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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Baldacci just writes great thriller-mysteries. The pace and intricacy of the plot make this an easy, fun read.
The main characters were generally likeable and made me want to follow them on their journey, the writing and storytelling was overall pretty strong (as is usually the case for Baldacci's books), and the book kept me engaged enough to really want learn who the "bad guys" were and what was their motive. Unfortunately, that's where the book fell flat.
[Fyi -- I'll be using plural pronouns and "criminals" as general identifiers for the remainder of this review so as not spoil any plot points regarding whether the "bad guys" were male, female, acting solo, acting in a group, etc.]
This book suffered from the fact that the criminals' motives AND the manner of revealing the criminals and their motives was unnecessarily complicated and unrealistic. While I generally enjoy a creative "twist" or surprise ending in the plot of a crime-based book, the ending here seemed ao untethered to the rest of the story that (in many ways) it felt like a completely new storyline was interjected. In short, the resolution of the plot was a real disappointment and it dropped this from a 4 or 4.5 star rating to a 3 star rating.
[Fyi -- I'll be using plural pronouns and "criminals" as general identifiers for the remainder of this review so as not spoil any plot points regarding whether the "bad guys" were male, female, acting solo, acting in a group, etc.]
This book suffered from the fact that the criminals' motives AND the manner of revealing the criminals and their motives was unnecessarily complicated and unrealistic. While I generally enjoy a creative "twist" or surprise ending in the plot of a crime-based book, the ending here seemed ao untethered to the rest of the story that (in many ways) it felt like a completely new storyline was interjected. In short, the resolution of the plot was a real disappointment and it dropped this from a 4 or 4.5 star rating to a 3 star rating.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
My first David Baldacci read and I must say it was incredible. I had always seen his books laying around my grandparents house and assumed he was old and wrote stories that were written before I was born… boy was I wrong! This book was, to quote People, “explosive”! It was an amazing read and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
I have to say that this novel was expertly crafted. The storytelling was phenomenal! As he described every scene, I could picture it…. actually it was more like I was there- hearing, seeing, feeling everything that King and Maxwell were.
It was also impressive how they didn’t give away who was behind the whole plot right upfront. I had gone through a few suspects in my head, but honestly never came to the conclusion that the book did, but as the story was told the pieces fit.
The ending was bittersweet, but it was the great first novel setting up his King and Maxwell series and I will definitely be reading everything else by him. I have already recommended him! It was a fantastic read!
I have to say that this novel was expertly crafted. The storytelling was phenomenal! As he described every scene, I could picture it…. actually it was more like I was there- hearing, seeing, feeling everything that King and Maxwell were.
It was also impressive how they didn’t give away who was behind the whole plot right upfront. I had gone through a few suspects in my head, but honestly never came to the conclusion that the book did, but as the story was told the pieces fit.
The ending was bittersweet, but it was the great first novel setting up his King and Maxwell series and I will definitely be reading everything else by him. I have already recommended him! It was a fantastic read!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced