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The Innocent (Will Robie #1)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 11,564 ratings · 1,509 reviews

America has enemies--ruthless people that the police, the FBI, even the military can't stop. That's when the U.S. government calls on Will Robie, a stone cold hitman who never questions orders and always nails his target.
But Will Robie may have just made the first--and last--mistake of his career . . .
THE INNOCENT
It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to el...more

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Published April 17th 2012 by Grand Central Publishing (first published January 1st 2012)

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Jul 02, 2012 Janebbooks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Last August when I wrote a review of THE TOURIST by Olen Steinhauer, I said a few things about some other spy/thriller writers...

Lately, my favorite spy, espionage, thriller writers have gotten a bit boring. Vince Flynn writes thrillers after the fact which makes them alternative history, Tom Clancy has forsaken Jack Ryan, David Baldacci is writing cute (last one was a Nicholas Sparks with a happy ending). The only thing Alex Berenson wrote that I enjoyed was his 2008 review in NY Times of THE G...more Last August when I wrote a review of THE TOURIST by Olen Steinhauer, I said a few things about some other spy/thriller writers...

Lately, my favorite spy, espionage, thriller writers have gotten a bit boring. Vince Flynn writes thrillers after the fact which makes them alternative history, Tom Clancy has forsaken Jack Ryan, David Baldacci is writing cute (last one was a Nicholas Sparks with a happy ending). The only thing Alex Berenson wrote that I enjoyed was his 2008 review in NY Times of THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN TATTOO. I only read Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series when stolen or forged art is involved, and Brian Haig has stopped writing his Sean Drummond series at the bequest of his publisher BUT I found a new author that I'm currently reading and enjoying...

Ten months later I'm a happy camper again having just finished the second of the last two thrillers by David Baldacci....and he's forgiven: no more Camel Club nor summer romance "stuff..." DB has created two new hero spies........John Puller in ZERO DAY and now Will Robie in THE INNOCENT.

In a way Will Robie of THE INNOCENT is the more exciting hero! He's a clandestine assassin for the USA who falters on his last kill. He teams up with a 14-year old bright kid, a runaway from foster homes...and an attractive FBI agent...and seriously considers dating a lovely gal who lives in his apartment complex in Washington, D. C. Quite a change in lifestyle for a spy who's always been a loner!

There's a bus explosion, a run at some Gulf War vets, several foiled assassination attempts by the other side, and a heavily armored government black SUV with no-flat tires and tinted windows that's chasing Robie and the young girl. Lots of action, a nice twist for the ending but... Stop tying up loose ends at the end of your thrillers, Baldacci, that aren't loose. You had me satisfied about twenty pages before you ended both books.

May we have another helping of John Puller and Will Robie, please?

4.25 stars out of 5 stars.

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Mar 15, 2013 Vera Neves rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: emprestados, 2013

Li-o todo ontem, comecei de manhã e acabei à tarde!
Acho que a escrita é muito boa, foi a minha estreia com este autor e gostei imenso.
É daqueles viciantes que dão gosto e que não se conseguem largar! A minha curiosidade foi crescente até porque não fazia ideia como o autor ía ligar as histórias das duas principais personagens. Essa ligação foi a única coisa que não me convenceu no livro, que achei um pouco forçada. De resto, é uma leitura altamente recomendável!!

OPINIÃO:
“Os Inocentes” foi a min...more Li-o todo ontem, comecei de manhã e acabei à tarde!
Acho que a escrita é muito boa, foi a minha estreia com este autor e gostei imenso.
É daqueles viciantes que dão gosto e que não se conseguem largar! A minha curiosidade foi crescente até porque não fazia ideia como o autor ía ligar as histórias das duas principais personagens. Essa ligação foi a única coisa que não me convenceu no livro, que achei um pouco forçada. De resto, é uma leitura altamente recomendável!!

