The war on terror is nothing new to Nelson Demille. The Vietnam vet, and author of 30 crime and thriller novels, has tackled international intrigue and terrorist plots for 20 years, routinely researching his work with people on the anti-terrorism task force.  His latest book, "The Panther," returns once again to the world of double-talk and heart-racing action, taking his hero special agent John Corey on a journey that's equal parts fact and fiction.

"This is not a primer on how to fight terrorists, but if you read the book, you'll learn something," Demille said in an interview with CBS News.

In its debut week, "The Panther" landed the No. 2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list.

DeMille claims that while many novelists may "make it up" as they go along, the facts in his books' stories are all true to life. "If they sound true, they are probably true," he said.

Demille always conducts extensive research for his novels, trying to embed himself in his characters' worlds. The author says he usually tries to visit the country he's writing about. But, for "The Panther," the reality he was writing about was actually too dangerous to go explore first hand. This time friends, family, and his publisher advised him to avoid visiting the country he was writing about: Yemen.

"The Panther" finds Demille's recurring protagonist Corey, an NYPD homicide detective turned agent for the FBI Anti-Terrorist Task Force, and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, stationed in Yemen, where they go to battle with a terrorist known as The Panther.

"It was based on the idea that we all think we know who our terrorists are, but we don't really know them. The idea of making the Panther a Yemeni American helped a lot. The question is, why would someone who was born here in relative comfort go to a place like Yemen and take up this life? He's rather complex."

"Yemen two years ago, when I was writing this book, was a hot spot. It was unraveling. It's always unraveling. Now it's because it's total chaos there," he said. "I wanted to go. My wife said, 'Don't go.'"

The newest novel in his Corey series, "The Panther" mixes Demille's love of fantastical action and spy games with real life events, like the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.

DeMille set "The Panther" primarily in Yemen to let readers learn things about an ostensible U.S. ally they won't hear on the evening news.

"They're not really helping [the U.S.] ... some of the Al Qaeda guys arrested for the Cole bombing miraculously escaped from jail. We're fighting with one hand behind our back, and we're not even watching our back," he said in an interview with breitbart.com

In "The Panther," DeMille describes Yemen as a failed state where no one is safe and few can be trusted.

"You could almost make a case for isolation, neo-isolation," he adds. "Corey says this a lot of the time - whack who you have to whack once in a while, and no more troops on the ground."

For this book, DeMille said he relied on input from "good sources" in the Joint Terrorist Task Force in New York, people in the FBI, and others. "I've been doing this for a while now," he said. "Some of the people that I spoke to initially are retired and they tend to speak more freely when they are retired."

Corey, with his acerbic, gruff outlook, has kept readers turning pages since he first appeared in 1997's "Plum Island."

Demille, now 69-years-old, continues to churn out hit novels every two years. His last outing, 2010's "The Lion," was a continuation of his popular Corey book, "The Lion's Game."

"The Panther" was an attempt to remove his protagnonist from his familiar environment and throw him and everything in his life into chaos.

Demille wanted to take his hero Corey and his wife Kate Mayfield "out of the so-called 'civilized' environment of New York City. I wanted to move them to a hostile environment. You always get more tension when you do that."

"I try to set the ambience of the area wherever the book is situated. The action scenes are the toughest. I see myself as a director and cinematographer trying to paint this word picture because things are happening so quickly. Plus, there has to be a level of emotion in there, too. The action-adventure stuff is the single biggest challenge," said in a recent interview with Newsday.

Demille says he's currently in talks with HBO and AMC about possibly bringing his protagonist to TV, the author revealed in an interview with Newsday. He is reportedly also talking with Sony TV who is interested in making a pilot for his first Corey novel, "Plum Island," which Aaron Eckhart wants to star in.

"The Panther" is available now.