Customer Reviews

Saving Faith [Hardcover]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(36)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

As a diehard Baldacci fan I consider this book his weakest effort so far. The plot is a little too contrived, the characters lack depth, and overall while the book is a decent read, it is not a thrilling page turner like his previous novels. If you have not read Baldacci before don't start with this one. Try "The Winner."It is far more thrilling and much better written.

Complete with inside the beltway powermongers, hidden agendas, and a lot of dangerous dudes, and hired guns, Faith Lockhart, about to spill the beans to the feebs, finds she is, instead the target of an assasin's bullet. From then on, folks, hang out to your hats. It builds with all the speed of a Canadian logger roaring down I-89 during rush hour.

Baldacci accomplishes this in a book that can actually be finished in a couple of sittings and is guaranteed not to put you to sleep.

I had high hopes for Baldacci's latest based on online consumer reviews and on professional critiques of his earlier work. The best indicator of my post-read opinion (other than the title of this review) is the fact that, rather than pass the book on to a friend, I left it in the hotel room where I finished the novel while taking a short vacation.

Problem 1: If the villain had been any more evil and unlikable, he would have resembled an old Sunday morning cartoon character like Wile E. Coyote or Snidely Whiplash. Look, I know it's fiction, but can't I expect even a modicum of plausibility?

Problem 2: Once Baldacci had described the hero and heroine, I could have written the rest of the book for him, with only marginally less impressive results. I certainly knew how the book would end (although my own ending was more creative than Baldacci's), and I easily forecast most of the trials and tribulations these characters experienced.

Honestly, by the midpoint, I was feeling as if I'd wasted over $, and found finishing the book more an exercise in self-discipline than a run towards an exciting and enjoyable finish.

Baldacci has fallen into the same trap that John Grisham did. After writing several engaging stories, he's now churning out books that do a decent job of entertaining but break little new ground. In fact, Saving Faith has so much in common with Pelican Brief that it's scary:

- smart, attractive female lead from hard-knocks upbrining who's making it on her own

- older father figure who acts as mentor

- cardboard cut-out bad guys from the federal government, complete with extraordinary powers

- elite international assassin who screws up his hit on our lovable female lead

The list goes on. Don't get me wrong - this isn't an entirely unlikeable story - it's just that it doesn't break any new ground. The characters are straight out of central casting - the strong but lonely PI, the about-to-be-divorced loner FBI agent who's fighting the system for what's right, etc.

The story moves along at a good clip, and the last 1/3 of the book is quite entertaining. There are a few twists that you may not see coming - and I won't reveal them here - but nothing earth-shattering.

Baldacci's at his best when describing the political system (he once practiced law in DC and knows quite a bit about the Hill). It's when he writes in intricate detail about a certain type of custom-made bullet imported from Europe for the assassin, or when he goes on and on about what type of gun someone is using, that he strays off-target. This isn't his area of expertise - it's as if it comes from someone else verbatim. He may have done his homework, but does it really serve the story?

Overall, this is a decent beach book. Not nearly as good as some of Baldacci's better books, but still a good read.

This book was a huge disappointment when compared to Baldacci's previous works. Bland characters & constant pontificating about the big bad governmnent. I admire his attempt to raise awareness for the plight of LDC's, but how about writing a readable book & subsequently donating the proceeds. This book reminds me of Grisham's Street Lawyer, more opinion than story. You would be better off rereading Absolute Power or The Winner, then plow through this sub par work.

I have put this book down for the last time. I have struggled to get interested...... multiple times. Each time I picked it up again, I came away with the same question: do I care? No compelling plot line to keep me involved; no real interest in any of the characters; I reached page 141 and simply stopped reading and wrote these comments. I have been a victim of the hype usually associated with the release of any new work by a recent NY Times bestselling author. I have to learn to be more discriminating.

I was really looking forward to this book, butunfortunately Baldacci is continuing the downward trend started by his last effort. Basically, his first three books were great, his last was pretty good, however Saving Faith is simply mediocre. Number one, the plot is poor. It really doesn't make any sense and it is very thin. Two, the characters are very one-dimensional and dull, with the exception of Thornhill (he is simply assinine). I wouldn't have really cared if someone had of come in and killed a bunch of them off- it might have been welcomed, in fact. Number three, the book is way too long- take out all the filler and you could probably cut out minimum 50 pages. It seemed as though Baldacci did a lot of research that he felt was necessary to stick in even though it bogged down the plot and cut out any possible excitement or suspense. For example, almost every chapter with Buchanan is virtually pointless except to take up page after page with all of the information Baldacci researched about politics in Washington. And finally, there really were no major twists at all, or any suprises much either. Although it does get better towards the end.

Having said all of this, it still isn't really a BAD book, but I expected much more form Baldacci; there just isn't anything to set it apart from other, much better books. It is in a word, mediocre. If you haven't read Baldacci before you definitely should read one of his earlier books.

I should have heeded the other posts. No, I gave weight to the Amazon review which led one to believe this was much better than it indeed was. Do not disregard your fellow readers. Do not purchase. Don't even waste a library loan on this. Buy something else by Baldacci or another author.

Generally our book club members found this book difficult to follow. The beginning was very slow, and we agree with a previous reviewer's opinion that there were too many initials (FBI, CIA, etc) that added to the confusion. A few of us who are fans of spy/detective novels, loved this book for it's fast paced action. We have decided that we might like the movie better in this case. A couple of surprises but overall it was a predictable read. We did not like the ending. Most of our members would not recommend this book to friends, and would definitely not read it again.

Based on the reviews I read here I was expecting this book to be implausible, boring, slow - it was none of that.

I loved the CIA spy stuff and the differences between the CIA and FBI. I thought it started out quickly, used the middle to explain character motivations, then ended splendidly.

Several times I found myself surprised at the electronic surveillence or plot twist.

I was thoroughly entertained and would recommend this to anyone - as I would any of Mr. Baldacci's books!