OPINIÃO:
“Os Inocentes” foi a minha estreia com David Baldacci, autor aclamado do thriller e acção. E ganhou mais uma fã. O livro é viciante e para quem gosta deste género, repleto de mistério e segredos, vai adorar “Os Inocentes”.
De início não nos parece possível que um assassino profissional venha a travar amizade com uma jovem adolescente e, inclusive, protege-la de quem a persegue. Mas o destino de Will e Julie está repleto de surpresas e ambos percebem que juntos poderão sobreviver.
Quando pela primeira vez, uma missão de Will corre mal, ele percebe que alguém o tramou e que a fuga é a sua salvação. Não esperava era encontrar Julie pelo caminho, também ela a braços com uma situação de vida ou morte: acaba de assistir ao assassinato dos pais e tem o criminoso no seu encalço.
A escrita é fluída e os capítulos repletos de acção. Com o decorrer dos acontecimentos, Will percebe que a história de Julie poderá estar relacionada com a sua história. Alguém os quer matar e nenhum dos dois sabe porquê! A única coisa que sabem é que não podem confiar em ninguém!
Julie tem uma inteligência fora de série e uma resistência pouco comum numa adolescente de 14 anos. Will é assassino mas trabalha pela paz mundial, trabalha sozinho e não mantém relações sociais com ninguém. Até que Julie traz ao de cimo sentimentos que ele já esquecera, como a preocupação pelo outro e o companheirismo. Ambos habituados à solidão e a lidar sozinhos com os seus problemas, terão de ceder para confiarem um no outro e ajudarem-se mutuamente.

Toda a história é repleta de voltas e reviravoltas, O FBI tem infiltrados que dificultam a proteção a Julie e a própria descoberta dos maus da fita. Will tem que trabalhar sozinho se quer chegar à verdade. No entanto vê na agente especial Nicole Vance uma possível aliada e decide arriscar e pela primeira vez trabalhar com uma parceira. Ajudar o Presidente dos EUA vai ser um dos pontos altos do percurso de Will na descoberta pela verdade.

Mistério, suspense e conspiração fazem deste livro uma leitura viciante e empolgante. Leiam, não se irão arrepender.

Boas Leituras!!

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Jun 21, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

By David baldacci. Grade A

This is the first time that I have gotten my hands on something written by David Baldacci, and now I regret not having read anything by him before.
As is often the case, I try to guess the plot by looking at the jacket. The first one was: a common American who turns against some extremely powerful System to save his daughter. The blurb cleared that misconception. This was the first of many; Baldacci is good at that – flawlessly leading you to believe something without ac...more By David baldacci. Grade A

This is the first time that I have gotten my hands on something written by David Baldacci, and now I regret not having read anything by him before.
As is often the case, I try to guess the plot by looking at the jacket. The first one was: a common American who turns against some extremely powerful System to save his daughter. The blurb cleared that misconception. This was the first of many; Baldacci is good at that – flawlessly leading you to believe something without actually saying it, and then doing just the opposite.
An assassin with a mission. But whose side is he on?
Another action-packed thriller from one of the world’s most popular writers.
Back in DC after successful missions in Edinburgh and Tangier, assassin Will Robie sees his latest assignment, to eliminate a US government employee, go badly wrong. What had she done, or what did she know? Robie is now a wanted man.
But it seems that he’s not the only one on the run. Young teenager Julie Getty is devastated by the inexplicable murder of her parents in their home. Who wanted them dead, and why, is a mystery. But Julie is smart enough to believe that their killer will come after her. Robie and Julie meet when he saves her from an attempt on her life as they were trying to leave town.
The police investigating the hit start to take an interest in Robie. He’s particularly attracting the interest of Special Agent Nicole Vance, who believes that the two cases are connected. Robie finds himself in a dangerous position as he is tasked to investigate a crime at which he was present. Does he need to change sides to save lives – including his own?
So, the synopsis made it clear that the central character is Secret Agent Will Robie, who is actually an official assassin of the US government’s secret services. He is trained to kill people without questioning the reason and he is the best at his job. Initially he comes across as ruthless and cold-blooded, but redeems himself when the reader learns his “victims” were international terrorists or national threats. During one such assignment his Still-Human side overcomes his Cold-Blooded-Killer side and gives him pause. For the first time in his career, he disobeys the agency’s orders and runs from the kill site. What happens during his run is interesting. He finds Julie Getty, a fourteen year old girl running from her killer’s parents and still in the throes of his Still-Human side, he lets her join him. His plan is simple: keep both of them alive.
Now Julie is the real star of the story. Not only is she talented beyond her age, she is fearless and sensible as well. She saw her parents die right in front of her eyes and now she is beyond any emotion, suffering or pain. But she knows whom to trust and she trusts Robie. She also makes him feel. Under Julie’s tutelage, Robie discovers a new side of himself. He even develops a semi-crush on a White House Staffer named Annie Lambert, which is really not his natural behavior.
The story takes a turn when Robie’s agency finds that his ‘handler’ has turned up and deceived the country by sending Robie on an innocent’s kill. At this point, I started to feel that everyone was a convict, be it the FBI or DCIS.
It’s proof of the author’s terrific storytelling capabilities that he drew me in from the very first chapter and retained my attention till the last. Baldacci has a natural capability to make the reader visualize things by describing every minute detail in a way that isn’t tedious. Sometimes I felt as if I was an eyewitness to whatever was happening.
The story is like a puzzle but every piece is placed at a location where you can start thinking of next possible match. I am still amazed with David Baldacci’s capability of scattering the plot into million pieces but putting it back together with so much precision. At the end of every chapter my mind was working faster than usual by trying to guess the next event. I am also awed by the perfect sync of the chapters. Baldacci didn’t miss even a single time frame, something that made the book a One-Sit read for me, which is applause-worthy seeing how long the book is. The twists and turns of the story kept me enthralled throughout the book and even after that, I kept on thinking about them over and over again.
The language was simple yet very gripping throughout the book. I consider it a Visual Book instead of just a novel because you will actually see what you read. ‘The Innocent’ is a book that will keep your brain engaged all the time, so make sure you don’t have anything else worth doing when you’re reading it. ;)

