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A small West Virginia coal mining town is not a desirable place to live. Constant dynamite blasts can be dangerous, and breathing coal dust isn’t good for anyone’s health. Yet that’s where homicide detective Samantha Cole makes her home.
Life is pretty habitual until a family turns up viciously murdered at their residence. The circumstances surrounding the murders aren’t normal, so Cole welcomes the help of the federal government.
The US Army’s Criminal Investigative Division (CID) sends in their best agent, combat veteran John Puller, to investigate the death of a high-ranking military officer. Sent with no additional support, Puller joins forces with Samantha Cole, and they work to unravel a case where nothing makes sense and no clear motive exists.
The deeper Puller and Cole dig, the more confusing the case gets until they’re racing against the clock to uncover a plan that could have an impact that’ll reach far beyond West Virginia.
In John Puller, author David Baldacci has created a character that I love almost as much as Jason Bourne. Like Bourne, Puller’s top priority is to protect the innocent and bring justice to a corrupt world. He’s intelligent and well-trained, and West Virginia couldn’t be in more capable hands.
At the same time, Samantha Cole holds her own as a small town homicide detective. She knows her job and performs it well. Smart and tenacious, she’s a valuable asset to both the police department and Puller—a heroine worthy of praise.
In Zero Day, Baldacci builds a solid foundation and tops it with layers of intrigue and suspense, followed by a thrilling climax that’ll zap the breath from your body. With a masterful hand, he hammers out an intelligent plot with levels of clever turns that eventually lead to an unpredictable end.
I thought that Baldacci’s recent release, Sixth Man, was his best, but Zero Day tops it, and I bet that each book that follows will just keep on getting better and better—especially if he treats his readers to more of John Puller.
