Long Road to Mercy: 1 (Atlee Pine Thriller)

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Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy programs in the United States. Although the trip to the prison to visit the serial killer felt a little too familiar, and raises other questions in the reader's minds, it was enough different and personal enough that it was not so similar to other stories in this genre. This story is no exception, as it mixes the thrill of the hunt with a female protagonist ready to solve the world’s problems. I am striving to produce reviews that help you find books that you want, or avoid books that you wish to avoid.

But I'm one of those who go with the flow and accept a story for what it is - a story - and this is a good one. Description (from the book): “Her thighs, calves, and glutes were rocks, her shoulders and delts sculpted, her arms ropy with long cords of muscle, and her core is iron. Scott Turow, Number one New York Times bestselling author A fabulous new character from a master storyteller. And her counterpart is Sam Kettler, an ex-military guy suffering from PTSD from his time serving (don’t forget the love interest).I can very much relate to Atlee Pine and her attitude and tendency towards being an introverted loner, but there is no doubting her ability to get stuck in and once she gets her teeth into something, even where she has been warned off it by her superiors, she still continues to follow her heart with no qualms about the possible consequences whether personal and/or employment-related. I was excited to start a new series by David Baldacci especially since I love so many of his other books and I had heard Long Road to Mercy had a female protagonist. David Baldacci has been able to do this—without collaborators, I might add—and keeps the stories crisp, while never losing his reading base.

Further, the writing throughout "Long Road to Mercy" is taut with intrigue and suspense so much so that I could only, with much difficulty, put it down to take care of other pressing needs, such as make a pot of coffee and the like. What she lacks in terms of social skills and ambition she makes up for by her don't-mess-with-me nature and her investigative skill. The Grand Canyon was a stunning location for the book to be set and Baldacci's descriptions were wonderfully vivid. Almost making Olympic status in weight lifting her character comes across as real and believable when she has to kick major butt.The mystery mule and disappearance of people were very suspenseful until I found out the whole story behind it and scratch my head, why? For me this book was a bit more Camel Club than it was psychopathic serial killer type thriller (which is more in my bailiwick! Feeling out of her depth Pine seeks support from her bosses and soon realises that this support is not forthcoming.

Since this is all about a major conspiracy there are other assorted characters where the reader is left to guess as to their allegiance. The story itself is not entirely unique, but it is the way that Baldacci tells it that keeps things fresh and energetic.Thirty years later, the only agent assigned to the FBI’s Arizona Resident Agency at Shattered Rock, she is responsible for the protection of the Grand Canyon. A couple of the park rangers who were involved in the dead mule / missing hiker case are suddenly transferred to a different National Park and Atlee is told to take a vacation.