score. What they do know is that there is more to their assignment than meets the eye—and that the hunters are about to become the hunted.

Filled with breathtaking plot turns and told in John Corey's inimitable voice, The Panther is a brilliant depiction of one of the most treacherous countries in the world and raises disturbing questions about whether we can ever know who our enemies—or our allies—really are.

©2012 Nelson DeMille (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Always a Great Experience With Mr. DeMille

Where does The Panther rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10%

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Panther?

Learning about Yemen.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Mr. Brick is outstanding and is always at the top of his profession.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really, it's just a darn good and exciting story.

Any additional comments?

The bringing in of Paul Brenner to work with John Corey was a great idea by Mr. DeMille, but the wife character still comes out, to me at least, as a twit.

A Thriller

This thriller was a very interesting listen. While it was a bit unrealistic in many areas thus requiring the listener to suspend logic, it did hold my interest from beginning to end.

Thirsty for More!!!!

This book was off the chain!! Every time I thought I had the "Panther" identified I was completely wrong. The main characters carry the story in such a way that you are literally preparing yourself for the next surprise or revelation. I REALLY enjoyed this book!!! The narrator was AWESOME. I would read this book again.

Excllent read

What did you love best about The Panther?

Well done research, believeable story line

Who was your favorite character and why?

True New York cop style - John

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Since I discovered Audible, I have read very few books. A good naration brings the story to life. Also makes the driving easier.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Government cover up, or acts of war!

Any additional comments?

Great author and naration

Corey in the Middle East

This is the third Corey book focused on a Muslim extremist as the antagonist. And while I never found Asad Khalil very engaging as a character, despite DeMille's efforts in developing him, he was a satisfyingly villainous threat. The Panther, on the other hand, fails at both. The character's backstory as a former US citizen failed to engage me at all, but unlike Khalil's past, it's also fairly uninteresting. But more importantly, I never buy him as a threat. Most of the time our villain spends recounting failures and trying to make up to his superiors for them.
Around two thirds of the way through, it seems like the main antagonist is going to switch in a surprise reveal, but quickly afterwards the Panther returns as the climax of the book.

Fortunately, the action is still classic DeMille and pretty captivating. John Corey is as Corey as usual, and although his sarcastic wit falls flat a bit more often here, he's still an entertaining point of view. It's nice to see Paul Brenner again, who I rather liked in his own novels. However I believe the strongest point of the novel is it's setting, Yemen, which DeMille manages to make almost as captivatingly interesting as he did with the Soviet Union in The Charm School.

It's not Scott Brick's most enthusiastic read of DeMille, which I believe are Nightfall and Wildfire, but he still does a good job.

Enjoy Nelson DeMille always. John Cory crazy

Love the story intense and witty at the same time. John is a love to hate crazy.
Sad but true as the story line is in keeping with our past and current Islamic terrorist faction situation.
Never ending strife. Hope for peace.

One of my new favorite DeMilles

If you liked Charm School, you’ll certainly enjoy this one as it relates to diplomacy in hostile countries. DM does an excellent job setting the scene of Yemen and broader Middle Eastern issues. I was engaged from beginning to end and it seemed like the plot could take a turn for the worse at anytime.

The next book in a great series

What made the experience of listening to The Panther the most enjoyable?

The details given about Yemen and the programs seem like overblown, but are all woven into the story as important.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This was way too long for one sitting, but I did find extra excuses to listen.

good book

A must read for anyone interested in the USS Cole, even if it's fiction it's still a great theory.

Overly long

I’m a big fan of Nelson DeMille but this story was very drawn out - could have effectively been told in half the time. Scott Brick’s reading was too snarky in my opinion and I struggled to keep listening. However, I did keep listening!