originally reviewed at : http://www.the-vault.co.cc/(less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Susan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this book on a long road trip, and would have bailed after the first chapter if I had not been trapped in the car for hours. My first Baldacci book, I found the writing in The Innocent comically sophomoric. Really, I laughed out loud several times and found myself predicting the inane dialog aloud while hurtling down the highway. It was impossible to suspend disbelief listening to this over the top ridiculous plot and cartoonish characters. Clearly, many people love this book, but...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-on-my-kindle

I just finished The Innocent and didn't want the book to be over. A great book with with a lot of action and wonderful cast of characters. Will Robie is the ultimate hit-man for the US government and gets caught up in situation he's never faced before. THrough a series of events he hooked up with 14 year old Julie who has just seen her parents murdered. The plot is intense with a lot of twists and turns. I had the "bad" guy narrowed down to two people but couldn't figure the how and why until th...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, murder, mystery, spy-thriller, suspense

I have read quite a few Baldacci books, but really liked this latest audiobook. Will Robie, the main character and CIA assassin, is sent to Washington, DC to handle an assignment. This is when the action begins and it does not stop until the end. I listened to this in audio format and was glad to hear that the two narrators have done a number of his books including the Camel Club series.

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Mar 24, 2013 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An easy read, I love a good suspense and the author held my attention wanting to piece the puzzle together before the beginning of the next chapter. The author does a good job of providing clear visuals for the reader. Overall, a good read.

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May 15, 2013 Christopher Bunn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If viewed as a food, The Innocent is a bowl of cheerios, served with skim milk. I occasionally eat cheerios, but not that often. The cereal leaves me feeling full for about half an hour, at which point I must hunt down additional food, setting forth in the tradition of our hunter-gatherer forefathers and locating prey (either in the refrigerator or in the pantry).

Cheerios, despite the vociferous claims of the manufacturer, are largely devoid of nutritional content. Aesthetically, they are unappe...more

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May 03, 2013 Dlora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure-action, political-thriller

I was surprised by how much I liked this political thriller, which we had bought for Greg to read. He's read other Baldacci's and not given them highest marks, so I was never tempted to read them, but I was caught without a book while waiting for Greg one day and started reading. I was caught. Baldacci's writing reminds me somewhat of Lee Child, but without quite the level of detail that makes those so interesting and not the physical hand-to-hand confrontations that Reacher often initiates. How...more

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May 01, 2013 D rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Absolutely 5 stars thru most of the book, then I'd drop down to 4 stars near the end.

*** Partial spoilers Follow ***

Will Robie is a hit man for the US government who gets sent on an unusual mission to kill a US citizen at home - a mother with two children - that he eventually realizes is a set up. But it the course of escaping, the mother is murdered anyway and he winds up on a bus with a teenage girl that another professional assassin is trying to kill. Will helps her escape that situation onl...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Taylor Sutton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Throughout the history of literature, secret agents have captured the hearts of fans across the globe. There’s Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, the Hardy Boys, and of course Jason Bourne. In 2012, another name was added to this prestigious list. His name is William Robie, an assassin for the U.S. government in The Innocent, a fiction novel by David Baldacci. He played a major role in a great book. I thought The Innocent was a tremendous novel because of its fast paced action and its detail in crimi...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Ioana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, spy-thriller

This is my first Baldacci book and my first impression is: WOW!

