Nelson DeMille
DeMille in 2017
Born	Nelson Richard DeMille (1943-08-23)August 23, 1943 New York City, U.S.
Died	September 17, 2024(2024-09-17) (aged 81) Mineola, New York, U.S.
Pen name	Jack Cannon Kurt Ladner Brad Matthews Ellen Kay
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Hofstra University
Genre	Crime fiction Thriller Suspense Action adventure Mystery
Spouse	Sandy DeMille
Children	3
Website
www.nelsondemille.net

Nelson Richard DeMille (August 23, 1943 – September 17, 2024) was an American author ofaction adventure andsuspense novels. His novels includePlum Island,The Charm School, andThe General's Daughter. DeMille also wrote under thepen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay, and Brad Matthews.

DeMille was born in Jamaica, NY on August 23, 1943 to Huron DeMille (1916–1992) and Antonia aka Molly Panzera (1919–1999). Huron DeMille was born in Hagersville, Ontario, Canada and immigrated to the United States circa 1935. Nelson was predeceased by his three brothers; Clark (1950–1980), Dennis (1947–2018) and Lance (1957–2022).^[1] He moved as a child with his family to Elmont,Long Island where he and his brothers were raised. He attended Elmont Memorial High School where he played football and ran track. There is a street in Elmont named DEMILLE AVENUE after his father, a builder who helped develop Elmont in its early years.

After spending three years atHofstra University, he joined the Army and attendedOfficer Candidate School. He was a first lieutenant in theUnited States Army (1966–1969) and saw action as an infantry platoon leader with theFirst Cavalry Division inVietnam. He was decorated with theAir Medal,Bronze Star, and theVietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and was awarded theCombat Infantryman Badge.

DeMille returned to Hofstra University, where he received his degree in political science and history.He was married 3 times and he had three children, Lauren, Alexander, and James. He lived in Garden City, New York.

DeMille's earlier books wereNew York City Police Department (NYPD) detective novels. His first major novel wasBy the Rivers of Babylon, published in 1978 and still in print, as are all his succeeding novels. He was a member ofAmerican Mensa and theAuthors Guild, and president of theMystery Writers of America. He was also a member of theInternational Thriller Writers, who honored him as 2015ThrillerMaster of the Year. DeMille held three honorary doctorates: Doctor of Humane Letters from Hofstra University, Doctor of Literature from Long Island University, and Doctor of Humane Letters fromDowling College.

DeMille is the author ofBy the Rivers of Babylon,Cathedral,The Talbot Odyssey,Word of Honor,The Charm School,The Gold Coast,The General's Daughter,Spencerville,Plum Island,The Lion’s Game,Up Country,Night Fall,Wild Fire,The Gate House,The Lion,The Panther,The Quest,Radiant Angel, andThe Cuban Affair. He also co-authoredMayday with Thomas Block, andThe Deserter andBlood Lines with his son, Alex DeMille, as well as contributed short stories, book reviews, and articles to magazines and newspapers both online and in print.^[2]

DeMille died ofesophageal cancer atNYU Langone Hospital – Long Island on September 17, 2024, at the age of 81.^[3][4][5]

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Many of DeMille's books are written in thefirst person, and as such his books follow a linear plotline in which the reader moves along with the main character.

Although the tone of his writing varies from novel to novel, one consistent tool is DeMille's liberal use of sarcasm and dry humor.

Most DeMille novels, especially the more recent, avoid "Hollywood endings," and instead finish either inconclusively or with the hero successfully exposing the secret/solving the mystery while suffering in his career or personal life as a result. There are generally loose ends left for the reader to puzzle over, such as inNight Fall.

DeMille's homeLong Island is a setting in many parts of his novels, as inThe Gold Coast,The Gate House,Plum Island,Word of Honor,Night Fall, andRadiant Angel. His most recent novels have followed two main characters, John Corey (starring in seven novels) andPaul Brenner (starring in two novels, with also a part in Corey's sixth novel). In earlier works, the storylines were completely separate, but there have been hints in the novels that they are part of a larger "DeMille Universe" that references events and characters in earlier novels, such asThe Gold Coast andThe Charm School.^[6]

DeMille spent approximately 16 months creating each of his novels due to the extensive research involved, and because he wrote them longhand on legal pads with a number one pencil.^[7]

1. The Gold Coast (1990)
2. The Gate House (2008)

John Sutter, Susan Sutter, Felix Mancuso, and several other characters ofThe Gold Coast reappear in the sequelThe Gate House.

1. The General's Daughter (1992)
2. Up Country (2002)
3. The Panther (2012), Paul Brenner teams up with John Corey on a case.

Paul Brenner, a criminal investigator/ Special Agent for theUnited States Army'sCriminal Investigation Division (CID). He was introduced inThe General's Daughter and reappears inUp Country, andThe Panther. In the latter novel he has retired from the Army and works as a Special Agent for the US State Department'sDiplomatic Security Service (DSS). His girlfriend is US Army CID investigator/ Special Agent Cynthia Sunhill.

