Sizzling David Baldacci's novels have been called "sizzling" (USA Today) and "superior" (Houston Chronicle). Now Baldacci is back, with the story o...
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Jul 10, 2007
Heather
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This story takes place in and around Washington DC. It centers around an old man who has spent the last 25 years of his life in a military prison for murder. He files an appeal (I won't tell you why), and a star clerk for the Supreme Court gets involved.
There are lots of twists and lots of suspense. There's murder, cover-up, romance, and everything else that David Baldacci is great at. If you've read anything else by him and liked it, you'll love this one.
There are lots of twists and lots of suspense. There's murder, cover-up, romance, and everything else that David Baldacci is great at. If you've read anything else by him and liked it, you'll love this one.
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Jun 15, 2011
Manugw
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NO FLAWS IN THIS ONE
The story is about a black military con who is seeking justice after serving 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. After receiving a letter he discovers that he is innocent and files and appeal with the US Supreme Court because he is well aware that he was a victim of a conspiracy of a group that will do the impossible to cover it up, this appeal is found by a clerk who gets so astounded that begins an investigation on his own bending the standard pro More...
The story is about a black military con who is seeking justice after serving 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. After receiving a letter he discovers that he is innocent and files and appeal with the US Supreme Court because he is well aware that he was a victim of a conspiracy of a group that will do the impossible to cover it up, this appeal is found by a clerk who gets so astounded that begins an investigation on his own bending the standard pro More...
Dec 09, 2010
Sandy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 20, 2010
Jerry
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Entertaining and suspenseful Grishamesque legal thriller!
"Truth" was our first novel by Baldacci, and a pleasant surprise indeed. From first learning that a long-imprisoned military convict is probably innocent of a young girl's murder, to the series of deaths the investigation into these old events precipitates, we can hardly wait to see what will happen next, not to mention "whodunit"! Supreme Court law clerk Michael Fiske gets in over his head when he b More...
"Truth" was our first novel by Baldacci, and a pleasant surprise indeed. From first learning that a long-imprisoned military convict is probably innocent of a young girl's murder, to the series of deaths the investigation into these old events precipitates, we can hardly wait to see what will happen next, not to mention "whodunit"! Supreme Court law clerk Michael Fiske gets in over his head when he b More...
Apr 03, 2010
Linda
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David B. has created a page turner in his novel SIMPLE TRUTH. A black man, Rufus, was attacked while in the Army and given a syringe of PCP. The attackers, we do not find out actually who they are until the last 20 pages, hope to kill him. Why? because he spends the Vietnam Era in the Army land side. They being "macho" think he deserves to die, for not seeing combat. He does not die but blacks out. He spends the rest of his life in an Army Prison. The book starts at the epoch wh
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May 26, 2008
Maureen
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I liked this book because it was a mystery.
It is very well written and an easy read. It is about a lawyer who sets out to clear a man who was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. It certainly shows how the judicial system sometimes fails people. People are getting killed because of the research this lawyer is doing to find out the real truth.
It is very well written and an easy read. It is about a lawyer who sets out to clear a man who was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. It certainly shows how the judicial system sometimes fails people. People are getting killed because of the research this lawyer is doing to find out the real truth.
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Jul 09, 2011
Captainslog
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Nov 14, 2007
Bill
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David Baldacci's "The Simple Truth" was a good read. Good characters, suspense in the Richmond, VA and Washington D.C. area. I took 8th graders to D.C. and toured many of the locations. I recommend the book to suspense fiction lovers, and anyone interested in D.C.
Aug 29, 2011
Barbara
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"This is my first foray into David Baldacci's legal thriller world and it probably won't be my last. Baldacci crafts a decent, if unspectacular, book about Rufus Harms, a black man locked away in prison for the brutal murder of a little girl. Harms, however, has a piece of paper from the United States Army that will exonerate him and he demands an appeal from his lawyer.
This piece of paper quickly sets the plot in motion as a Supreme Court clerk finds it and later is murdered. Jo More...
This piece of paper quickly sets the plot in motion as a Supreme Court clerk finds it and later is murdered. Jo More...
Jan 18, 2012
Bill
rated it: 
I got lost in this one. David Baldacci wrote what could have been a very good book but there were so many characters with similar -- or not different enough -- names that I kept forgetting who was who.
There were some very interesting characters and some really interesting information on the Supreme Court but I felt lost in this book.
There are too many moments where things just were not plausible. I am not giving anything away of great importance here so stick with me.
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There were some very interesting characters and some really interesting information on the Supreme Court but I felt lost in this book.
There are too many moments where things just were not plausible. I am not giving anything away of great importance here so stick with me.