I am usually a fan of golden age mysteries (i.e. Christie), dystopic fiction (i.e. Atwood), and ironic satire (i.e. Irving, Heller, Vonnegut), and typically have not enjoyed modern American "pulp" mysteries for their bland writing, generic style, cookie cutter characters, predictable plots, etc. I wasn't expecting much from Baldacci, so the fact he so unequivocally turned me into an obsessed fan over the course of one book quite ama...more This is my first Baldacci book and my first impression is: WOW!

I am usually a fan of golden age mysteries (i.e. Christie), dystopic fiction (i.e. Atwood), and ironic satire (i.e. Irving, Heller, Vonnegut), and typically have not enjoyed modern American "pulp" mysteries for their bland writing, generic style, cookie cutter characters, predictable plots, etc. I wasn't expecting much from Baldacci, so the fact he so unequivocally turned me into an obsessed fan over the course of one book quite amazes me.

The Innocent is by no means literature and the style of the writing is not poetic, unique/innovative, beautiful, or imaginative. However, it fits: it's descriptive enough without being annoying (sooo many modern pulp writers go off on tangents describing the likes of the beautiful morning sun in such horrific language and with absolute irrelevance, it's grating), and it aptly does justice (and enhances, instead of detracting) from the BRILLIANT plot and character development. The fact I did not throw this book at the wall due to the pretense of fanciful writing most modern American pulp novelists engage was surprising for me.

Next, the two strongest points: PLOT & Characters.

This is a relatively long novel yet it had me glued one day for 7 hours straight; I fell asleep reading it at 4am and woke up early the next morning in order to finish the remaining chapters. The plot is fast paced, the mystery fascinating, the development plausible, and just enough is revealed along the way to make the reader salivate curiosity. Another aspect I loved is that there was no irrelevancy: all parts of the story presented tied into the larger plot. Too many modern mystery writers in my opinion fancy themselves literary poets and go off on irrelevant tangents about the misty morning and some guy's feelings for his ex-wife (really in fact just making up for lack of character development).

Which brings me to the characters: Baldacci really had me here, and his language was key. Instead of moralizing and telling irrelevant stories about past events that reveal a character's inner humanity, Baldacci stuck to a matter of fact tone, morally ambiguous descriptions (i.e. the most obvious is the fact that Robie is an assassin yet the reader grows to love and understand him), and non typical psychologies. Robie, for example, is not some macho guy with (hidden or not) anger problems proving his masculinity by killing people (the typical detective/spy stock character of not so brilliant writers), but a deep, multi faceted character who is both compassionate (like with Julie), susceptible to love despite his detachment, and also deeply committed to his country and mission. He's a (flawed) hero without being portrayed screamingly as such in explicit, crude moralistic language.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Moving on to The Hit next and then I don't know how I'm going to wait another year for another sequel!!!

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Apr 10, 2013 David Roberts rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I am reviewing is The Innocent by David Baldacci which is an excellent thriller which I bought from a local supermarket. This stand alone thriller is currently in the UK paperback chart. This is one of his better novels although his books tend to be pretty good. The plot is there is an assassin nearing the end of his career as he is 40 and must be at the peak of fitness for his job. He has been set up. The man he was meant to kill was murdered by someone else who subsequently tried to k...more The book I am reviewing is The Innocent by David Baldacci which is an excellent thriller which I bought from a local supermarket. This stand alone thriller is currently in the UK paperback chart. This is one of his better novels although his books tend to be pretty good. The plot is there is an assassin nearing the end of his career as he is 40 and must be at the peak of fitness for his job. He has been set up. The man he was meant to kill was murdered by someone else who subsequently tried to kill him & the victim's daughter & then got blown up as he boarded a bus. The police are now after Robie the assassin. He teams up with the daughter in a bid to get to the bottom of it. I won't give too much away but the hitman's employer fought in The First Gulf War as did the victim. They narrow the list of possible perpetrators down to 7 and then 3 because 4 died years ago. They all fought in the same war. The murderer has links to Saudi Arabia who would also like to sort him out. Robie's only chance of getting out of this mess is to do the police's job for them and solve the case. It's a good story and the places he visits are well researched. The book does take in the catacombs at Edinburgh, Morocco and the White House in Washington DC. It does have a happy ending. The book I am reviewing is The Innocent by David Baldacci which is an excellent thriller which I bought from a local supermarket. This stand alone thriller is currently in the UK paperback chart. This is one of his better novels although his books tend to be pretty good. The plot is there is an assassin nearing the end of his career as he is 40 and must be at the peak of fitness for his job. He has been set up. The man he was meant to kill was murdered by someone else who subsequently tried to kill him & the victim's daughter & then got blown up as he boarded a bus. The police are now after Robie the assassin. He teams up with the daughter in a bid to get to the bottom of it. I won't give too much away but the hitman's employer fought in The First Gulf War as did the victim. They narrow the list of possible perpetrators down to 7 and then 3 because 4 died years ago. They all fought in the same war. The murderer has links to Saudi Arabia who would also like to sort him out. Robie's only chance of getting out of this mess is to do the police's job for them and solve the case. It's a good story and the places he visits are well researched. The book does take in the catacombs at Edinburgh, Morocco and the White House in Washington DC. It does have a happy ending. (less)

