Zero Day by David Baldacci

Baldacci has a new hero, a new ethos and another, never boring cliff hanging, throat grabbing thriller.

John Puller takes over for John Carr without a Camel Club or a gang of cronies. Although Puller is dedicated Army, he runs without a safety net throughout the book. The Army is his life and his passion is it’s Criminal Investigative Division. He is an elite Army cop and he is thrown into a situation involving mass mayhem. Every time he turns around there is another murder.

Puller ends up partnering with Sam Cole and the two of them bond through their mutual desire to find the perpetrators’ of mayhem in an impoverished coal mining community in West Virginia.

Once again Baldacci paints such a vivid picture. He sets his stage with clarity and depth. His characters are both larger than life and realistically human.

I worked in an impoverished Appalachian coal community years ago. Baldacci accurately captures the poverty and despair that often results from long term un or under employment.

One can only hope that we see more of John Puller. He was a complex, likeable character.

I highly recommend it.