Staff Book Review

The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

Baldacci, best-selling author of "The Camel Club," "Simple Genius" and "Stone Cold" offers an exciting new thriller where the threat comes from a most unexpected source.

Nicolas Creel, arms manufacturer, wants a war. Dick Pender, a "perception manager," is the man to give him one. By means of a fake testimony from a supposed Russian dissident who claims Russia is slaughtering tens of thousands of its own people secretly, Creel and Pender create a worldwide wave of fear and paranoia about what appears to be a renewed "Red Menace."

Katie James, an ambitious reporter anxious to redeem her reputation, seeks the supposed dissident, "Konstantin" to get the full story. And at the same time, we meet the man known only as Shaw, an operative for a clandestine government agency that neutralizes terrorist threats in the bud. Shaw is ready to give up the game after his last job almost went bad, and get married. But he is pulled back in when his fiancee and the think tank she works for in London is mercilessly wiped out by Pender's people because they were getting too close to the truth. Now Shaw and James must team up to find out the truth behind the "Red Menace" before threatened war becomes the real thing.

Once again, Baldacci proves himself to be the master of the modern political action thriller. The approach of a war threat coming not from a real but a manufactured enemy is highly original. Shaw is an excellent new hero, a powerful and highly capable man who can kill easily but who is also capable of caring and being hurt emotionally.

And Creel is a clever villain, a figure who publically seems beyond reproach but is willing to bring the world to the point of war in order to boost share of Pentagon contracts.

One can only hope that Shaw will make another appearance to save the world in the near future.

Book Review by Dave Folland at Cranesbill Books

Do You Love Books?

Readers of all ages are invited to share a book review with the community by submitting it to Cranesbill Books. Visit our Community Book Review page to learn more.