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Apr 06, 2013 Ware rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just when you think, David Baldacci has lost his touch, along comes The Innocent.

Baldacci has created several series, most notably The Camel Club. After a while Oliver Stone and his strange crew of club members became cartoonish. Apparently he recognized this as well. The Innocent features two new characters who are undoubtedly headed for a series on their own- Will Robie and FBI "super agent" Nicole Vance. Robie is a professional assassin for the good guys at a federal agency known by its initi...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Joe Orozco rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What do an American assassin and a foster care kid have in common? For starters, they're both targets of multiple murder attempts, but who is the source pulling the strings behind the brazen displays of violence that will range in scope from a drive-by-night bus stop to the center of government.

It was just okay. Baldacci is Baldacci, and both new and old readers will appreciate the novel for what it is. Still, I who am not the sharpest tool in the shed, figured out the culprit well before the cu...more

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Feb 10, 2013 D.g. Gass rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Of course one can’t help to have heard of David Baldacci’s name if they spend anytime perusing the New York Times or Amazon’s Best Sellers list. And while I’ve heard of him, I’ll honestly admit that I’ve never read him – until now. And before I go on with the review, keep in mind that one of my all-time favorite novels involves a clown in a sewer grate saying we all float down here. So exact factual references are not an absolute necessity for me to enjoy a work of fiction. That being said…

From...more

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Jan 19, 2013 Douglas Cook rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spy, suspense, thriller

An assassin faces his aging mortality.

First paragraphs
WILL ROBIE HAD closely observed every one of the passengers on the short flight from Dublin to Edinburgh and confidently deduced that sixteen were returning Scots and fifty-three were tourists. Robie was neither a Scot nor a tourist. The flight took forty-seven minutes to cross first the Irish Sea and then a large swath of Scotland. The cab ride in from the airport took fifteen more minutes of his life. He was not staying at the Balmoral Hote...more

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Jan 09, 2013 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can I say, I'm a Baldacci fan. There's really not much he writes that isn't fun to read in my opinion. But this particular story resonates on a variety of levels for me. One of those ways is his use of a teenager as one of his protagonists, which is artfully done. It's tough to use a child in most of Baldacci's stories and I wasn't sure how he would do it, but he did!

I'm not much one for spoilers, so I will not go into the plot or do much more character description. Just know that, while th...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, morocco, washington-dc

This started out as a pretty thrilling and fun ride and promising for my first experience with a Baldacci tale. But ultimately the trope of someone trained to be killing machine slowly learning to become more human wore a little thin. That and the somewhat sappy role of a female FBI agent and a scrappy teenage girl in this process leads me to rate it modestly.