Colonel Karl Hellman is Brenner's superior officer at the CID. He appeared inThe General's Daughter andUp Country.

1. Plum Island (1997)
2. The Lion's Game (2000)
3. Night Fall (2004)
4. Wild Fire (2006)
5. The Lion (2010), direct sequel toThe Lion's Game
6. The Panther (2012), John Corey teams up with Paul Brenner on a case.
7. Radiant Angel (2015)
8. The Maze (2022)

• John Corey, a former homicide detective, medically retired from the NYPD with 3 gunshot wounds, now working for the FBI’s Anti-Terrorist Task Force. He was introduced inPlum Island and reappears inThe Lion's Game,Night Fall,Wild Fire,The Lion,The Panther,Radiant Angel, andThe Maze.
• Kate Mayfield, an F.B.I. special agent. Introduced inThe Lion's Game. She marries Corey and reappears inNight Fall,Wild Fire,The Lion,The Panther, andRadiant Angel.
• Asad Khalil, a Libyan terrorist. His family was wiped out in anAmerican military attack in 1986, for which he swore revenge.
• Ted Nash, a CIA agent and arch-rival of Corey, who is introduced inPlum Island and reappears inThe Lion's Game,Night Fall, andWild Fire.

1. The Sniper (1974)
2. The Hammer of God (1974)
3. The Agent of Death (1975)
4. The Smack Man (1975)
5. The Cannibal (1975)
6. The Night of the Phoenix (1975)

NYPD Sergeant Joe Ryker, a tired, no-nonsense detective assigned to the NYPD Detective Bureau, whose natural understanding of his environment gives him an enhanced instinct for tracking down criminals. A loner, he carries two weapons: a standard police snub-nosed .38 Special revolver in an ankle holster, and a .357 Magnum revolver carried in a shoulder-holster. He appeared in the first six novels by DeMille. All were republished in 1989 bearing DeMille's nom-de-plume "Jack Cannon".

Both co-authored with DeMille's son, Alex DeMille.

1. The Deserter (2019)
2. Blood Lines (2023)
3. The Tin Men (2025)

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor first join forces on a mission in Venezuela to locate and detain an infamous Army Special Forces deserter, and then in Berlin to find the killer of a CID colleague.The Tin Men was the final novel by Nelson DeMille, published posthumously in 2025.

1.The Quest (1975, re-released 2013^[8])

2.By the Rivers of Babylon (1978)

3.Cathedral (1981)

4.The Talbot Odyssey (1984)

5.Word of Honor (1985)

6.The Charm School (1988)

7.Spencerville (1994)

8.Mayday (1998)

9.The Cuban Affair (2017)

Colonel Petr Burov/Boris/Boris Korsakov: Though not explicitly stated, DeMille hints that Burov, the antagonist inThe Charm School, is the same person as the mysterious "Boris," a character inThe Lion's Game andThe Lion who trained Asad Khalil.

1. The Mystery at Thorn Mansion (1976)
2. Life or Breath (1976)
3. "Revenge and Rebellion", inThe Plot Thickens, (1997)
4. The Rich and the Dead (2011)
5. The Book Case (2011)
6. Death Benefits (2012)
7. Rendezvous (2012)

1. Hitler's Children: The True Story of Nazi Human Stud Farms (1976)(as Kurt Ladner)
2. Killer Sharks: The Real Story (1977)(as Brad Mathews)

1. The Five-Million-Dollar Woman: Barbara Walters (1976)(as Ellen Kay)

1. The Plot Thickens (1997)
2. Getting Your Book Published for Dummies (2000)
3. Takeoff! (2000)
4. The Best American Mystery Stories (2004)
5. Dangerous Women (2005)
6. The Book that Changed my Life (2007)
7. In the Shadow of the Master: Classic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe (2009)
8. The Rich and the Dead (2011)
9. The Book Case (2011)
10. Long Island’s Gold Coast (2012)
11. OHEKA Castle (2012)
12. Death Benefits (2012)
13. Rendezvous (2012)
14. The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook (2015)
15. The Books that Changed My Life (2016)
16. Great Minds Think and Write: 50 Years of the Mensa Bulletin (2016)
17. The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook: A Collection of Stories and Recipes (2016)
18. MatchUp (2017)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNelson DeMille.

• The "official" DeMille webpage
• Nelson DeMille Bibliography
• Military.com article on Nelson DeMille
• BlogTalkRadio interview with Rodger Nichols Jan 24, 2018 - The Cuban Affair
• Nelson DeMille atIMDb
• Nelson DeMille discography atDiscogs

• 1943 births
• 2024 deaths
• People from Garden City, New York
• People from Jamaica, Queens
• Hofstra University alumni
• American thriller writers
• American crime fiction writers
• United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
• Mensans
• 20th-century American novelists
• 21st-century American novelists
• People from Elmont, New York
• American male novelists
• United States Army officers
• 20th-century American male writers
• 21st-century American male writers
• Deaths from esophageal cancer in New York (state)

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
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