True Blue
by David Baldacci
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Book Summary Information
Author: David BaldacciEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-27
ISBN: 0446195510
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Product features:
- First Edition
- Hardback
- Dust cover
- Collectible
- Baldacci
Book Reviews of True Blue
Book Review: Fall From Grace
Summary: 2 Stars
THE TEASER
A teaser is a loathsome device designed to catch browsing customers in bookstores with upfront action, albeit out of context. In practice, teasers usually only confuse and mislead readers. In "True Blue" the teaser is a "flash-ahead" in which U.S. Assistant Attorney Jamie Meldon is abducted by FBI agents and killed, on the orders of FBI director Jarvis Burns on with the knowledge of Director of National Intelligence Sam Donaldson. This event actually occurs about 1/3 of the way into the novel, by which time most readers will have forgotten the names of the characters and probably the events as well.
THE SETUP
Former policewoman Mace Perry has just been released from prison after two years, having been framed. Her sister, Beth Perry, the Chief of Police of Washington DC arranges a job for Mace as a research assistant for a very rich man. The vague implausible "research" involves improving the lives of selected inter-city poor, and recording their progress. Then an attorney Diane Tolliver is killed. We eventually find out that Meldon (from the teaser) was killed because he had met with Tolliver. For some incomprehensibly implausible reason, Mace believes that if she can solve Tolliver's murder, then her felony conviction will be magically "forgotten" and she will be reinstated as a police officer. Tolliver leaves some very cryptic clues with an associate (corporate lawyer) she was not really close to, Roy Kingman. For some vague reason, Roy teams up with Mace. The same weird team of spooks who killed Tolliver attempt to kill Roy and Mace, but implausibly give up (at least for a while) when their first attempt fails.
COMMENTS
The plot is contrived, implausible, and convoluted. The sense of unreality is pretty much the only constant. We (the readers) initially believe and hope that Baldacci will brilliantly pull it all together, with rational explanations for everything, to our amazement and devoted applause. And if so, "True Blue" will be the greatest Baldacci novel ever, a monumental achievement. But that doesn't happen.
For example, Mace's six-figure salary and use of a mansion with a gourmet chef, for a (normally minimum wage) research assistantship is something from a fantasy world---especially considering that she is not expected to do any actual work on the alledged project. It is obvious to the reader that the research project must be bogus (fictional), and that Altman (the rich guy) will turn out to be some sort of perv, and probably the eminence grise behind the murders. Right?
Okay, I know, Mace/Roy rescue ONE inner-city mother and her son, but that's gotta be a red herring. Right? And moreover, that has to be the setup for something really awful to happen to them while in residence in the rich old batchelor's mansion. Right?
Nope. If you want to enjoy "True Blue" you have to trottle down your own intellect to idle, cease to be suspicious of implausibilities, cease to expect logical consequences, and just enjoy the action for its own sake.
Mace and Roy are interesting characters. Most other characters, such as "Psycho" are absurd cardboard cutouts. The Perry sisters could be the beginning of a great series---perhaps in the hands of ghost-writers following Baldacci outlines (since Baldacci has apparently given up the fine art of handcrafting rich brilliant novels).
THE VERDICT
If you like interesting characters and action, and don't really care if it makes any sense, then you'll probably enjoy "True Blue".
I've followed many other once great authors decline, as they begin churning out junk to meet contract deadlines, but I've never seen so steep a plunge. FAREWELL DAVE BALDACCI, WE WILL MISS YOU.
Summary of True Blue
A mysterious high-profile homicide in the nation's capital collides with the dark side of national security in David Baldacci's new, heart-stopping thriller. TRUE BLUE Mason "Mace" Perry was a firebrand cop on the D.C. police force until she was kidnapped and framed for a crime. She lost everything-her badge, her career, her freedom-and spent two years in prison. Now she's back on the outside and focused on one mission: to be a cop once more. Her only shot to be a true blue again is to solve a major case on her own, and prove she has the right to wear the uniform. But even with her police chief sister on her side, she has to work in the shadows: A vindictive U.S. attorney is looking for any reason to send Mace back behind bars. Then Roy Kingman enters her life. Roy is a young lawyer who aided the poor until he took a high-paying job at a law firm in Washington. Mace and Roy meet after he discovers the dead body of a female partner at the firm. As they investigate the death, they start uncovering surprising secrets from both the private and public world of the nation's capital. Soon, what began as a fairly routine homicide takes a terrifying and unexpected turn-into something complex, diabolical, and possibly lethal.Literature & Fiction Books
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