Book Reviews - Contemporary Fiction

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Review of David Baldacci’s, “The Simple Truth”
I have a habit of going to a thriller or crime novel after every 3 or 4 literary novels just to change things up. Usually I read the likes of Walter Mosley, Jim Thompson or Elmore Leonard as my genre breakers. I became interested in Baldacci after watching his speech/interview on Book TV several months ago. Though I saw and hated the movie, “Absolute Power” based on his book, I decided to give Baldacci’s novels a try because he had mentioned in the interview that the movie had skipped key plot points and characters. I would like to add that I’ve only read Scott Turow from the lawyer-turned-writer genre (if there is such a genre).

The Simple Truth was a curious read. The novel races from page to page true to its genre, but there’s also more remorse and regret in its characters than found in most such novels. I found the parallels between Mike and John Fiske as well as the contrasts between the brothers Harms and the brothers Fiske very interesting. A character such as John Fiske could’ve been the narrator of the story, his back story is that rich and promising, but Baldacci never explores this beyond the surface perhaps to stay true to the plot which is the driving force in these novels.

Baldacci displays his strength when covering the legal arena, the politics of the Supreme Court, the Military, etc. But this is not a novel steeped in the legal proceedings either, I mean, this is not a legal thriller in the true sense of the term, there are no courtroom battles. There are scenes where the judges wrestle, lobby each other on challenging precedents about the law that were insightful but seemed part of a different novel altogether. Atleast, the way Baldacci introduces a key judicial debate seems intrusive to the story’s flow since the reader is set up to expect the next step in John and Sara’s investigative trail.

As far as characterization goes, much of it is done through backstory fed through conversations and the ones that benefit the most are the Harms brothers. The Harms come of as live, breathing characters because they experience the extremes of sin/redemption, punishment/reprieve, condemnation/celebration. They are also the characters that noticeably go through a transformation. John does too, but his is more inferred than shown. Maybe some key scenes could have had more emotional undertones or sharply written dialogues, something poignant to underscore John’s jealousy, his stoic resolve. While the novel concerns itself with Sara and John’s romance, their affection for each other seems more a plot conceit than reality. The novel loses emotional integrity from the way someone like Sara throws herself at John. This is not a judgement call, it just doesn’t seem palatable or normal for Sara to act the way she does around John from the start. That their relationship takes the course it does also plays out like a different kind of story than the one I’m reading. The arguments between John and his father and some of the tiffs between John and Sara seem forced.

The plot itself is very well conceived and pays of well at the end. The two or three twists towards the end were worth the wait. Especially, the one involving an FBI agent was a total surprise. The dyslexia anglewas also a nice touch. I wish Justice Knight’s reaction wasn’t given away earlier in the game, it undercut the surprise in the revelation of one of the bad guys. If you are a reader who loves twists and enjoys a fast pace, then this novel won’t disappoint.