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Plum Island (novel)

Plum Island
Plum Island, Novel Cover.jpg
Author Nelson DeMille
Country United States
Language English
Genre Fiction
Publisher Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing
Publication date
April 1, 1997
Pages 511
ISBN
OCLC 36277962
813/.54 21
LC Class PS3554.E472 P57 1997
Followed by The Lion's Game

Plum Island is a 1997 novel by American author Nelson DeMille. This is the first novel to feature recurring character, detective John Corey. Plum Island is followed by the 2000 novel, The Lion's Game.

In 1997, NYPD detective John Corey is on the back porch of his uncle's waterfront home on the North Fork of Long Island recovering from three gunshot wounds while working in his town of Manhattan, NY. He enjoys the fact that the tourist season is just about over so that it's just him and the locals. He listens to music while sitting in a chair and using binoculars to spy on people in a distant boat who are enjoying themselves. The local police chief, Sylvester Maxwell, comes to the back porch and asks Corey to act as consultant in a local murder investigation, as Corey is personally acquainted with the two victims, Tom and Judy Gordon, both employees on the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a facility suspected of carrying out biological warfare research. They go to the house the victims owned, a waterfront property that appears to have been robbed or searched, and where the two victims have been shot in the head on their own dock. Corey concludes that this wasn't a robbery gone bad due to valuable objects in plain sight; he also says that the victims were near their killer because it's hard to hit a person in the head with one shot at such a range. They cannot find the bullet shells to tell what type of gun it was and by the direction of the wounds conclude that the bullets are in the bay. Max is unhappy because of the fact that because he's not a homicide detective, his expectations of Corey's findings were high. Beth Penrose, the police detective from the next county over, arrives. Corey instantly figures out she's in charge of the case without her stating it. She yells at him a bit for being on the crime scene because he appears to be a civilian. He ignores Beth and searches the speed boat that the Gordons temporary docked. When he gets out of the boat she pulls his own gun on him and makes him state who he is. Just before he goes, he asks if they found the chest in the boat that the Gordons used as a trunk while boating; they reply that it's missing. Corey goes to the local bar and orders junk food. He is watching the game as Beth comes in and tries to be nice to him in an attempt to get the info out of him. Corey responds by rudely calling bullshit on her, and, agreeing to an interview next day, she invites him to come back with her to see the government agents involved.


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