This is the fifth book in Nelson DeMille’s series surrounding former New York City police officer John Corey. He’s now married to Kate Mayfield, and the two of them work together on the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force. It’s also a sequel to The Lion’s Game, which was the second book in the series. I read that one as well, but have not reviewed it as I read it at a time when I wasn’t writing reviews. Perhaps I’ll go back to it again at some point just to feel complete. In that book, we were first introduced to Asad Khalil. He is a notorious Libyan terrorist who is also a skilled assassin. This time, his mission involved revenge.

Asad Khalil has re-entered the United States on the West Coast. Someone is bankrolling him, but we don’t know who. Does it matter? He is intent on finishing the mission he was on in the earlier book and exacting revenge on those who prevented him from completing that mission. His first stop is the loose end of a pilot he was thwarted from killing previously, as revenge for being in the crew that bombed his home and killed his family. Khalil is a monster. Not only does he kill his intended target, but he also kills a number of people who help him along the way as a means of hiding what’s going on.

Meanwhile, John and Kate have a weekend away planned together. Kate has talked him into skydiving, and the two do enjoy it despite John’s sarcastic comments. As John prepares to make the first of three scheduled jumps over the weekend, something seems wrong, but he jumps anyway. He soon learns that Khalid is back. He managed to book the same trip and has tethered himself to Kate, intent on killing her right before John’s eyes while he is helpless. John manages to get Kate on the ground while still alive, but stabbed and losing blood quickly. Khalil gets away.

The story is a cat and mouse game as Corey and the task force try to circle the wagons. They don’t know how Khalil got the information, but he is also targeting those who worked on the earlier case. Khalil seems to always be one step ahead of everyone, as the authorities show up at locations mere minutes after he has executed his targets. The end game seems to be a face-off between Corey and Khalil.

There are a lot of good things about The Lion, and also a lot of negatives. Corey isn’t a very likable guy, really, unless you’re into those who call themselves “alpha males” on social media. Really. He would fit right in with the Andrew Tate crowd. I could see him right now working for Trump. They’d get along pretty well. Everyone else around him is an idiot, and John Corey is the only person in the room who knows what he’s doing. He holds back evidence from his superiors constantly and treats official procedures as mere suggestions. He’s Bruce Willis in Die Hard, only less likable.

The story skips from being told in the first person by Corey to the third person when it comes to Khalil. This can be hard to follow at times, as it changes abruptly. When we’re listening to Corey’s narration, he is constantly sarcastic and caustic. After a while, it wears thin. I liked how DeMille got into Khalil’s head, though. There’s a bit of a cautionary tale there, as he was made into a terrorist by the bombings that took place in his country. When someone has nothing left to lose, they will commit heinous acts as revenge, believing they have nothing else left to lose. That’s what led the hijackers to commandeer the planes on 9/11, whose theme runs through the book as well. Did we just make a whole new group of terrorists with the bombing of Iran?

The audiobook is narrated by Scott Brick, who has done a terrific job with a number of books I’ve listened to that he’s narrated. He is clear in his audio, and he doesn’t get too crazy with trying to voice the characters when they talk. They are distinctive without being cartoonish.

If you like the type of alpha-male protagonist who’s always right, like John Corey, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more than I did. I did enjoy it, though. Just not enough to say I’d go back and read it again. I also don’t know how much more I can take of John Corey. I much preferred him in Plum Island to here. I started disliking him more in Maybe he’s just wearing thin, and maybe DeMille went a little too far with the character. Going back as far as Night Fall, he was starting to annoy me. With The Lion, he’s becoming unrealistic.

Previous book in the series: