330
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #72,927 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Baldacci's worst - and I've read most of his books
There comes a time when one of your favourite authors stumbles because they have written so much and laboured so hard to meet the grueling annual publication timetable. This time the stumble is more like a fatal fall for me. Basically, while I really admire Baldacci's work and have given it so many stars over the years, IMHO this time he has lost the plot with a terrible plot (excuse the unintended pun).
The best thing about this book was that Baldacci was brave enough to introduce another major character, after the extremely strange bunch he has created over the years. Unfortunately, a female FBI agent with near Olympic weightlifting credentials who works on her own running the smallest FBI office near the Grand Canyon is not the kind of heroine that one normally barracks for. Also, almost single-handed she walks into and tries to solve one of the most complex and unbelievable plots of international corruption. I would like to give you a sample of the plot but that spoiler would only show up the sheer stupidity of the plot.
When I got more than halfway through the book I decided to plod on as the plot got more ridiculous but admit to skipping a lot to see if Baldacci could redeem himself at the end, but to no avail. I am especially concerned that a top rated reviewer said it was a must read. Maybe he lives in another universe to me (and at one time I was a Top 500 Reviewer).
Baldacci has a great reputation going back beyond the days of the Coffee Club. I hope that he can take a long break and come up with something worthwhile next time.
