Customer Reviews

Zero Day

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(43)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

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.

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.

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?

The new book from David Baldacci "Zero Day" introduces us to a new hero, John Puller. Like in his other books David Baldacci the plot develops quickly and makes you root and care for the hero. He is a army Special Agent who prefers field work to advancement in the military ranks. He is called to investigate a case in rural area in West Virginia, and unravels a conspiracy that reaches well beyond the borders of West Virginia borders. The plot is fast-moving, enjoyable, and unpredictable. Just when you think you know what is happening Baldacci takes the story in a new direction.

I got this book on a vacation day when I was supposed to do a slew of errands... however, I could not put the book down and wound up reading the book all day turning my chore day into a fantastic trip into imagination and adventure.

The book ends in a way that makes you think we will be seeing this hero again, and I am looking forward to it.

Ali Julia review
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P.S.

I "discovered" David Baldacci only about a year ago. My plan is to read all David Baldacci books, so I put this list together with all the books and which series they belong to, I hope someone else will find this list useful as well.

David Baldacci book by publication year

Absolute Power (1996)
Total Control (1996)
Winner, the (1997)
Saving Faith (1999)
Simple Truth, the (1999)
Wish You Well (2000)
Last Man Standing (2002)
Christmas Train, the (2002)
Split Second (2003) King&Maxwell series
Hour Game (2004) King&Maxwell series
Camel Club, the (2005) Camel Club series
Fries Alive! (2005)
Collectors, the (2006) Camel Club series
Mystery of Silas Finklebean, the (2006)
Simple Genius (2007) King&Maxwell series
Stone Cold (2008) Camel Club series
Divine Justice (2008) Camel Club series
Whole truth (2008) Shaw&James series
First Family (2009) King&Maxwell series
True Blue (2009)
Hell's Corner (2010) Camel Club series
Deliver us from eval (2010) King&Maxwell series
The Sixth Man (2011 King&Maxwell series
One Summer (2011)
Zero Day (2011)

Baldacci books by series

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell
1 : Split Second (2003) by David Baldacci
2 : Hour Game (2004) by David Baldacci
3 : Simple Genius (2007) by David Baldacci
4 : First Family (2009) by David Baldacci
5 : The Sixth Man (2011) by David Baldacci

Camel Club
1 : Camel Club, the (2005) by David Baldacci
2 : Collectors, the (2006) by David Baldacci
3 : Stone Cold (2008) by David Baldacci
4 : Divine Justice (2008) by David Baldacci
5 : Hell's corner (2010) by David Baldacci

John Puller
1 : Zero Day (2011)

Shaw & James
1 : Whole Truth, the (2008)
2 : Deliver us from evil (2010)

Freddy and the French Fries (Fiction' Children & Young Adult' Humorous Fiction)
Fries Alive! (2005) by David Baldacci
Mystery of Silas Finklebean, the (2006) by David Baldacci

U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division Warrant Officer John Puller, Jr. visits his brother Robert, a nuclear scientist convicted of treason at the US Disciplinary Barracks, but his sibling refuses to answer whether he did it or not. Their father the famous Army hero would like to believe his oldest son did not betray his country.

At Quantico, Puller's Special Agent in Charge Don White assigns the Warrant Officer to investigate the murder of Defense Intelligence Agency Colonel Matthew Reynolds in Drake, West Virginia. The officer worked at the Pentagon, but what disturbs Puller is the DIA should be making the inquiry into the murder of the colonel, his wife and two teenage children in their rural home. He makes contact with Sergeant Samantha Cole, the civilian homicide detective investigating the mass murders, but she considers him an unwanted outsider and acts accordingly towards cooperative Puller.

This is a superb police procedural filled with a twist that takes a local rural homicide investigation spinning it into international waters as only David Baldacci can do and make it feel real. Puller is terrific as the agent holding the story line together. Readers will relish this fast-paced thriller as Zero Day has come to West Virginia and other nearby states.

Harriet Klausner

For Baldacci fans, this is a lot better than some of his previous works which appeared (to me) to be written by someone other than David Baldacci. This is typical Baldacci with a complex, interwoven tale that gets your emotions and heartbeat moving a little faster as you read the various situations. He does a great job of building it up and then slamming the conclusion home, and leaving you wanting a little more. I would expect to hear of a sequel with the main character in future novels.

Not all is peachy-king with this novel, as there is a little bit of preachiness supporting the environmental movement that took a bit away, it's a little unrealistic to believe a lone agent woudl be sent to solve a mystery of this magnitude, and I really wish there had been some background information on the mysterious jailed brother.

Overall, however, I thought this was an enjoyable book and a good comeback from Baldacci.

Big fan of Baldacci, but he is better than this. A 100% rip-off of Lee Child and Jack Reacher. Everything from saying very little, to drinking coffee, to the internal clock, and those are just the little things.

Save your money and read The Affair.

Some of David Baldacci's books have been a little lacking in the last couple of years. Not so with Zero Day - it is fast paced, exciting and puts the reader right in the middle of present day international intrigue. One of those books I didn't want to put down until I finished it - well worth the time and money.

oh, what to make of David Baldacci? A capable and entertaining author, much of his recent work has not been up to the standard set by his early books. My personal view is that this came about as he started producing books on a more regular basis, quantity over quality if you like. And now we have "Zero Day" which is a very hard book to review...
The good news is that this is the best book from the author in some while, a fast paced page turner about an US Military investigator looking into some deaths in a small town and realising there is a far bigger picture.....
The bad news is that I am astonished at how this rips off Lee Child's Jack Reacher! A tall military cop who goes by his surname, adept with his fists or weapons, hightened observational and analytical skills, the setting of small town US and a lady sheriff to boot! It's almost like he went with a check list of a standard Reacher book! It's astonishing almost to the degree that it is funny.
But it actually ain't bad and Reacher fans will probably enjoy this while thinking Mr Baldacci has a bit of a cheek. But the truth is, with the ripped off character and formula and Baldacci's ability, this works well and I have to say I enjoyed it.

There is no reason to write or rewrite a synopsis of the book, many good ones have been written. My review is short of simple. Jack Reacher is a super charcter and like Reacher, John Puller is and will be a super character for years to come.

Some of Baldacci's books have been marginal at best. Split Second, Last Man Standing, Wish You Well and Hells Corner were certainly not his best compared to Hour Game, Camel Club, Simple Genius, Absolute Power, The whole Truth, Total Control, The Winner, Divine Justice and Deliver Us From Evil which were senational books.

But Baldacci is certainly back. This book is a wonderful read. While I did turn a few pages during the dicussion about how to make a nuclear bomb (because I had no idea of what they were talking about) the book is well written, exciting with great characters, a touch of sadness and certainly a new hero is on the scene.

I will look forward to the next John Puller book with great anticipation.