I first discovered Baldacci when I read his novel Wish You Well. Since then, I have read several of his popular thrillers. I don’t feel the need to blog individually about each book, as they are very similar in style and substance. However, if you are looking for an easy, entertaining, suspenseful mystery, Baldacci has many to choose from. I particularly enjoy his books because they are mostly set in the DC/Virginia area, which is familiar to me. Baldacci lives in Virginia, and writes very knowledgeably about the area.

Books of his that I’ve read:

Saving Faith: Lee Adams, PI and Faith Lockhart, lobbyist are on the run from powerful Washington leaders.

Split Second: Former Secret Service agent Sean King, and disgraced agent Michelle Maxwell realize that there’s a connection between the crimes both have witnessed. They join forces to clear their names.

Hour Game: King and Maxwell have now formed a PI firm. They must investigate a series of murders in their own hometown. This one was my favorite by far–much more suspenseful, easy to read, yet not as predictable as previous books.

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist, living in South Africa when the US invaded Iraq. Because of his background working with large animals, his immediate thought went to the welfare of the animals living in the Baghdad zoo. With much persistence and the help of many people, Anthony traveled to Baghdad shortly after the invasion to see what could be done to rescue the animals.

Anthony’s story is an amazing one. The zoo was in utter disarray, and in the middle of a war zone. Yet somehow, he, with the help of courageous Iraqis, various foreign nationals and US soldiers was able to save the remaining animals and restore the zoo to a place of rest and beauty. In the midst of the horror of war, Anthony’s story shines brightly with its message of hope.

I finished this book mostly because I wanted to see just how stupid the main character could be. The answer? Very stupid. Jane is a single talk show producer when she meets the handsome executive producer, Ray. Now, Jane knows that Ray is engaged and living with his fiance. But for some reason, she agrees to go out with him. The one date turns into many, and soon Jane and Ray are looking for an apartment together. The catch? Ray is still engaged, and hasn’t even told his fiance about Jane, and Jane knows this. Yet she still gives up her apartment and makes plans with Ray. But then (in an apparent big surprise to Jane) Ray gets cold feet and calls for a “break” in their relationship. Jane spends the rest of the book trying to figure out what went wrong and why men are such jerks.

I had a quick and easy answer for Jane by the 2nd chapter. Ray is a jerk because women like Jane let him be a jerk. They date a guy who’s cheating on someone else, assume it won’t happen to them, and then are surprised when it does happen. There’s no need to analyze the entire male species. Just date guys who aren’t already engaged and you’ll have much better luck! I’m all for a good chick lit book, but this one was a waste of time–don’t bother!

A pretty good young adult novel about a teenage girl trying to find her way in the midst of her step-father’s growing mental illness.  Caletti definitely has some unique characters in her books, and her plots are not the standard boy meets girl found in so many young adult novels.

In the spirit of Frindle, Clements again writes about a student who thinks out of the box. At Dave and Lynsey’s school, the 5th grade boys and girls don’t get along. When Dave challenges Lynsey to a contest, the fight is on: boys vs girls. Whichever group speaks the fewest number of words in two days is the winner. It seems like a simple enough contest, but what the boys, the girls and the teachers learn about themselves and each other in the following two days surprises everyone. A definite must read for 5th graders, their parents and teachers.

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