True Blue
David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing 2009
Hardcover 464 pages
I am a David Baldacci fan because of the Camel Club and the Sean King – Michelle Maxwell mystery novels. True Blue not being one of those, it was a little more difficult for me to really get into this latest Baldacci thriller. This mystery opens with two dead lawyers, always a good start, but somehow fails to get the reader really interested in the crimes or their solve. True Blue is a decent enough read but not decent enough for a Baldacci.
True Blue’s main weakness is Baldacci fails to create characters who make you want to turn the page. Mace Perry, an ex-cop just released from prison, and her sister Beth, chief of the Washington PD, are but sketches. The nemesis, U.S. attorney Mona Danforth would have been more subtle had she been given horns and a pitchfork.
There is also the fact the mystery itself is vague. Two dead attorneys and then what? A reader suspects these deaths may tie in to Mace Perry being framed and sent to prison and connected to Mona Danforth just because she is more evil than Cruella DeVille. Also, Mace Perry investigates one of the murders to get herself back on the PD (huh?) but many scenes are just her doing something and getting dressed down by her sister.
Granted, I am not a very generous mystery novel reader but this being a novel by David Baldacci I was willing to give True Blue a chance. Unfortunately, there is a lot of just farting around and coming to conclusions out of the true blue here for my taste.
Another annoying thing is the basic patter of this mystery novel is Mace Perry does something and big sister comes to the rescue. The ending is less than satisfying and not particularly conclusive.
David Baldacci is a very good mystery writer but not with this one.