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Dec 06, 2011
Daniel
rated it:
Overall I felt that the book was very enjoyable. I liked the characters and the story built nicely to the end. A few of the twists actually surprised me, which is rare in this type of book. My only complaint (which is why I docked a star) was that it started a little too slow for my taste. I almost stopped reading but was very glad that I continued. !!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!! I think the problem was that when Michael died I felt that I was restarting with a new main character. Maybe if the first part w
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Feb 08, 2012
Richard
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This is one of Mr. Baldacci's older novels that I missed. All I can say is "WOW!" Taking place in and around the Supreme Court, with its Justices and Law Clerks, this book is powerfully written and not only draws one into the intrigue of the story but gives one pause to consider how cases heard there can affect each of us. A Law Clerk to one of the Justices is found murdered. A second Law Clerk is murdered. What are they working on that someone is attempting to cover up? We can q
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Nov 07, 2011
Linda
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When Rufus Harms receives a letter from the Army, it sets into motion a series of events that will shake the Supreme Court. When attorney John Fiske receives word that his brother has been murdered, he is determined to find out who was responsible. His brother Mike was a clerk for the Supreme Court and John along with D.C. detective Buford Chandler believed that Mike saw something that got him killed. Evidence found did not corroborate a simple robbery. John receives assistance from Sarah Ev
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Nov 04, 2010
Jim
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David Baldacci is, in my view, on of the finest political-thriller writers today (and darn good apart from genre). His books keep me going much faster than many other enjoyable authors. The Simple Truth is an early work detailing foul deeds at a military prison that led to the death of a young girl and the incarceration of her soldier killer. Except, of course, the situation is not quite as simple as that, which begins to come to light when the prisoner receives a letter from the US Army that
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Jul 26, 2009
Dainan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 03, 2009
Suzie
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This book defied my low expectations. When I noticed how many books this guy had written I thought it would be a fill-in-the-blank kind of story. The kind that read like the names have been changed, but are otherwise the same old story. Surprisingly, it turned out to be interesting.
I didn’t have it all figured out before I got to the end of the book. (I hate when that happens.) There was a twist concerning one of the characters that I didn’t see coming. (That’s always fun.) And More...
I didn’t have it all figured out before I got to the end of the book. (I hate when that happens.) There was a twist concerning one of the characters that I didn’t see coming. (That’s always fun.) And More...
Jun 16, 2011
Gyula
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I do like a good thriller, especially with twists and turns. The first few pages of this book are so well written, that I found it promising. Reading further I was wondering if it was necessary to introduce so many characters in the beginning. Now I think it wasn’t. Some of them could appear later, and the first part of the book could be better paced.
Baldacci kept the secret hidden until the crisis, which was supposed to give suspense. Actually I found it out at the half of the book, More...
Baldacci kept the secret hidden until the crisis, which was supposed to give suspense. Actually I found it out at the half of the book, More...
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May 11, 2010
Jesse
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I usually find mystery/thriller books to be full of flat and unrealistic characters with poorly conceived stories. Realizing that most people who try out science fiction and fantasy -- my usual forte -- have the same complaints about those genres I decided to give a few of the more popular mysteries a try. I picked up a stack of books from a yard sale and started with the first one alphabetically.
This didn't do anything to dissuade from my opinions. The story was filled with useless More...
This didn't do anything to dissuade from my opinions. The story was filled with useless More...
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Sep 16, 2008
Rika
rated it:
Ceritanya penuh twist, tebakan gue gak ada yang bener, hiks..
Inti ceritanya Rufus Harms, seorang ex Army, dihukum penjara semumur hidup karena telah membunuh Ruth Ann Mosley, seorang gadis berumur 8 tahun. Setelah 25 tahun mendekam di penjara, Harms menerima surat dari Army yang membangkitkan memorinya tentang kejadian 25 tahun lalu, tentang apa yang terjadi di malam saat dia membunuh gadis kecil tersebut, dan bahwa dia hanyalah korban perlakuan keji dari sekelompok orang, bahwa ia m More...
Inti ceritanya Rufus Harms, seorang ex Army, dihukum penjara semumur hidup karena telah membunuh Ruth Ann Mosley, seorang gadis berumur 8 tahun. Setelah 25 tahun mendekam di penjara, Harms menerima surat dari Army yang membangkitkan memorinya tentang kejadian 25 tahun lalu, tentang apa yang terjadi di malam saat dia membunuh gadis kecil tersebut, dan bahwa dia hanyalah korban perlakuan keji dari sekelompok orang, bahwa ia m More...
Jan 08, 2012
Steve
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A good legal thriller, with the emphasis being on the thriller rather than the legal which has got to be a good thing. In fact, the legal bit is really just the backdrop for a pageturning thriller, centering as it does around the US Supreme Court. You get an interesting insight into the workings of the Supreme Court, without being bored by all the legal cases, lawyers arguing etc. [return][return]Not as good as his other books I've read, but still a good read that didn't take me long to read.
