The Fix
David Baldacci
Synopsis
Amos Decker witnesses a murder just outside FBI headquarters. A man shoots a woman execution-style on a crowded sidewalk, then turns the gun on himself.
Even with Decker’s extraordinary powers of observation and deduction, the killing is baffling. Decker and his team can find absolutely no connection between the shooter–a family man with a successful consulting business–and his victim, a schoolteacher. Nor is there a hint of any possible motive for the attack.
Enter Harper Brown. An agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency, she orders Decker to back off the case. The murder is part of an open DIA investigation, one so classified that Decker and his team aren’t cleared for it.
But they learn that the DIA believes solving the murder is now a matter of urgent national security. Critical information may have been leaked to a hostile government–or worse, an international terrorist group–and an attack may be imminent.
Decker’s never been one to follow the rules, especially with the stakes so high. Forced into an uneasy alliance with Agent Brown, Decker remains laser focused on only one goal: solving the case before it’s too late.
Richard’s comments
Maybe I am getting tired of reading espionage, who done its, and murder stories but I cannot say that I really loved this book by Baldacci.
That isn’t to say I didn’t like it. Baldacci is a terrific writer. He creates attractive characters. He writes excellent and apropos dialogues which are very current using idioms and expressions which are in use presently. His plots are always drawing and plausible.
So why didn’t I feel this was his best effort? Maybe it was that I was becoming bored at times. Yet, he is a master a jarring you back into his story, at refocusing what the plot is about. And he is the very best at creating a hero who is authentic, captivating and intense.
Baldacci types of books do not have character development. They do not have psychoanalysis to any depth. If you like the development of characters, if you like character analysis, Baldacci isn’t your man. If you want dialogue that is believable and a plot that moves along at a brisk pace, he is your writer.
The Fix was an enjoyable read but not one which would be binding in one’s memory.
Worth reading on a rainy or cold winter night, really.
