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dawn_marie 's review for:
Walk the Wire
by David Baldacci
[b:Walk the Wire|52838845|Walk the Wire (Amos Decker, #6)|David Baldacci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579012170l/52838845._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72766935] is the 6th offering in [a:David Baldacci|9291|David Baldacci|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1557427264p2/9291.jpg]’s Memory Man /Amos Decker) Series. The novel starts out well enough: Amos Decker, the FBI consultant with hyperthymesia and synesthesia, and his FBI partner and former journalist Alex Jamison are sent to London, North Dakota to investigate a murder. And in typical David Baldacci fashion, the small frakking town holds its share of secrets.
After a rather promising start, Walk the Wire falls apart – becoming a hodgepodged mess. It was so convoluted that I was waiting for the literal kitchen sink to be tossed into the fray . . . because it seemed like everything else was included in the plot.
While I generally like the small town with big secret trope, this novel was extreme. Not only is the military using an Air Force station to cover up a secret prison for terrorists you have:
(1) an abandoned stash of bioweapons/chemicals stored in the same station;
(2) foreign actors trying to access the stored bioweapons looking to create geopolitical insecurity;
(3) a group of individuals trying to disrupt the frakking operation for . . . reasons??;
(4) a disillusioned AWOL Airman willing to sell out his country (and kill dozens) because he can’t make enough money in the Air Force;
(5) a mortician stealing from the deceased;
(6) blackmail (oh, so much blackmail);
(7) business rivalries that turn nasty;
(8) a Hutterite-type colony; and
(9) the stupidest reason for murdering six, seven (I lost count at one point) people. Ever!
And this is before Will Robie, Jessica Reel, and Blue Man show up. I enjoy these characters . . . when they are in their own story. Their insertion into an Amos Decker novel feels ham-fisted and extremely forced, making the already bloated storyline unwieldy.
If Mr. Baldacci left off Robie et al and dropped a few of the red herrings and extraneous plot points , the novel would have been more enjoyable.
I think tighter editing and the elimination of extraneous plot threads would have resulted in a more cohesive and enjoyable story line.
After a rather promising start, Walk the Wire falls apart – becoming a hodgepodged mess. It was so convoluted that I was waiting for the literal kitchen sink to be tossed into the fray . . . because it seemed like everything else was included in the plot.
Spoiler
While I generally like the small town with big secret trope, this novel was extreme. Not only is the military using an Air Force station to cover up a secret prison for terrorists you have:
(1) an abandoned stash of bioweapons/chemicals stored in the same station;
(2) foreign actors trying to access the stored bioweapons looking to create geopolitical insecurity;
(3) a group of individuals trying to disrupt the frakking operation for . . . reasons??;
(4) a disillusioned AWOL Airman willing to sell out his country (and kill dozens) because he can’t make enough money in the Air Force;
(5) a mortician stealing from the deceased;
(6) blackmail (oh, so much blackmail);
(7) business rivalries that turn nasty;
(8) a Hutterite-type colony; and
(9) the stupidest reason for murdering six, seven (I lost count at one point) people. Ever!
And this is before Will Robie, Jessica Reel, and Blue Man show up. I enjoy these characters . . . when they are in their own story. Their insertion into an Amos Decker novel feels ham-fisted and extremely forced, making the already bloated storyline unwieldy.
If Mr. Baldacci left off Robie et al and dropped a few of the red herrings and extraneous plot points , the novel would have been more enjoyable.
I think tighter editing and the elimination of extraneous plot threads would have resulted in a more cohesive and enjoyable story line.