I have a special place in my heart for sarcastic characters and John Corey, the main character in The Lion's Game, an international thriller, is a one of those guys you just love to read about. There's always a great one-liner waiting on every page. If I were to go back and highlight each time Mr. Demille's writing made me laugh, the book would look like a freshmen year chemistry book.

The Lion's Game is the squeal to Plumb Island, which was also a joy to read specifically because John Corey was the main character in that book as well. This squeal is one heck of a story, weighing in at 673 pages in the hardback edition, but the suspense never lets up.

This book is not equivalent to the "summer blockbuster" movie. There are no explosive battles and crazy stunts. Instead, Mr. Demille entertains using merely wit and colorful characters. In this installment, I found the main character to be just as interesting as the antagonist. The point-of-view changes between our hero, John Corey, and the foe that repeatedly shocks the reader with sporadic insights into the daily life of an American. I found myself reflecting on typical American circumstances in a whole new light due to the antagonist's interesting point-of-view as a foreigner traveling across the country.

The Lion's Game was a lot of fun to read, not merely for the humor, but also because Nelson Demille can dish out so much more than your typical crime novel. I consider the John Corey series to be among the best crime and mystery books I've ever read.