Read @ Joe’s

Title: The Tin Men (2025) Author: Nelson DeMille // Alex DeMille Publisher: Simon & Schuster Book jacket: At a top-secret Army training facility in the Mojave Desert, Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor plunge into a deadly web of military suspense, AI technology, and robot soldiers as they unravel the shocking murder of a senior scientist. Joe says: This entry takes a turn no one saw coming: from military whodunit to full-on sci-fi actioner. This is a bold swing for the DeMilles and mostly, it connects.

The Tin Men marks the third outing for Army CID Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, and, sadly, the final novel from Nelson DeMille, who passed in 2024. Co-written with his son Alex, this entry takes a turn no one saw coming: from military whodunit to full-on sci-fi actioner. Yes, sci-fi. Brodie and Taylor find themselves up against a platoon of K-2SO betas who clearly worship at the altar of the T-800. This is a bold swing for the DeMilles and mostly, it connects. The action is hot, Brodie and Taylor are cool, and there’s Dewars on ice.

When Brodie and Taylor are called to investigate the brutal murder of Major Roger Ames, head programmer of a top-secret project at the ultra-classified Camp Hayden, things go from “classified” to “completely unhinged.” The camp’s secret? A fleet of seven-foot-tall titanium soldiers straight out of LexCorp R&D, with each one faster, stronger, and deadlier than the last. Nicknamed the “Tin Men” and cheekily assigned baseball names (sadly, no John Kruk, or even an “A.I.-Rod”), these autonomous weapons were built for perfect combat execution. Naturally, that perfection comes with a body count that seems to be growing. But these AI bots are not supposed to be generative learning machines? Right.

The Tin Men carries the same investigative pulse as The Deserter and Blood Lines, but the robot uprising plot tilts it closer to James Cameron than classic DeMille. That said, Alex DeMille steps up admirably. He keeps the dialogue sharp, the pacing brisk, and gives Brodie and Taylor just enough new dimension to keep them interesting. Sure, Brodie’s juvenile one-liners are toned down, and Maggie disappears for a few too many chapters, but the transition of voice between father and son feels seamless and respectful.

The Tin Men is not quite Blood Lines strong — and yes, it sometimes plays out like an ‘80s action movie that escaped straight to VHS — but there’s charm in that. The Tin Men is clever, fast, and an adventurous read. For longtime readers, the thrill is less about the killer robots and more about the send off: a final mission for one of America’s most enjoyable thriller writers. 

Godspeed, Nelson. Enjoy your heavenly Dewars. 

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And slainte to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC. I am looking forward to what’s coming next from Alex DeMille.