Zero Day by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Baldacci at it again! Among his different series, I have read reviews on John Puller ones are really good. So, I thought of buying the first one – Zero Day.
How was it? Well, a brilliant narrative first of all. Unlike other Baldacci novels, this one has a plotline that mostly sits on suspense rather than thriller. I loved the way he built the suspense enough to get to the final part.
Yet again an all powerful protagonist John Puller – his character portrayal was really impressive because this novel is mostly about him. He is left all alone to dig and solve a murder case which turns out to be a much bigger issue. Samantha Cole was a realistic character developed as the female lead and Baldacci builds romantic tension at places with very subtle and nuance writings that I adored it.
Coming to the plot – a terrorist tragedy unfolding in the final chapters which also goes for a twist at the end. Well researched and written. Choice of premise and the background of the place added more credibility to the plot. The people at higher echelons in the Pentagon simply dusting Puller away sounded more convincing of the politics in this field.
Suspense was well handled and broken once, twice and then at the last as well. The main culprit behind the whole issue was hated by me when the author revealed and though it was a cinematic showdown, I liked the climax. There is a nail biting sequence which made me hold my breath, only to realise that a beloved character tragically dies. It was heart-breaking arc.
Overall a great read for the year end.
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Tag: david baldacci
Book Review: The Simple Truth by David Baldacci
The Simple Truth by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Baldacci did it again! I simply loved this book.
The first 50 or so pages were boring, and I wondered if made a mistake with this one. But, then the plot picked up its usual pace and Baldacci’s brilliant narrative style made me turn pages after another.
Characters involved in this novel are neatly written and very much realistically developed with all their arcs and backstories tying up with the plot flow. Especially, John Fiske, Michael Fiske, Sara Evans, Warren McKenna, Rufus and Josh Harms.
Baldacci’s idea to involve Mike in the starting, thereby leading to the entry of John into the plot as the main lead was beautiful. John’s style of working and thinking, Sara’s involvement and her character flow were very much justifiable. I liked Rufus and Josh’s subplots. The author’s undertaking of Brothers’ love is truly worthy of special mention. Warren McKenna can be that irritating character in the novel and well developed with nice suspense throughout.
The plot theme in itself is actually simple. Maybe why the title. But, the development of the theme into a full fledged novel with no lags is laudable. The court system and legal metrics were touched alongside the story and not overdone. John saving them all with some quick thinking to elude the villains in advocate’s office was a really good scene. Josh and Rufus’s forest fight scenes with the villains involved palpable tension. The revelation of the “simple truth” was not that big or heart stopping but the character twist with the people involved in that crime – that was like chef’s kiss.
Final sequences on the funeral were heart touching and the exchange between Rufus and John was so moving! A fabulous summer read!
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Book Review: Memory Man by David Baldacci
Memory Man by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Baldacci is a fantastic storyteller especially of the crime thrillers! He spins absolutely riveting fiction with palpable tension and realistic characters.
Coming to Memory Man – it’s been so long since I binge-read a novel and this one did the honours. Amos Decker’s first book and everything went startlingly well from the beginning.
The disaster at Amos’s house and his introduction in this book made me believe that he is a real person. A distraught, unhealthy and barely living middle aged man with a curse/blessing of a hyperthymesiac brain.
Then the story catapults forward with the school shooting and the murdered vanishing into thin air and the real hunt begins. As the body pile starts to go up, with notes for Amos, it becomes a very personal attack, a twisted vendetta against him. And, he has no idea who might do something like this after such a long period.
Memory Man is a fabulous page turner and Baldacci’s literary nuances here and there were also not lost on me. As the plot intensified in the second half and Amos is taken to places and memories that he wishes to just bury inside, we can actually taste the thrill in the air.
The police procedural storyline was neatly done. The suspense and gore was striking the right chords within. The antagonist revelation and the back story was really powerful, to say the least.
However, the climax could have been maintained with the same level of vigour in the rest of the book. It just fell flat like an usual Hollywood or Indian action movie climax. The justification of motive was completely hollowed and did not sit with the high-octane storyline since the beginning.
Overall, a superb read and Baldacci proved again he’s a worthwhile author!
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Book Review: Total Control by David Baldacci
Total Control by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, okay… Where do I start?
I am a huge fan of Baldacci. I am highly selective reader and I research on the authors and their works before trying them. Baldacci is a little late addition to my list as I had some popular thriller writers checklists to be completed. Better late than never!
