Synopsis:
In Long Road to Mercy, bestselling author David Baldacci introduced readers to FBI Agent Atlee Pine.
In the second installment of her story, A Midnight to Midnight, Atlee returns to her Georgia hometown to investigate her twin sister’s abduction.
Atlee’s life was never the same after her twin sister Mercy was kidnapped — and most likely murdered — thirty years ago. She has endured a lifetime of torturous uncertainty and self-recrimination. Finally, her anger gets the best of her and impacts her job, making it clear that if she wants to continue her career with the FBI, she needs to deal with the past and her demons.
Accompanied by her assistant, Carol Blum, Atlee returns to rural Georgia in a quest to uncover the truth about that traumatic night when Mercy was abducted and Atlee was almost killed. Soon after her investigation gets underway, a local woman is found murdered. Its a ritualistic killing — her face is covered with a wedding veil. Worse, it is quickly followed by a second and equally bizarre murder.
With a serial killer on the loose, Atlee sets her sights on solving the case before another victim is claimed, but also determined to continue her search for answers about her sister’s disappearance. But in a small town full of secret — some of which could answer the questions that have plagued Atlee her entire life — digging deeper into the past could be more dangerous than she initially realizes . . .
Review:
Author David Baldacci delivers another riveting chapter in Atlee Pine’s journey to learn what really happened to her twin sister so many years ago. As the story opens, stress causes Atlee to explode, resulting in a mandatory vacation away from her official duties as an FBI agent.
She heads to her hometown in Georgia, accompanied by her dedicated assistant, Carol, determined to investigate and, hopefully, solve the mystery of Mercy’s disappearance. She finds her family home even more dilapidated than she remembers it, and inhabited by a squatter, Cyrus Tanner, who permits them to look around. Revisiting the bedroom from which Mercy was abducted causes memories to flood back to Atlee, but not necessarily in the way she expected. In fact, every aspect of her visit is surprising, as she meets people who knew her parents and were on the scene of the crime on that horrid night. She learns their perspectives and hears details that her parents never shared with her. For instance, from local citizens she learns that her parents abruptly left town in the middle of the night, but not why they were in such a hurry to leave. She also discovers that her father was the prime suspect in her sister’s disappearance.
Quickly, Atlee realizes that before embarking on her trip, she was “not prepared well for what this trip might do to her emotionally, when preparation had been key for everything she had done in her life.” Baldacci compellingly and authentically draws readers further into Atlee’s inner turmoil and guilt — the guilt of having survived without ever knowing what happened to Mercy after she was dragged from that bedroom so long ago.
I’m not most people. I’m an FBI agent. I run toward the problem, not away. ~~ Atlee Pine
Of course, Atlee can’t help but be drawn into the search for a killer, even though she is not in the area in an official capacity. Serial killers don’t tend to operate in small American towns, causing Carol to wonder if it’s a coincidence that dead body turns up the day after she and Atlee arrived. “Or did it happen because you came back to Andersonville” she frets. Her concern causes Atlee to ponder whether her arrival triggered the killing because the two crimes are somehow connected. But it is far from apparent how the murder of a woman whose body is staged wearing a bridal veil, followed by the murder of a man dressed in a tuxedo with a top hat on his stomach and a corsage on his jacket could possibly be tied to Mercy’s kidnapping.
The action never slows as Baldacci injects numerous complications into Atlee’s investigations while exploring her deepening understanding of the myriad ways in which the events that transpired early in her life have shaped her personality and the ways in which she interacts with others. As she uncovers the truth about her parents’ backgrounds, she laments that she went to Georgia to find out what happened to her sister. But in addition, “I have to try to figure out who my parents really were.” Atlee appreciates at a deeper, visceral level that she has been alone ever since the night Mercy disappeared, and that she has “never felt that comfort of reassurance again. That sort of connection perhaps came only once in a lifetime. And maybe that’s why I find it so hard to connect with anyone else.”
Baldacci incorporates another intriguing cast of supporting characters, as well as shocking plot twists, making A Minute to Midnight a clever mystery, as he simultaneously relates Atlee’s personal story with compassion and tenderness. But he also reveals a huge surprise at the end, complete with a cliffhanger that leads to the third volume. Hopefully, soon.
Also by David Baldacci:
Atlee Pine Series
Archer Series
Amos Decker Series
Travis Devine Series
Standalone Thrillers
Standalone Thrillers
14 Comments
I haven’t read a Baldacci book yet – but I think it’s about time!
I’ve only read a few of his books, but The Fallen has been my favorite to date. Reading the synopsis of A Minute to Midnight, I enjoy small-town stories that are filled with mystery and intrigue. I feel like the US (and around the world) are filled with those unknown stories!
I haven’t read Long Road to Mercy but my wife is a Baldacci fan. Thanks for the chance to win this latest book.
David Baldacci is one of those authors that I have always meant to read but through whatever reason have not gotten the chance to do so yet. This story seems like the type to combine a really interesting mystery with the dual track of figuring a weird, True-Detective like mystery with a perhaps connected disappearance. It gives me X-File like vibes (minus the aliens of course!).
Sounds good!
haven’t read any yet
I will be honest I haven’t read any of his book as of yet but I sure do own a few. Looking forward to reading some of his books.
I’ve read a handful of Balducci’s books, but not his recent novels. Would love to get my hands on this one.
I haven’t read anything by David Baldacci yet, but I have lots of great things about his books.
I have read a few David Baldacci books and Iβve enjoyed them. My favorites so far being the Will Robbie books. I have not read the first Atlee Pine book but Iβm adding it to my check out list.
I haven’t read any of David Baldacci’s books yet. I am especially intrigued by A Minute to Midnight because I love reading about twins. I find them fascinating.
Iβve read a few David Baldacci books! Saving Faith was one of my favorites!
I read the first Atlee Pine book. Really enjoyed it so I’m stoked about the next one!
I have not read Long Road to Mercy. I have read The Simple Truth and Saving Faith and enjoyed them. I find this book intriguing because of the twin sister aspect.