Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Book Case | 2012 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 2 | Plum Island | 1997 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 3 | The Lion’s Game | 2000 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 4 | Nachtflug | 2004 | Nelson DeMille | N/A |
| 5 | Night Fall | 2004 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 6 | Wild Fire | 2006 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 7 | The Lion | 2010 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 8 | The Panther | 2012 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 9 | Radiant Angel | 2015 | Nelson DeMille | N/A |
| 10 | Radiant Angel / A Quiet End | 2015 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
| 11 | Maze | 2021 | Nelson DeMille | N/A |
| 12 | The Maze | 2022 | Nelson DeMille | Buy |
The John Corey series is Nelson DeMille’s flagship work, running from 1997 through 2022 across twelve entries. John Corey is a former NYPD homicide detective who, after surviving a shooting, joins the FBI’s Anti-Terrorist Task Force as a contract agent. His smart mouth and refusal to play by bureaucratic rules make him an entertaining narrator, even when the subject matter gets dark.
The series begins with Plum Island, where Corey investigates the murder of two biologists on Long Island. The Lion’s Game introduces Libyan assassin Asad Khalil, who becomes a recurring villain through The Lion. Night Fall tackles the TWA Flight 800 crash, Wild Fire deals with a nuclear plot, and The Panther sends Corey to Yemen. Later entries like Radiant Angel and The Maze keep Corey in action through the 2020s. The books work as standalone thrillers, though reading in order gives the full picture of Corey’s evolving personal life and career.