Right away Baldacci sucked my tense attention in pretty good as we follow CIA agent Will Robie through a series of thrilling and crafty as...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Kevin Kirkpatrick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am getting close to reading all of David Baldacci's entire catalog of novels. Compared to other writers he doesn't have as many titles in his portfolio, but he's getting there. The first book I read of his was Zero Day. You can read my review of it here. It was so good I went down to our local second hand book store and bought up copies of all the other Baldacci titles they had and I've been reading ever since. I especially like the detective team of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, both former...more I am getting close to reading all of David Baldacci's entire catalog of novels. Compared to other writers he doesn't have as many titles in his portfolio, but he's getting there. The first book I read of his was Zero Day. You can read my review of it here. It was so good I went down to our local second hand book store and bought up copies of all the other Baldacci titles they had and I've been reading ever since. I especially like the detective team of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, both former secret service agents; these stories I can't get enough of, but all of Mr. Baldacci's series are great. I am just now starting to read his very first novel Absolute Power which Clint Eastwood made into a pretty good movie. After that I will move onto other novels while awaiting the next Baldacci installment.

The Innocent is classic spy thriller type stuff with cutting edge military and government tactics on full display. The hero, Will Robie (I pronounce it Robby - but Mr. Baldacci probably intended for it to be pronounced Ro-bee, with a long ohh sound, but he forgot to tell me that) is a U.S. government employed assassin, flying all over the world and taking out the enemies of our country in swift and spectacular fashion. Like most of David Baldacci's protagonists, Robie is the best at what he does, able to pull off hits with microscopic margins for error and then get away. Although he is a cold-blooded killer, Robie has a heart and conscience. This becomes evident when his path crosses with a fourteen year old foster home veteran named Julie Getty, a girl on the run after witnessing her parents murder. The two team up to solve the murder and figure out how it is tied to Robie and his sanctions. There is a female FBI agent helping Robie and as usual there are hints of sexual tension between the two, but Robie really has his eye on another girl.

Although the plot in the end borders on the implausible (what self-respecting Thriller doesn't have one of these?) it is a fast-paced whodunnit with plenty of action and enough hairpin curves to keep the reader guessing almost to the last few chapters. I thought it was great.

The girl, Julie Getty, is the one piece of the novel that soured for me a bit. Mr. Baldacci chose to make her a street-wise urchin with a very high IQ and an ability to reason well beyond the majority of adults; not that this is not possible, but I've known and know a lot of fourteen years old's who not only lack common sense but are also woefully lacking in the ability to reason. So Miss Getty is a bit much to accept. As the story progresses there remains enough distrust from Julie towards Robie to keep it plausible, most novels would have them wanting to be a family together with the hero adopting the urchin in the end making a happy family and a happy ending, of sorts. Thankfully that doesn't happen here.

What I continue to like and appreciate about a David Baldacci novel is that, so far, he has resisted the urge that seems to plague all high-profile novelists that lace their stories with profanity and graphic sex. It is my personal opinion that people who resort to the old standbys of foul language and sex only cheapen their work and cause it to smell of old sewers (not that I know what an old sewer smells like - just imagining). These elements are an instant disappointment for me and as a result I have stopped reading many authors for this reason. I am sure that I am in the minority on this, as these people continue to sell bazillions of books; the world just can't get enough of sex and profanity. I think it is a major crutch, keeping an otherwise good writer from improving their craft. Obviously good stories can be written without filth between the pages and the tired argument of "keeping things real" just doesn't work anymore. I think writers put smut in their books because, well, they like smut. That is what excites them. It has nothing to do with good story telling.

Unlike other successful writers, like Clancy and Roberts and Cussler, David Baldacci seems to still be exploring different characters and scenarios and doesn't rely on a franchise character or characters to fuel his work; his last two books have introduced new characters. He hasn't given up yet, though, on strong, manly and highly skilled protagonists to drive his plots. For now that is what is selling his books.

If you love fast paced shoot'em up mysteries, then I recommend you pick up a copy (still resisting the urge to go digital), and read The Innocent. I don't believe you will be disappointed. I wasn't.(less)

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Nov 07, 2012 Kris rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, suspense

Zero Stars

"It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable. He refuses to kill. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and must escape from his own people.
Fleeing the scene, Robie crosses paths with a wayward teenage girl, a fourteen-year-old runaway from a foster home. But she isn't an ordinary runaway-her parents were murdered, and her o...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Robert Carraher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

America has enemies, some foreign some domestic and Will Robie will see them all dead - except the innocent.
Having established himself as the premiere writer of “conspiracy in high places” thrillers in 1996 with his first novel, Absolute Power which was made into a hit movie starring Clint Eastwood, Baldacci has now written over twenty novels and remains the master of that subgenre. In The Innocent, Baldacci remains at the top of his game. Baldacci’s success lies in an ability to build plots and...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Joseph Lowry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Will Robie is the man America or her allies turn to when they need someone eliminated. Classified as one of the top five assassins in the world, nothing gets between him and the job that must be executed. The only problem is that the latest assignment just turned his world upside down.

