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Will Robie is a sanctioned assassin for the US government. Needless to say, if he screws up he’s officially on his own. He gets an odd assignment amidst the cartel bosses and terrorists that are his usual hits. He’s assigned to take out a woman who works for the Department of Defense. The official story is, she’s got terrorist ties. He walks into her apartment and realizes something isn’t right. He freezes and re-evaluates as her child wakes up and starts to panic, just in time for a second sniper to kill both him and his mom. Robie goes underground to find out what’s going on. He climbs on a bus and watches a teen girl board as well. Shortly behind her is a man who looks like a professional. Robie watches as the man prepares to kill the girl, ready to act if he needs to. It turns out, she’s capable of taking care of herself but now she’s on the run with Robie.
I wanted something pretty exciting and fun to listen to and I have to say this did fit the bill. It took me by surprise when the sound effects started though. I can’t recall having sound effects in many other audio books and I’m not sure if I like them. Mostly they just yank me out of the story as I look around, wondering where the gunshots are coming from. (I live kind of in the country in the South. It’s not unusual for neighbors to indulge in some target practice.) I liked David McLarty’s narration quite a bit. He has a gruff kind of voice that I thought suited the story perfectly. I also liked that Orlagh Cassidy read the female dialog but I occasionally felt too much like she was actually reading to me. I know, it’s an audiobook and she is reading to me but I don’t want it to sound that way. Mostly I enjoyed her narration too though.
While the book itself was exciting and I never did figure out exactly what was going on until the end, I saw too much of it coming from way too far away. There were a couple of times where I caught myself thinking, “Heaven help us if this is the best and brightest our country has to offer” and rolling my eyes. I might not have put all the pieces together but I did at least know what the pieces were. I’m pretty sure the whole thing was supposed to be a big surprise.
I don’t know that I’ll be running out to read or listen to more books by this author but if the mood strikes for another thriller-ish read, I’d give him another try, either in print or audio.
Read an excerpt.
Find author David Baldacci on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Buy The Innocent at
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.
