Author: David Baldacci
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Hachette
Edition: audio book
Source: library
Date Completed: January - 2013
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: ?
I always enjoy listening to a good thriller while driving and the blurb I read about David Baldacci's latest novel, The Forgotten seemed to intrigue me:
"In Paradise, nothing is what it seems."
Army Special Agent John Puller is a character that was introduced in Baldacci's earlier novel, Zero Day.
He is a war veteran experience in combat and still works on tough cases
for the US Army's Criminal Investigation Unit.
Puller's
father suffers from dementia and now resides in a nursing facility. The
senior Puller thinks his son is his former Executive Officer from back
when he served in the military. He shows his son a letter sent to him
by his sister who resided in the wealthy, Gulf Coast community of
Paradise, Florida. The letter states that things in Paradise are not as
idyllic as they may appear to be. Puller's dad sends him on a mission
to check out what exactly she is referring to. Puller hasn't seen his
aunt in a long while and feels bad about that so he decides to pay his
aunt a visit.
Taking some leave time, he heads down to Paradise. Once he arrives, he
learns that his aunt is dead. The police have ruled her death
accidental saying she must have slipped, fallen and then drowned in her backyard
fountain. The fountain had just just 3" of water in it. Puller is convinced that his aunt's
death was not an accident, and is determined to find out what happened to her.
He soon realizes that he is being followed and is determined to dig
deeper. In the process he learns that a local couple was found dead on
the beach and some children are missing. Did his aunt discover something
that someone did not want anyone to know? Are local officials trying to
hide something as well?
The audio book readers, Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy were very good. I hadn't read the earlier book when Puller made his debut, but it didn't seem to matter really. Most of the book held my interested, but certain parts seemed a bit far-fetched, and the ending was somewhat disappointing. Although there were some twists and turns along the way, the story ended up being just okay for my taste.
I know what you mean - sometimes you just can't suspend disbelief. I usually enjoy Baldacci so I might give this one a try.
ReplyDeleteI am listening to this one right now. Sorry the ending was disappointing for you. I love Ron and Orlagh as narrators.
ReplyDeleteWell, too bad it wasn't great but I agree that a thriller is ideal for a commute.
ReplyDeleteI like this author.
ReplyDeleteTBG likes Baldacci and this one sounds like he would like it too even with a disappointing ending. Hope all is well with you and yours, Diane and that 2013 is treating you well so far.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't read Baldacci for a long time, but then read Zero Day last year for an A-Z Challenge (how many "Z" books do you know? lol). It had some good parts, but some parts kind of dragged for me. I only gave it 3.5 stars.
ReplyDeleteI did like the character, though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Darn disappointing endings!
ReplyDeleteOkay is such a stinky way to leave a book..sometimes. I am struggling with my current audio book. I'm not going to give up on it but I feel like I need to go back and read more about the book and the characters...I feel lost!
ReplyDelete