Sent to a small apartment near the nation's capitol to eliminate what he was told was a woman who was attached in some way to terrorism, everything was going to his plan, until he was just about to pull the trigger...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Leew49 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

If you're willing to suspend disbelief just a little bit, this book is what they like to call a page turner. Will Robie, a remorseless government assassin honed to Jason Bourne perfection, balks when his latest assignment doesn't seem to make any sense. His hesitation--perhaps the first indication of real humanity beneath his coldly efficient exterior--sets in motion a complicated series of events that test his skills while exposing his emotions. Robie combats a cleverly designed conspiracy aime...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Lizzie Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

‘The Innocent’ by David Baldacci
Published by Macmillan, 4 May 2012. ISBN: 978-0-230-74925-2

Will Robie is an assassin. He kills to order, and sleeps soundly - when he sleeps that is. Returning to DC following two successful eliminations he awaits his next assignment. His instructions arrive on a memory stick and he has no reason to think that his latest job should be any different, but it doesn’t work out that way, and Robie is suddenly the one being hunted.

Fourteen-year-old Julie Getty has been...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books-read

I'm not a big fan of novels about spies, secret operatives or hit men, but David Baldacci is one author who hasn't disappointed me so I decided to give his most recent book, The Innocent, a try in audio book format. The book was read by Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy -- both did a great job.

In this story Will Robie, is a hit man for the US government. His targets typically are terrorists who are planning to harm or threaten the safety and security of others. He is very good at what he does, but...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Ciciely Hickmon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

David Baldacci has been called the premiere writer of “conspiracy in high places” when it comes to thrillers and his latest book, The Innocent, proves that he is the master of that subgenre still. In Baldacci’s latest novel he introduces a new character named Will Robie, a veteran assassin who works for an undercover, off the grid, elite U.S. Government agency. Whenever Robie is called to duty he shows up and accomplishes any task put before him with deadly efficiency. That is until this last as...more David Baldacci has been called the premiere writer of “conspiracy in high places” when it comes to thrillers and his latest book, The Innocent, proves that he is the master of that subgenre still. In Baldacci’s latest novel he introduces a new character named Will Robie, a veteran assassin who works for an undercover, off the grid, elite U.S. Government agency. Whenever Robie is called to duty he shows up and accomplishes any task put before him with deadly efficiency. That is until this last assignment.

Right off the hills of two assignments to eliminate threats to the US and abroad, Robie is called on to dispose of an enemy very close to home; as close as the nation’s capital. Never one to question the reason why he is called to remove a subject, there is just something about this latest hit that does not sit well with Robie. Even though he has doubts, he still accepts the assignment and sets out to eradicate his latest target. Robie has always prided himself with being able to set any emotional feelings aside and to concentrate on the target at hand. He is a cold blooded executioner, that’s why he has survived the many dangerous situations he has been assigned to.

After following his next “problem” for a couple of days, Robie is still a bit uneasy with how this woman could be a threat to the United States, he can’t believe he’s gone from cartel bosses to Saudi princes to this. He reasons that maybe she has ties to a terrorist organization and has to be eliminated because of it. With Robie’s handler in his ear monitoring his every movement from a distance, which is also something different from his other assignments. Robie easily enters the apartment, puts on his night vision goggles and takes stock of what’s inside the apartment, as he walks to the bedroom he notices children’s toys and this gives Robie pause…he’s there to kill a young mother.

Robie enters the bedroom of the young mother and puts his hand around his gun; he lifts his gun from his pocket and points it at the unsuspecting sleeping mother. He raises the pistol, lines up the shot and takes aim at his target, until he sees a lump move next to her and realizes her child is in bed with her. With his handler in his ear yelling at him to shoot Robie freezes for the first time in his career and does not take the shot. Robie’s handler, sounding hysterical and telling him to “shoot”, “shoot her now”, Robie ignores the man’s screams and also seals hit fate that very moment.

Robie realizes that his handler is not screaming in his ear anymore and his gut tightens and the inevitable happens, the targets are eliminated. Robie’s handler comes back on the line and tells him to get out of the apartment now and orders him to go to the fire escape. At that moment Robie realizes that he is now a target for the very people he works for. He discards the earwig and goes to his plan B to escape his counterparts.

