Zero Day [Hardcover]

David Baldacci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2011

From David Baldacci--the modern master of the thriller and #1 worldwide bestselling novelist-comes a new hero: a lone Army Special Agent taking on the toughest crimes facing the nation.

And Zero Day is where it all begins....

John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.

Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

David Baldacci is one of the world's favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 110 million copies in print. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at www.DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at www.WishYouWellFoundation.org, and to look into its program to spread books across America at www.FeedingBodyandMind.com.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Readers expect excitement and intrigue in David Baldacci's books, and Zero Day is no exception...As Baldacci's new hero narrowly escapes countless close calls, the pairing of the author's imagination and knowledge create a wild ride for the reader. Puller is gutsy, brash and likable. Best of all, he survives to reappear in the next book of this new series." (The Free-Lance Star )

"Zero Day is a nifty, paranoid thriller disguised as a murder mystery, and Baldacci advances it at a speedy clip with a nice mix of intrigue, tantalizing clues and the occasional explosion...Baldacci's books are fast-paced battles between good and evil." (Richmond Times Dispatch )

About the Author

David Baldacci lives with his family in Virginia. He and his wife have founded the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. He invites you to visit him at www.david-baldacci.com and his foundation at www.wishyouwellfoundation.org, and to look into its program to spread books across America at www.FeedingBodyandMind.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1St Edition edition (October 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446573019
• ISBN-13: 978-0446573016
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (195 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Baldacci was born in Virginia, in 1960, where he currently resides. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney.
David Baldacci has published seventeen novels: Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, The Collectors, Simple Genius, Stone Cold, and The Whole Truth; and in his young adult series, Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! and Freddy and the French Fries: The Adventures of Silas Finklebean. He has also published a novella for the Dutch entitled Office Hours, written for Holland's Year 2000 "Month of the Thriller." Baldacci authored a short story, "The Mighty Johns," as part of a mystery anthology published in 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tinker, Tailor, Reacher, Puller, November 8, 2011

By 

rck12 (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zero Day (Hardcover)

I just read this book about 30 days ago, except it was written by Lee Child. His latest just released Reacher novel, titled "The Affair". I thought the reviewers were mistaken about Balducci's "Zero Day" being a knockoff...but they weren't! Unfortunately, I pre-ordered Zero Day without looking into it.

Pretty much the same lead character, a military killing, a small southern town, understaffed investigation, and a local female sheriff to partner with. The only thing different were the bad guys, and their evil ways.

So it didn't do much for me, as I just read the Child book first. Had I not, it would have been just an OK read.

For the military-lawyer/investigator genre, my hands down favorite author is Brian Haig, and his six Sean Drummond novels.

130 of 146 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding., November 1, 2011

By 

MED "constantly reading" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zero Day (Kindle Edition)

Baldacci has long been a must read for me. This book is him at his best. The writing is crisp and you are hooked from page one. John Puller is a Army CID - called into investigate a brutal family killing in rural West Virginia. The father is a Defense Intelligence Agency high ranking colonel about to transition to civilian life. Puller questions his solo assignment to the highly sensitive case. He is also saddled with a father who is a living (though retired) Army legend and a brother serving life for treason.

Along the way he partners with a local police detective - female detective Samantha Cole.

Baldacci gives enough background to promote interest without bogging down the story. And just as you think you have it ... the story takes a sharp left. Concisely written police procedural wrapped around a compelling story.

90 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a clone, but it'll peeve us mountain boys, November 3, 2011

By 

Roger D. Curry (FAIRMONT, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Zero Day (Hardcover)

I just don't buy into the Lee Child - Jack Reacher clone idea. If I wrote the book, sure, call your lawyer, Lee - I'm not creative enough to think of such a good plot. But Baldacci made his bones a LONG time ago. He has a long track record of superior writing. Every now and then, there will be some plot overlap within genres, and thrillers are no exception.

Zero Day is written with all of Baldacci's usual skill and perhaps even a little bit more energetic dialogue.

The novel is set in the coal fields of West Virginia. That's my home. And so I look at this with an unusually critical eye for accuracy as will was for perceptions of disrespect - Believe me, West Virginians are REALLY touchy.

I hit the annoyance button on both accuracy and respect, but I'm not sure if that's fair. If I read something set in, say, Washington State, I won't know what's true and what's not, because I've never been there. That doesn't keep me from enjoying the book.

Coal mining is a background theme of Zero Day. The health effects of mining are made up from whole cloth. For instance, there's no explosion of childhood cancer rates around coal mining. This not say that coal mining is good for you - the effects are simply more subtle and some would say more insidious. Baldacci suggests that surface mining does not take place because of extraction costs but because it uses fewer workers. That one is just a head-scratcher - it's all about money. And Baldacci seems to think that it's hard to find coal. Nope, not even. It's not like the old oil and gas wildcatter days when the developer took a chance on a dry hole. Coal seams are very well know, and the development work is about the details of extraction.

And Zero Day's portrayal of West Virginia is, well, fictional. "Moonshine stills" are not a significant law enforcement problem. There are no little mountain lions hopping about in the woods. What I took the most umbrage to was dialogue by a minor character who was removing personal property from the home of someone who had just died: "A lot of folks around here ain't got nothing. They find out you died and ain't got no relations, your stuff's gone before you know it." If I say that about the character of the people in your neighborhood, I'm hoping that you would be peeved. That may happen here, as elsewhere, but it certainly isn't a cultural trait or a common practice.

But to apply my own rubric, there's nothing that takes Zero Day below five stars. It's plot, characters and action are every bit on a par with Baldacci's prior works.

But, Jeez, Dave, next time pick on Ohio or New York, OK?