My Philadelphia Inquirer Review Of Nelson DeMille's 'Radiant Angel'

My review of Nelson DeMille's thriller Radiant Angel appears in the Philadelphia Inquirer today.

In Radiant Angel, Nelson DeMille's latest thriller, John Corey targets the resurgent Russians, in a change of pace from the usual Middle Eastern terrorists. Corey, a tough, wisecracking, and irreverent retired NYPD homicide detective turned contract federal agent, has left the New York Anti-Terrorist Task Force for the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. He and his team are assigned to follow a Russian named Vasily Petrov, who is posing as a diplomat. Petrov is a colonel in the SVR, the Foreign Intelligence Service that took over espionage duties from the old KGB.

"Col. Petrov lives in a big high-rise in the upscale Riverside section of the Bronx," narrator Corey tells us. "The building, which we call the 'plex - short for complex - is owned and wholly occupied by the Russians who work at the U.N. and the Russian Consulate, and it is a nest of spies. The 'plex itself, located on a high hill, sprouts more antennas than a garbage can full of cockroaches."

... DeMille, a former U.S. Army officer who saw combat in Vietnam, did extensive research on seaport security for this thriller; a threat to New York Harbor is key to the plot. Radiant Angel is fast-paced and exciting, with amusing commentary and sarcastic asides from Corey. He's a loose cannon. But as DeMille has said in interviews, sometimes, a loose cannon is the only way to win a battle.

You can read the rest of the review below:

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