Robie escapes the other assassins and makes his way to a late night bus station to flee to New York and later out of the country. He purchases a ticket, boards the bus and notices a man boarding the bus also, a man like himself, an executioner. However the man is not on the bus for Robie, he notices the man is fixated on a young girl that is on the bus. Robie doesn’t want to get involved but he can’t stop himself from helping the young girl when the assassin tries to attack her, Robie kills the assassin and flees with the girl. As they both exit the bus, it explodes and neither Robie’s life nor the young girls will ever be the same again.

David Baldacci has done it again, he has crafted yet another amazing story of betrayal, murder, loyalty and patronage with twist and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Innocent is a book you will find difficult to put down and it will make conspiracy theorist feel like they have been right all along. If you are not familiar with David Baldacci, after reading this book you will become a fan like I am.

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Aug 12, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Jul 18, 2012 Anjit Sharma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

David Baldacci is #1 New York bestselling author. His specialization is in Crime and Thriller genre. Latest offering from him is ‘The Innocent’, story of an American secret agent, Will Robie, who is trained to kill people without questioning. Initially I considered him a person with no moral but later I found he is not that bad because persons whom he killed were international terrorists or national threats. During one such assignment his Still-Human side overcame his cold-blooded-Killer side an...more David Baldacci is #1 New York bestselling author. His specialization is in Crime and Thriller genre. Latest offering from him is ‘The Innocent’, story of an American secret agent, Will Robie, who is trained to kill people without questioning. Initially I considered him a person with no moral but later I found he is not that bad because persons whom he killed were international terrorists or national threats. During one such assignment his Still-Human side overcame his cold-blooded-Killer side and made him think that the kill is wrong which made him disobey the agency’s order and run from the kill site.
During his run he prevents a murder of a fourteen year old girl named Julie Getty who is running from the killers of her parents. Finding the little girl in such situation Robie decided to take her along. But later he realized someone is badly trying to kill that girl. And finally he took over control of the situation. Now his plan is simple Stay Alive and Keep her Alive too. He finds his new side after Julie’s arrival in his life; he even started liking a White House Staffer named Annie Lambert, which is really not his natural behavior.
Story takes a spectacular turn when Robie’s agency finds that his ‘handler’ was turned up and deceived the country by sending Robie on an innocent’s kill. The storytelling of Baldacci gripped me from the chapter 1 to chapter 100 and I found me digging deeper in the book. Baldacci has a natural capability to make reader visualize things by describing every minute details of it. Sometimes I felt as if I am an eyewitness of everything happening and sometimes I found me engaged in a pursuit.
The story is like a scattered puzzle and every piece is placed at a location where you can start thinking of next possible match. At the end of every chapter my mind was working faster than usual by guessing the next event. I am still amazed with the perfect sync of the chapters, Baldacci haven’t missed even a single time frame which made it One-Sitting-Read for me. Though it’s tough for many to sit constantly for that much time but trust me, It worth it. The twists and turns of the story kept me enthralled throughout the book and even after that kept on thinking over and over again.
I’m really impressed by storytelling and they way characters are made to seem realistic. He missed not even single fact, everything is well researched. Language is simple yet very gripping throughout the book. I will consider it a Visual Book instead of just a novel because you will actually See what you will Read. ‘The Innocent’ is a book that will keep your brain engaged all the time, so make sure you can afford that much time.

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Jul 12, 2012 Jan Derksen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Will Robie werkt als huurmoordenaar voor de Amerikaanse overheid. Zijn nieuwe doelwit wordt gezien als een vijand van de Verenigde Staten, hoewel diens schuld nooit kan worden bewezen. Voor Robie is het een eenvoudige klus die geen problemen zou moeten opleveren. Maar bij het verlaten van de plaats van de moord, doet hij iets waarvan hij weet dat het hem in de problemen zal brengen. Hij redt het leven van een meisje… Het meisje blijkt te zijn weggelopen uit een tehuis en Robie brengt haar naar d

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About David Baldacci

David Baldacci was born in Virginia, in 1960, where he currently resides. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney.

David Baldacci has published sixteen novels: Absolute Power, Total Control, The Win...more

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“There's always more to life than money, Will. Money is just a means to an end. It shouldn't be the goal. Annnie Lambert” — 3 people liked it

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