(POLL BALLOT) A Minute to Midnight / David Baldacci - 3***

[Book Concierge]

A Minute To Midnight – David Baldacci
Book on CD read by Brittany Pressley and Kyf Brewer
3***

Book 2 in the Atlee Pine mystery series has the FBI agent forced to take a “vacation” after she nearly beats a child-kidnaper to death. Of course, her faithful assistant, Carol, comes along as the two of them head back to Andersonville Georgia, where Pine’s family lived when her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted. Looking for anyone who might remember what happened when she was just six years old, she comes across a number of people who are clearly hiding something. And to further complicate matters, there’s a serial murderer at work.

Well, this got complicated quickly. It’s not enough that she’s trying to unravel the mystery of her family and what happened those many years ago, but now she has to deal with a pretty twisted individual whose killing spree shows no signs of stopping. Are the new murders tied to Atlee’s family history? Can she put aside her history with agent Eddie Laredo, with whom she once worked in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, and who is assigned to work this case.

Baldacci certainly knows how to craft a compelling page-turner: short sentences, short chapters, and action that keeps the characters and the reader on their toes. It’s fast-paced and compelling, but there were several times when I thought he stretched credulity a bit too far. I did get surprised by the reveal (or at least part of it).

Atlee’s personal story, however, cannot be wrapped up just yet … there has to be at least one more episode. (And, in fact, book three in the series is scheduled to release this November.)

Brittany Pressley and Kyf Brewer narrate the audio version, with Pressley taking the main narration and all female character voices, and Brewer voicing all the male characters. This is a very effective approach.


LINK to my review