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Summary and Reviews of Night Fall by Nelson DeMille

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille

Night Fall

by Nelson DeMille
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (17):
  • First Published:
  • Nov 22, 2004, 496 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Nov 2005, 672 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

That rare novel that makes you think and feel in ways you never expected, it delivers superlative suspense and insights that will haunt you long after its final page is turned.

Based on true events, but unlike anything you've ever read before, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille has created what may be his finest work to date.

NIGHT FALL


At dusk on July 17, 1996, on a deserted Long Island beach, a man and a woman engage in adulterous sex in front of a video camera. Suddenly a terrible blast lights up the dark summer sky. TWA Flight 800 has just exploded in midair with 230 souls on board, and the video camera has recorded the last moments of the doomed airliner.

Five years later, the government has declared the crash a result of mechanical failure. But John Corey, an ex-NYPD detective who is now a contract agent with the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is persuaded by Kate Mayfield, his wife and task force partner, that the case deserves a second look.

Kate, a career FBI agent, plays by the rules. Corey plays by no rules but his own. Against long odds and warnings from their superiors, they set out to reopen the case and discover its most crucial piece of evidence. The hunt will lead to a conspiracy at the highest levels and a race toward an elusive and lethal truth that could be even more horrifying than the crash of Flight 800, one with unimaginable consequences for America--and the world.

A stunning achievement, Night Fall raises questions about national security, questions with more resonance today than at any other time in our history. That rare novel that makes you think and feel in ways you never expected, it delivers superlative suspense and insights that will haunt you long after its final page is turned.

BookBrowse Note: This excerpt contains some explicit sexual content.

CHAPTER ONE



Bud Mitchell drove his Ford Explorer along Dune Road. Up ahead was a sign that said CUPSOGUE BEACH COUNTY PARK—OPEN DAWN TO DUSK. It was dusk, but Bud drove through an empty parking field, on the far side of which was a wide nature trail, partially blocked by a roll-up fence. A sign said NO VEHICLES.

He said to the woman sitting in his passenger seat, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Jill Winslow replied, "Yes. It's exciting."

Bud nodded without enthusiasm. He skirted around the fence and continued on in four-wheel drive along the sandy trail flanked by high, grass-covered dunes.

Having extramarital sex should have been exciting enough for both of them, he thought, but Jill didn't see it that way. For her, cheating on her husband was only worth it if the sex, romance, and excitement were better than at home. For him, the taboo of having sex with another man's wife ...

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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

The excerpt at BookBrowse describes contains some reasonably graphic sexual descriptions..continued

Full Review (265 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Media Reviews

Booklist - Mary Frances Wilkens
By setting the story during the summer of 2001, before the events of 9/11 made us forget Flight 800, DeMille underscores both the many unanswered questions about multiple plots against the U.S and the turf wars that have resulted in miscues among the various intelligence agencies. A timely and intense thriller starring a thoroughly likable hero, whose final scene promises yet another return.

Kirkus Reviews
This real-life tragedy hands DeMille perhaps his finest plot ever, one that involves real feeling, and will have you squirming and calling out at various dangers. And he gets around any risk of creating a sense of exploitation in the victims' survivors who might read this thriller by lifting the plot into the heavens of mystery, with a satisfying Ahhh! at an end that you'll foresee and still be surprised by.

Library Journal - Robert Conroy
Corey is a cynical and sarcastic ex-cop who's been around the block at least once too often, while Mayfield is a straight-arrow FBI lawyer who wants desperately to do right for the dead of Flight 800. To do so, they must deal with sinister forces within their own government as they unknowingly count down to 9/11.

Publishers Weekly
The pages will turn in a blur as a feeling of dread grows, until the end comes and one's worst fears are confirmed. Readers will think about this one for a long time.

Reader Reviews

Manwat

An "In Joke" of a book!
I can stop grinning when I think of this book! It has the most pathetic ending to a story I have ever heard of or read! I actually give it to friends (as a joke) telling them that it is the best book ever.....then they come back to me saying "$#...   Read More
Sjacksson

Riveting with realistic ending
Plot kept me reading nonstop. I was not familiar with all of the various theories behind the crash. Book was informative while being thoroughly entertaining. Character John Corey is wonderful. I've read Plum Island years ago. Just read The Lion...   Read More
ramona

SIMPLE GREAT!
Len

I found this segment of the John Corey story great!

Demille's ability to use real-life occurrences in a fiction based story line is incredible, in my opinion. Today's society is so filled with conspiracy theories and fear of terrorists that the ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



For the real-life story behind TWA 800 see http://www.twa800.com, which includes summaries of some of the 755 accounts by eye-witnesses who claim to have seen a missile shoot down the plane.

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