The Deserter

By: Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 20 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audio bonus! The audio download edition includes an exclusive interview with Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille, and Scott Brick!

This instant New York Times best seller and “outstanding” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) thriller features a brilliant and unorthodox Army investigator, his enigmatic female partner, and their hunt for the Army’s most notorious — and dangerous — deserter. 

When Captain Kyle Mercer of the Army’s elite Delta Force disappeared from his post in Afghanistan, a video released by his Taliban captors made international headlines. But circumstances were murky: Did Mercer desert before he was captured? Then a second video sent to Mercer’s Army commanders leaves no doubt: The trained assassin and keeper of classified Army intelligence has disappeared.

When Mercer is spotted a year later in Caracas, Venezuela, by an old Army buddy, top military brass task Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor of the Criminal Investigation Division to fly to Venezuela and bring Mercer back to America - preferably alive. Brodie knows this is a difficult mission, made more difficult by his new partner’s inexperience, by their undeniable chemistry, and by Brodie’s suspicion that Maggie Taylor is reporting to the CIA.

With ripped-from-the-headlines appeal, an exotic and dangerous locale, and the hairpin twists and inimitable humor that are signature DeMille, The Deserter is the first in a timely and thrilling new series from an unbeatable team of True Masters: the number one New York Times best seller Nelson DeMille and his son, award-winning screenwriter Alex DeMille.    

©2019 Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Did you have to shoot the mule????

The pace of this book is amazingly fast. Right from the start the story takes off like a runaway train and doesn’t let up until the end!
I always enjoy Nelson DeMille’s sarcastic sense of humor. I’m guessing his son has the same. The interaction between the two main characters in this book remind me strongly of Paul Brenner and Cynthia Sunhill from The General’sDaughter. And like Paul Brenner , Scott Brodie doesn’t always follow the rules.
Following the preface the book begins when two Criminal Investigation Division officers are called to a superior’s office. First question to Scott Brodie (higher rank army CID) is “Did you have to shoot the mule? After that a whole long unbelievable story about Brodie making an arrest and being charged by a suspect on mule back unfolded. The story is so hysterical it’s probably true!!!!
Anyway, Brodie and Maggie Taylor (Brodie’s subordinate CID Officer) go to Venezuela to bring back a Delta Officer believed to have deserted his post in Afghanistan. Brodie and Taylor know it’s bad in Venezuela but not quite how bad. This is a place where the the police run underage brothels. Where just stepping foot inside can get you killed if the people running it think you have an ulterior motive. Of course Brodie has to go inside leaving Maggie Taylor out in the car. A few bodies down and a lead on the deserter. And there are others keeping secrets... but the more Brodie and Taylor talk the more they speculate about the deserter’s motives and just maybe they’ve been fed some misinformation...
As always Scott Brick’s performance is unparalleled.

This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.

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First novel in the Brodie-Taylor trilogy

Nelson DeMille is one of my favorite authors. He has been writing novels for 45 years and is getting old. His son Alex is also an experienced and talented writer. THE DESERTER is their first collaboration and it is very successful. The protagonists are US Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID) officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor. My favorite DeMille protagonists are sarcastic wise asses John Corey and Paul Brenner neither of whom had a verbal filter. Scott Brodie is cut from the same cloth as those two and could have been the twin of either. I kept thinking in was listening to a John Corey novel. Maggie Taylor has a lot in common with with the tragic past of Cynthia Sunhill from The General's Daughter although Taylor's past is not as tragic.

I enjoyed THE DESERTER but I'm disappointed that the new male protagonist is basically a copy of Corey and Brenner, so I slightly down rated the book.

I thought about returning it, then it took off!

And didn't stop! I'm an hour before the end & already planning to listen a 2nd time for details I may have missed. I pre-ordered as I usually do with DeMille novels, but was disappointed with the intro, pffft! But I was driving & didn't have another book, so I let it play on for an hour. By the time I arrived, so had The Deserter. The relationship between Brody & Taylor, the unanswered questions about Mercer, I was hooked. Give it an hour, and you'll stay til the end.

Ridiculous

After enduring my second ridiculous and totally unrealistic escape scene, I had to stop listening. I was a HUGE Nelson DeMille fan back in the early days. Books like Cathedral and By The Rivers Of Babylon had realistic plots and tragically flawed heroes. Now his books have amusing, but simplistic, super-heroes. I want a refund. And I'll never buy another DeMille book. Although, as always, Scott Brick does a great job narrating.

Same character, different name

This was basically another John Corey novel with the protagonist's name changed. A cocky, arrogant, know-it-all cop (in this case military officer) breaks all of the rules, almost gets everyone liked and feels bad about his decisions until at the last possible minute someone else saves his butt. Story was ok, characters were boring and predictable.

The hero of this story is an idiot

This was a very unbelievable story. It was more like a fantasy than a thriller.

Tired trope of Army Vets with traumatic experience

Listening to this book was so painful. The narrator was over the top in his forced “army style” delivery. The story was basically based on Bowe Bergdahl and his desertion but punched up. No one on the Army says “Delta Force”, and they certainly don’t say it 100 times. There is no way the conversations between those two CID offers would’ve continued like that - sexual harassment at its best. Total disappointment! Didn’t even finish the last two hours because I never got invested in the completely flat characters.

Boring AF

I hate to say this, as I enjoyed many of DeMille's previous books but good Lawd this one dragged for me.

Disappointed

Nelson DeMille has been one of my favorite authors for many years. I was looking forward to his new book as I think I've read all of his others. The Deserter didn't feel like any other DeMille book. I didn't realize until I listened to the discussion with the authors that the problem was that Alex DeMille's influence made it feel like a tough guy movie.
What a disappointment!

Praise for the DeMilles

This book was so enjoyable to me. I’ve listened to all the Nelson DeMille books. And the John Corey books are great. Loved the GoldCoast and the Gate Keeper. But the others weren’t as interesting . This book has terrific characters. A exciting and somewhat unpredictable storyline. And it’s going to be a new series. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys action ,adventure or government agency novels.