“The Sixth Man”   By David Baldacci

2011 Book Review #70

 Library Journal Review

  

Something is rotten in the state of U.S. intelligence.  Baldacci's fifth Sean King and Michelle Maxwell novel opens with the investigative duo headed to a federal prison for the criminally insane. Jailed there is Edgar Roy, an IRS employee, accused of killing six men and burying their bodies in his barn.

Called in by Ted Bergin, King's old professor and Roy's lawyer, the two find their case quickly becoming personal when they discover Bergin shot to death in his car. Was Bergin killed because he was defending Roy? Did Roy murder those six men? The more questions King and Maxwell ask, the more lethal obstacles they face. Their questions begin to lead them into the most deadly places of all-the highest echelons of U.S. intelligence organizations.

Baldacci builds a suspenseful story with appealing characters that will have the reader guessing their loyalties right to the very end.

Verdict:  Highly recommended for all fans of Baldacci and similar authors like James Patterson and John Grisham.

My Thoughts:  Just as I was becoming impatient with the author’s slow pace, the book started to move along much faster and I couldn't put it down.  Never for one moment did I suspect the surprise ending!