Currently reading
The Partly Cloudy Patriot
The Age of Edison
Tales of the Alhambra
Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey
The Collected Plays of Theodore Dreiser
Great Stories of the Sea & Ships
The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra: A Discussion, Vol 1
Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
Complete Works of Oscar Wilde
The Whole Truth
read also on: www.msleighmbooks.blogspot.comI don't usually like starting a series by an author when I'm still working on another; in this case, I love the Cold Stone series but have not completed it. Mom gave me this book, it happened to be the first in this series and exactly the kind of book I needed in the moment. So, why not. I was not disappointed. Mr. Baldacci is one of those writer's -- like a modern day Agatha Christie -- where if someone put his books down in front of me in stacks in the correct reading order, I would just read them one after another. Like eating grapes, or Cape Cod potato chips (40% reduced fat)...
This conspiracy theory book is completely believable. And thus, fairly terrifying. The main characters are all strongly written, fleshed out, and have strong motivations. Even the secondary characters start to feel like someone I'd recognize on a train or subway. It is almost unbearably sad in places and fairly graphic, at least it felt that way to me. There is some discussion about the deep places some people end up going because of their suffering, this is explored in several ways, however also left open ended, a "to be continued" into the next book.
In the first few chapters, I wondered if there were too many characters being introduced, and worried it might get too complicated. However, having read Mr. B. before, I chose to trust him and go with it. He earned the trust by wrapping everything up very neatly, and made me longing for the next installment in the series.
Apparently this is Mr. Baldacci's first *international* thriller. He seems to have had fun spreading his wings. Looking forward to more, and more, and more...
