The Library, er, The Baldacci Quest

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The Innocent, David Baldacci, 2012, Grand Central Publishing. Genre: Spy

Thriller. 422 pages. Finished 9/2/13.

Absolute Power, David Baldacci, 1996, Warner Books, Genre: Suspense. 469 pages. Finished 9/13/13.

Total Control, David Baldacci, 1997, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 517 pages. Finished 9/20/13.

The Winner, David Baldacci, 1997, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 513 pages. Finished 9/30/13.

The Simple Truth, David Baldacci, 1998, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 470 pages. Finished 10/6/13.

Wish You Well, David Baldacci, 2000, Warner Books, Genre: Fiction. 399 pages. Finished 10/9/13.

Last Man Standing, David Baldacci, 2001, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 548 pages. Finished 10/14/13.

Saving Faith, David Baldacci, 1999, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 451 pages. Finished 10/19/13.

The Christmas Train, David Baldacci, 2002, Warner Books, Genre: Mystery/Humor. 258 pages. Finished 10/24/13.

Split Second, David Baldacci, 2003, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 404 pages. Finished 10/28/13.

Hour Game, David Baldacci, 2004, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 437 pages. Finished 11/6/13.

The Camel Club, David Baldacci, 2005, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 435 pages. Finished 11/17/13.

The Collectors, David Baldacci, 2006, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 436 pages. Finished 11/20/13.

Simple Genius, David Baldacci, 2007, Warner Books, Genre: Thriller. 420 pages. Finished 11/25/13.

Stone Cold, David Baldacci, 2007, Grand Central Publishing, Genre: Thriller. 388 pages. Finished 11/30/13.

The Whole Truth, David Baldacci, 2008, GCP, Genre: Thriller. 401 pages. Finished 12/3/13.

Divine Justice, David Baldacci, 2008, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 387 pages. Finished 12/7/13.

First Family, David Baldacci, 2009, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 449 pages. Finished 12/11/13.

True Blue, David Baldacci, 2009, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 454 pages. Finished 12/14/13.

Deliver Us From Evil, David Baldacci, 2010, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 406 pages. Finished 12/19/13.

Hell’s Corner, David Baldacci, 2010, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 438 pages. Finished 12/27/13.

Sixth Man, David Baldacci, 2011, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 416 pages. Finished 1/2/14.

One Summer, David Baldacci, 2011, GCP, Genre: Schlocky Fiction, 333 pages. Finished 1/4/14.

Zero Day, David Baldacci, 2011, GCP, Genre: Thriller, 434 pages. Finished 1/9/14.

The Forgotten, David Baldacci, 2012, Genre: Thriller, 422 pages. Finished 1/13/14.

LesOpinion: The David Baldacci Slog had a slow start. His first 10 books are among the most poorly written of the entire Quest (in his first novel, Baldacci refers to a baseball as "the white orb." The prosecution rests).

To be fair, Baldacci was clearly learning the ropes and working at the mercy of a tenderhearted editor (one too soft to point out that thrillers written with an abundance of the word "suddenly" could benefit from a bit more subtlety). There is a direct correlation between a lowering page count and the books getting better. By the time Baldacci switched publishing houses (from Warner to Grand Central), his books became worth reading (for the most part).

Look, the man tells a good story in a made-for-the-big-screen kind of way. You can't go wrong picking one up for a ride on the train or a day sick in bed. This reviewer's recommendation is to start with books written after 1998 and never, under any circumstances, read the schlocky fiction he writes to take a break from his action-packed thrillers. Take it from me, Gentle Reader, you will much prefer a hot stick in the eye.