Jul 02, 2011
a customer and I were talking about favorite authors. He knew I had read GRishom and Connelly and recommended this author. His books tend to be about government espionage, the bad FBI guy, Bad US President. So they don't promote any faith in gov positions. I still think Connelly is a better author. My customer brought in and gave me 12 of Baldacci's books. So I have read 3-4. They are handy to grab when I'm without reading material. But I still don't like his books that much.
Jan 28, 2010
Brandon
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I finally got around to reading one of these Baldacci books that my brother loaned me. It was a fun read with a twist at the end, but overall is your standard fare for lawyer-adventure books.
Lawyer with ethical law questions? Check
Romantic interest? Check
Being Chased by Bad Guys? Check
Corrupt Government Types? Check
Murder? Of Course
It's definitely worth it as it's a fun read, but nothing life changing or too insightful.
Lawyer with ethical law questions? Check
Romantic interest? Check
Being Chased by Bad Guys? Check
Corrupt Government Types? Check
Murder? Of Course
It's definitely worth it as it's a fun read, but nothing life changing or too insightful.
Aug 30, 2009
Kay
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Rufus Harms had been in prison for 25 years for killing a little girl while he was in the army. Then the letter came which jogged his memory of the night it happened. Michael Fiske clerked at the Supreme Court. When he saw the appeal that came from Rufus' lawyer, he took it and went to see Rufus in the military prison. . .but he never made it home. Michael's brother, John, former cop and now attorney, along with Sara Evans, who also clerks at the Supreme Court, work together to find out why he
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Feb 06, 2012
Natalie
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Really fun lawyer/mystery/Supreme Court/controversy read. Same genre as John Grisham. Well written, some good twists, some slightly hard to keep straight characters, but overall, a fun, fast, easy read. And, the ending turned out to be not quite as predictable as I thought it was going to be. I've always loved (and still do) a good lawyer mystery.
I really would give it 3.5 stars rather than 3 if that were possible.
I really would give it 3.5 stars rather than 3 if that were possible.
Sep 16, 2009
Gerry
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I really enjoyed this one! Twists and turns and who's who. Lots of legal stuff, supreme court stuff. An enjoyable read.
And to fit into my Catholic reads or religious reads, which this was not until the last few pages. Here are the last few sentences:
"He dug his knees into the earth, closed his eyes, bowed his head, placed his hands firmly together and started making his peace. With his brother below. And with whatever lay above."
And to fit into my Catholic reads or religious reads, which this was not until the last few pages. Here are the last few sentences:
"He dug his knees into the earth, closed his eyes, bowed his head, placed his hands firmly together and started making his peace. With his brother below. And with whatever lay above."
Feb 01, 2011
Patrice
rated it:
Really, I'd give it a 2.5 I mean after all, I did finish it, and it's a fairly hefty-sized title. I never bonded with the characters, they all felt so cliched, as did the storyline. I'm thinking I would have enjoyed this more on a hot beach with a cool drink, perhaps. I felt like I was reading a script for a low-budget movie, maybe even a made-for-TV flick. All it was lacking was for some character to say at the end, "and I would have gotten away with it all, too, if it weren't for you medd
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Jul 04, 2010
Mary Jane
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Okay, I actually stayed up all night reading this book, because it was so interesting and hard to put down. I had to give it two stars, because the first 19 chapters were so painfully boring, I would have put the book down, if I had a different option to read. It was only book available. It was really exciting and a great story. I enjoyed the light political tones of the Supreme Court rulings. I highly recommend it. Don't give up before you get past the first 19 chapters!!!
Jun 13, 2011
Jennifer H
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This book was interesting. At the least, it was a look at the inner working of the Supreme Court and it really makes you feel pretty bad about the court system at that highest level (the politics). The story was interesting and had a lot of different elements to it, personal stories and things that the characters had to get over. It wasn't fantastic - it's more of a suspenseful beach book.
Jul 01, 2009
Larry
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A man named Rufus is the central character. He spent 25 years in prison for killing someone, although he was really innocent. What a fascinating story of the legal problems one must deal with to prove himself innocent. An excellent mystery that I highly recommend. Only because of the efforts of a young clerk does Rufus become a free man. However, his brother does get killed trying to help him.
Aug 06, 2011
This was a really good book I ust say. In the beginning I was a bit confused though, with the use of language (nothing wrong with it but I found it quite unusual) maybe I hadn't really gotten into the book yet. Anyway, there were some really great moments where it left me on the edge of seat and I liked that. Hopefully his other books are as exciting, if not more.
