DELIVER US FROM EVIL by David Baldacci
As a whole David Baldacci’s body of work is composed of books that are interesting, exciting and suspenseful. They usually are fun to read but never too intense or jarring. Well that is certainly not the case with his latest novel DELIVER US FROM EVIL. This one is a fast-paced, ultra-violent tale of evil in its worst form. Not for the weak of heart, this book will stay with you long after you have finished the story.
Two of the main characters in this book, Shaw and Katie James, are holdovers from Baldacci’s previous novel THE WHOLE TRUTH. Shaw is front and center in this new story while James is a more peripheral character. It probably helps if the reader remembers the plot and their relationship from THE WHOLE TRUTH but it is not a bar to the enjoyment of this new story.
Front and center in the new book is Reggie Campion, a young woman who is part of a group that tracks down and executes people doing horrendous things. Her group operates outside the law and never looks back at the legality or morality of what they have done. Their latest venture is to track down and kill a man known as Evan Waller. He is a powerful man who commits horrendous atrocities and somehow escapes prosecution. Reggie plan to change all that.
At the same time Reggie and her group are focusing on Waller, Shaw and his organization are doing the same. Neither Reggie nor Shaw knows about the other’s plans so when they meet they are skeptical of the timing but have no strong knowledge of who the other person really is. There is an attraction between the two and this attraction stands the chance of messing up the plans of both organizations.
Meanwhile Waller has arrived in Provence and Reggie and Shaw are both there. Waller meets Reggie and wants her. Now she has to balance her feelings for Shaw while encouraging Waller for the betterment of her mission. Shaw goes into protective mode and all kinds of complications arrive. Just when things couldn’t get any more complicated Katie James, who has strong feelings for Shaw, is drawn into the scenario.
This is Baldacci at his best. He knows these characters and he uses them to create his most suspenseful story ever. It is only in scenes of Waller’s fascination with torture that the book goes overboard. In describing the torture Baldacci gives his readers too much information and makes the book difficult to read.
Otherwise the race is on and the thrills are plentiful. Shaw, Reggie and Katie are all characters we can root for even though they have spotted backgrounds, and when the story ends you know you will see some of them in future Baldacci novels.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL is not for the squeamish but for those who can accept the horrors the author describes this is a book to be savored.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL is published by Grand Central Publishing. It contains 406 pages and sells for $27.99.