The Deserter-A Novel, Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille, authors; narrated by Scott Brick
Magnolia Taylor and Scott Brody are partners working for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command or CID. Their assignment is to find a deserter, Captain Kyle Mercer. After he left his post and unit, he was captured by the Taliban and held prisoner for more than two years. While there, he studied the Koran, learned the language of his captors, and prayed along with them. Soon they did not consider him a threat, although he was still their prisoner and was treated badly. He was starved, beaten and sexually abused. When he escaped, he brutally murdered all of his captors who were caught completely off guard.
The search for Mercer took Brody and Taylor to Venezuela and a world of extreme poverty. The citizens were desperate and their lives were empty. The government and military were corrupt. The police were compromised. Brody and Taylor witnessed sex slavery, child sex trafficking, violent gangs, robbery and murder! As they followed the trail to the deserter, they faced constant danger. Ultimately, they traveled to a remote jungle to find his hideout. They discovered his camp where he kept women to pleasure the men and trained soldiers to obstruct the efforts of the United States as it tried to interfere in the country. Everywhere they went, they faced danger. They found that their plans were thwarted as their identities had been discovered, and their enemies were waiting for them.
The book moves very slowly and for a good portion of the book, it seems to go nowhere, chapter after chapter. Even when it finally ends, there seem to be loose ends that are not tied up. The only saving grace was the narrator extraordinaire, Scott Brick. He applied just the right amount of expression to each sentence he read as he defined the characters and the narrative.
However, it was hard to stay interested in a book that seemed to go on and on without really accomplishing anything. It was repetitive and not up to the standards of other DeMille books. The language used is crude, and although the dialogue between the characters is often humorous, it also seems senseless, as well. In an attempt to create romance, the authors have the characters engage in mindless, sarcastic banter and silly pillow type talk. Finally, the book nears the end of its journey, and military corruption is exposed as the deserter’s connection to it is revealed. The story could have been told in half the pages.