Imagine you are a high level, highly skilled investigator
for the US military. Your brother is also in the military, or was. He is
currently serving time in Leavenworth for treason. It is a life sentence.
Suddenly he escapes from this prison, something that everyone believed to be
impossible. He is on the run and you are
asked to hunt him down and bring him back.
Could you? Would you?
This was the task given to John Puller. While the job went
against military regulations he was asked to investigate the breakout by other
departments within the US government.
Intrigue and mayhem ensue and the reader is left with a well written
action packed mystery on hand. Without
giving away the story line for those who have not yet read the book, suffice it
to say that in such an investigation it is best to trust no one and investigate
the complete story behind everything.
This book ties into several issues we face as a nation. With
the release of classified information by Edward Snowdon and his subsequent
asylum in Russia, Baldacci uses the idea that Russians may have infiltrated our
own government too. The probability he
employs is believable but I hope not real.
Several clichés came to mind as I read this book. Follow the
money would prove a valuable tool in solving the mystery and helping his
brother set the story straight. Keep
your enemies close is another one that helps solve many things. Blood is thicker than water also takes on new
meanings as the family sets about resolving the conviction of Robert and his
escape.
While this is a political action book, it is also a book
about family. Why do people behave as
they do? Is the cold, distant, military
father really that detached from his sons? Can the brothers help one another
without destroying all they have worked to achieve in life and their career?
Can John learn to trust a woman after believing his mother abandoned him?
All these questions and more are dealt with in the
book. Well worth the read if you enjoy a
fast paced, political thriller!
