The General's Daughter
Review
The General's Daughter
After the movie, THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER, Nelson DeMille's
masterpiece of suspense, received renewed attention. Using a
powerful story line, dynamic characterizations and a familiar theme
of secrecy and corruption, DeMille has created a memorable piece of
fiction that exposes the evils underlying an autonomous military
and plumbs the darkest core of human depravity.
Characteristic of DeMille's writing, THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER unfolds
with lightening speed as key players are introduced, stage sets
erected and a murder revealed --- all within the first chapter.
Paul Brenner, a Criminal Investigation Division officer for the
Army, encounters his former love interest, Cynthia Sunhill, and
between the banter and the taunts, we're given the sense that this
is a romance still simmering below the surface destined to be
rekindled with fireworks of one sort or another. Paul has been
temporarily stationed at Fort Hadley as an undercover operative in
an illegal arms sting, Cynthia, also a CID officer, is there to
handle a rape case. They soon find themselves thrown together in
the most explosive investigation of their careers: the rape and
murder of --- you guessed it --- the General's daughter.
Captain Ann Campbell is the daughter of the base commander, a man
of eminent power and influence in the highest echelons of the
United States Army. Ann's own career has been distinguished
beginning with her appointment to West Point, her reputation as an
outstanding officer and her current position in the highly
classified Psychological Operations Unit. Her brutal murder has
shaken the military establishment for a multitude of reasons and
CID headquarters assigns their foremost investigator, Brenner, to
solve this sensitive case with an expressed emphasis on quickly and
quietly.
Paul Brenner is one of DeMille's trademark heroes, slightly flawed,
abundantly irreverent but unquestionably likable. Although he is a
career officer, he has a reputation for pushing the limits of his
CID authority and winning the admiration of his superiors, but
inevitably provoking the wrath of higher ranking officers and local
police authorities. As he contemplates the bizarre crime scene and
the tenuous and expendable position he's placed in, Brenner hints
at the magnitude of events to follow:
The General's Daughter
- Publication Date: November 1, 1993
- Genres: Fiction
- Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
- ISBN-10: 0446364800
- ISBN-13: 9780446364805