Plum island - Nelson DeMille (John Corey #1)

Wounded in the line of duty, NYPD homicide detective John Corey is convalescing in the Long Island township of Southold when Tom and Judy Gordon are found dead on their patio, each with a bullet in their head. Corey knew the young, attractive couple, and Sylvester Maxwell, the local police chief, wants his big-city expertise. Maxwell, however, gets more than he bargained for.

The early signs point to a burglary gone wrong, but because the Gordons were biologists at Plum Island, the off-shore animal disease research site rumoured to be involved in germ warfare, it isn’t long before the media are suggesting that the dead couple stole something very deadly. Suddenly a double murder becomes a crime with national implications.

John Corey doesn’t like mysteries, which is why he likes to solve them. His investigations lead him into the lore, legends and ancient secrets of northern Long Island, secrets more dangerous than he could ever have imagined. During his journey of discovery, he meets two remarkable women, Detective Beth Penrose and Mayflower descendant Emma Whitestone, both of whom change his life irrevocably. Ultimately, through his understanding of the murders, John Corey comes to understand himself.

Full of the breathless suspense of an expertly wrought murder mystery and the wry comic touches of a master storyteller, PLUM ISLAND is Nelson DeMille at his enthralling, incandescent best.