The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

David Baldacci’s 21st novel The Sixth Man is evidence that as a writer he is only getting better. I’ve read all his books and own a lot of them and I’ve yet to read a book of his that is boring or formulaic.

In this book we encounter characters that we’ve met before Sean King and his partner Michelle Maxwell. Now they are private detectives working on their own and not for the Secret Service or FBI. They’ve been called into a case to help a lawyer friend of Sean’s. As they drive to a meeting with the lawyer they come across a broken down car on the side of the road. As they approach to help, Sean recognizes the driver, who is dead, as the lawyer they were going to meet. They quickly discover that it was murder and get involved in a mystery that is full of twists and turns and really bad people.

Baldacci’s characters have depth and personality. The themes are familiar ones; greed, selfishness and pure evil meet honesty, goodness and unselfishness. The stage is the US intelligence community and the lengths that some people will go to protect themselves rather than their country.

If you are familiar with Baldacci’s books this is an excellent addition to your reading list. If you’ve not read his books before I would highly recommend picking this one up and starting in on the feast of stories that will entertain you for years to come.