Welcome to the Custer Hill Club--a men's club set in a luxurious Adirondack hunting lodge whose members include some of America's most powerful business leaders, military men, and government officials. Ostensibly, the club is a place to relax with old friends. But one fall weekend, the club's executive board gathers to talk about the tragedy of 9/11--and finalize a retaliation plan, known only by its codename: Wildfire.

That same weekend, a member of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is found dead. Soon it's up to Detective John Corey and his wife, FBI Agent Kate Mayfield to unravel a terrifying plot that starts with the Custer Hill Club and ends with American cities locked in the crosshairs of a nuclear device. Corey and Mayfield are the only ones who can stop the button from being pushed, and global chaos from being unleashed....

This was probably the cheapest, weakest, most pathetic attempt at a thriller I've run across, and I wouldn't be surprised if DeMille just dashed this off simply to earn a paycheck. Some demented right-winger decides he's going to decisively win the War On Terror back during the pre-game hysteria for Iraq by framing Islam for his own nuking of LA and San Francisco, which will also somehow help the nation "regain lost honor" by scaring the Vietnamese government into surrendering to us, and our alleged hero John Corey and his wife are too busy having a romantic working weekend in Long Island to notice. The villain practically advertises his intentions to Corey at every possible turn, but Corey would rather complain about France's refusal to join the Coalition Of The Willing to notice. Don't just save your money, save your time and leave this on the shelf in the library rather than reading it.

Now I like Nelson DeMille a lot. I've read all his books (save The Gate House; waiting for it to arrive). My favorite is "Plum Island" in part due to the story and in part due to John Corey, that wiseacre ex-NY PD detective. The John Corey stories, alas, have gone downhill since the days he chased Captain Kidd's treasure. I thought "Nightfall" had no real ending, and I though "Wild Fire" had an implausible ending within a truly implausible story. I won't be a spoiler here; I will say I could not put the book down despite the implausible story but it was still unsatisfying due to its ending. I find Kate Mayfield an improbable match for John Corey's character (if you read "Plum Island," you'll see why); her preachiness against John's rogue behavior becomes positively revolting when she joins him in rebelling against authority (something they did together in "Nightfall" too).
If you like John Corey in the previous books, you'll want to read this for completeness' sake. If you've never read anything by DeMille, read "Plum Island" or "The Talbot Odyssey." Save this for last, if at all.

As a long-term DeMille fan I was extremely disappointed in Wild Fire. He takes witty banter between John Corey and his wife to the extreme. It was like reading a script from the old Avenger TV series with the endless witty banter between Mrs. Poole and Patric McCoogan. Tally-ho! On to the bad guys! A little of that goes a loooong way. I pitched the book about 1/3 the way through, before I started gagging. DeMille needs to get away from writing comedy and get back to his serious roots. Before purchasing any future DeMille books I will be waiting for the reviews!

I have to admit I usually shy away from longer books, I don't have tons of time to read so I stick to a quick Koontz or Saul novel usually, but I was glad I picked this one up.

If you like conspiracy theories,mystery, crime, then this is for you. A remote cabin in upstate New York is under surveillance by a member of an Anti-Terrorist Task Force and he goes missing. His friend and co-worker John Corey takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. With his wife who is in the FBI they encounter Bain Maddox, the owner of the cabin, who with help of the govt. is putting together a plan to destroy the middle east.
The first 130 pages mostly take place in this cabin and gives a lot of unnecessary information, I always think it's better to learn the plot as the detective does (like in Koontz novels). Once you get past that tho, the other 600 pages fly right by. I highly recommend this to anyone who thinks the government is up to something.

Here's my review system--I score on four categories and average them together for the number of stars. The four categories are: character development (are the characters deep and complex, plot (is it interesting), voice (is the narration smooth and engaging) and cliche level (is it predictable.)

Character development: 5 stars-- I love DeMille's character

Plot: 2 stars-- The premise is a good one but it works out like a forced diabolical TV movie

voice: 5 stars-- John Corey's narration was very smooth

cliche level: 2 stars-- The plot lapses into a very predictable ending

I enjoy DeMille's books for their voice and for his returning characters. When his plots are on there's no one better.IMHO this plot wasn't on