Picture Credit - Amazon
A U.S assassin, homicide went wrong, FBI and Terrorists, not knowing who to trust, Typical Spy Novel 101 right!. But then why does David Baldacci’s ‘The Innocent’ feel so different.
Is it the compelling plot, interesting characters, mysteries that unravel? Yes, all of them, but what makes it different from all other of its genre is the high unpredictability. With Baldacci’s genius, you are always guessing at each point and always keep you at your toes and fulfill the thrill we all came to seek.
Introduction
Book’s Name - The Innocent
Author’s Name - David Baldacci
Genre - Thriller Fiction
Language - English
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
A Government agent, quite the favorite of everyone reading Baldacci, Will Robbie, returns from two successful missions in Tangier and Edinburgh, to find his next target at his home city, a government employee and seemingly easy as per Robbie’s standard.
But when he sees a mother and a child, he hesitates, for the first time in his life, unlikely of assassins but as soon as he recovers, another shooter kills them both and Robbie puts his personal escape plan into action and catches a bus. Fourteen-year-old Julie, who just escaped a foster home, returns to her home and parents only to see them killed by a lone shooter and she escapes on the same bus as Robbie.
The Innocent is a typical Baldacci book- it's got the political angle, it's got a hero who has a unique moral compass, and it's got the crime thriller angle that keeps the page-turning. The story is complicated enough to be interesting and stops just short of becoming downright confusing.
About the Author
David Baldacci is a bestselling American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers. Born in August 1960, he was born in Richmond, Virginia, and was of Italian descent.
He attended Henrico High School and Virginia Commonwealth University and then practiced law in D.C for 9 years. He is also a co-founder of Wish You Well Combat Foundation, which works to combat illiteracy in the United States.
About the Book
The book opens on the eve of Will Robbie’s 40th birthday, Will Robbie has killed so many people that he doesn't remember the names of people he has killed. Upon his successful missions, he had a mission in his hometown of eliminating a government agent that went south as his handler had a backup plan.
He is now on a run and is on a bus. Meanwhile, Julie who ran from her foster home to her parents saw them getting murdered in cold blood. She also runs and boards the same bus as Will.
The meeting between Julie and Robie is conveniently set but easy to excuse, and their interplay is perhaps the most entertaining aspect of the novel. Will thinks of her as resourceful even though she's 14 years old.
Robie vows to find a way to keep her safe and, hopefully, save himself at the same time, only to find out their stories are connected which creates further mysteries. This is the sort of novel that the reader should set time aside to experience because once you start, you won’t want to put it down.
Psychological Analysis
Will Robie is a government assassin who likes to watch the normal people that live around him and hopes to live to be like them one day. To that end, he’s started attending neighbor events and has started a flirtation with an attractive woman across the hall.
He has a clear vision that one day it will all go wrong and that day will be his last. This shows the mental strain and costs his job is having on him. The narrative in The Innocent is intense and procedural in a way that works as action, so it doesn’t bog down the story line.
One thing that really stands out is the bluntness of the violence. It isn't gory nor exaggerated in any way. It is oddly calculated, and Will also doesn't think of life as cheap but the coldness at which he looks at death adds to his characterization. Vance, your typical female cop, opens up as she gets to know Robie and we see her in a new light, as we do all of the characters by the end of the novel.
Famous Quotes
“A pretty accurate rule of thumb is the people who did the most talk about it the least. The blowhards are the ones who did squat.”
“Money is just a means to an end. It shouldn’t be the goal.”
“Life is what it is. You take it as it comes.”
The Bottom Line
The Innocent was in no way the masterpiece novel. When the story line comes together, it’s clearly crafted to be a surprise to the reader only to end up with some expected conclusions But it's definitely a good book and really satisfies the reader.
My rating for the book - 3 on 5
You can buy a copy of this book - The Innocent
Written By - Ashish Joshi
Edited By - Umme-Aiman
0 Comments