This book is supremely an addictive roller-coaster ride. Does it have suspense? thrill? adrenaline-pumping action? character development? emotional sequences? ingenious plotline? twists and turns? showdown climax? Hmmm… did I get all the questions? because the answer is just a simple ‘Yes!!’
Jason Archer who seems to come just at the beginning of the story is a great point of heralding the overall train ride of the story to a suspenseful and nail-biting start. Everything went haywire after his disappearance.
Sidney Archer, whoa! A female protagonist picked out from a casual, hard-working and talented family woman – who then gets plunged into this sickening cat and mouse chase where nothing seems legit and everybody see comes across has a plan of his own. Fabulous portrayal of her character in the first half, trying to put her rapidly collapsing life into its place; to the woman of strength and endurance who took on the role of a female James Bond.
Lee Sawyer, the veteran FBI agent, perfectly written like a commendable officer in charge of the biggest case he had ever seen, in which every character keeps lying to him which he eventually unties as the case deepens.
The corporate characters were fabulous too, their selfish and narrow-minded, goal-oriented thinking and action – laudable. The secret killer man, he gave the chills whenever he made those short appearances and left with bloody murders behind.
The plot involved everything peaking during the end of the 20th century. The technology, financial world, scams, FBI, Fed Reserve, plane crash, family, love and the evils of society and money.
I loved absolutely everything about this book.
As I am a hardwired avid reader, I have got the gifted knack of putting myself into the shoes of the author as well as the reader when I am reading a novel. So, I usually get the twist the author is planning to drop on the readers which he’s been building up a suspense since the beginning. This novel also has such a twist and the revelation, though I have deciphered it, made me feel thoroughly hooked with the plan details.
Fallen for Baldacci all over again!
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Book Review: The Winner by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, where should I start? Maybe with the maestro himself – David Baldacci. The man is pure genius. How he construct ingenious plot themes that are off the board and completely unique, is beyond me. I am a big fan of his writing style and character developments. Rarely do I get to see authors paint the characters with such passion and intensity that they become flesh and blood inside readers’ mind – how Baldacci does this with such ease throughout the book inspires me. Now, for the book; The winner is technically a winner among the author’s works. You just have to start reading and the pages roll like a seat-edge thriller filled with beautiful characters and strong plot lines interspersed with action and thrills. LuAnn Tyler, the protagonist and elusive Jackson, the antagonist – the readers have no choice but to fall headlong inside the story mainly for these two characters. I admired LuAnn throughout the plot and as for Mr.Jackson, damn, the man made me sweat several times during his entrances in the most tense parts inside the book. The story was well-paced with no lags whatsoever, typical of Baldacci. I particularly loved the concept of two trains destined to never meet, head for an inevitable collision at breakneck speed. What was the result? An extraordinarily built story which injected powerful shots of adrenaline throughout. Overall, this book gave me a hangover so bad that I would definitely need some time off to come to real (boring) world.
Book review – The whole truth by David Baldacci
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I became a huge fan of Baldacci’s after reading his first novel – Absolute Power. I knew that i can’t stop with one. The whole truth became my next choice and I am far more stumped by the author’s writing than the previous read. What a plot! A courageous and inegnious writing mixed with main characters that were developed to the point of personal recognition by the reader’s minds – Shaw, Katie were brilliantly developed characters to match with the hyperventilating pace at which the plot moved. Creel could easily pass off as the one man army, a villain of swagg and power – which instilled little fear at certain points. How Baldacci spins a story that feels so real, so scary, so riveting and pacy with his special way with words, and perfect touch to the emotional quotient in the storyline – is beyond me. He can be called as a dependable masterclass novelist, who knows his stuff and about what can keep the readers hooked on. Brilliantly orchestrated subplots that moved around at a break neck speed and eventually when the twists revealed themselves up, we are left with a gaping mouth. The deep insights into the political, secret agencies’ world must’ve taken a hell of a reasearch and the author has done complete justice to it. I have been marveling at the book after i finished it – to say the least. The climax was also neatly done with this new-fangled touch. Loved every word of this book!
Book review: Absolute Power
Absolute Power by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Two words: Absolute thriller! 👌 Baldacci’s impeccable connotations and gripping narrative style coupled with a sick plot and strong characters has made this book a top-class legal thriller and one heck of a roller coaster ride of break-neck pace!! There’s not a single page where the plot sags. All the detailing and character portrayal had been meticulously done. The main theme – the crime and it’s investigation made me virtually wonder how the author researched so well. A highly disturbing and scary plotline involving people from zero background to the top corridors of power, this book is intensively weaved for the reader to gasp for breath on every single page. This had been my first Baldacci but, certainly wouldn’t be my last!
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