Simply Lies: A Psychological Thriller

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Grabbed this one up when I saw the author. David Baldacci never disappoints when it comes to a thriller. Here's the description of the book that is an enticement to read it: This is a little unusual. I usually do my sleuthing on the internet.” “I know. That’s most of what ProEye does, as you know. But this Not only does the arms dealer not exist but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Lancaster, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye. While Baldacci is usually an excellent storyteller, this story is convoluted, long-winded, and frankly a bit boring. The characters are quite well developed, but they are not exciting, and there were several times that it got mundane to the point of putting the book down for good. There are several sub-plots that aren’t really necessary. Baldacci fans are used to his ability to tie the sub-plots together; that doesn’t happen in this novel. In fact, after the dénouement, the book seems to be like an Energizer bunny and keeps on going, and going, and going ad nauseum with a sappy conclusion. Third, technical descriptions are so vague that one is left wondering whether the author did any research. I learned nothing about how anything works, including information gathering via the internet and/or the “dark net.”

I’ve got the info up on my screen. The mansion was built in the 1920s by a man named Mason Rutherford. He was a robber baron Already we are in unrealistic territory, but I read on, it is Baldacci after all. Carrying on I am led into some confusing mumbo-jumbo about mobsters and a ‘treasure hunt’ for hidden money. Thanks. I don’t believe we’ve spoken before,” said Gibson as she bit into her cookie and took another sip of her tea.younger than he was, lived there until 1998. She was a hundred when she passed away. And the place had fallen into disrepair. Must have cost a fortune to keep up.” Gibson paused for a moment and tossed the ball again so she could remove Tommy’s index finger from her right eye. Nimbly catching the ball, she said, “Larkin’s probably already regretting not burying those funds deeper, offshoring them in the Cook Islands or laundering them beyond our reach.” As she continued to try to control her gyrating son, she added, “I’ve also already provided the evidentiary trail to the creditors’ lead bankruptcy lawyers and they’re following up, too. The wire rooms are closed in Zurich and Chad, but they’re still running in Bermuda. So you need to hit this hard and you need to hit it fast.” Baldacci cuts everyone’s grass – Grisham’s, Ludlum��s, even Patricia Cornwell’s – and more than gets away with it’ People Ah, that’s the notorious Rutger Novak. He bought the place about seven years ago and spent an enormous amount of money undertaking an extensive renovation.”

Ms. Gibson, this is Arlene Robinson from ProEye, I work with Zeb Brown. I know you were on the phone with him earlier.”One day she gets a call from another ProEye representative, working with Gibson’s boss, requesting Gibson to complete a new assignment that just came up. Gibson is asked to go inventory the home and assets of an arms dealer that just took off after cheating other ProEye clients. Once Gibson arrives at the old mansion out in the country, and starts inspecting, she discovers a secret room., and then a dead body to go with it.

From out of the darkness, a slash of white and twin pops of color representing a toothy mouth and bulging eyes. Not only does the arms dealer not exist but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Langhorne, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye. She could only describe the architecture as an unruly blend of baronial, feudal, and gothic with a bit of Versailles thrown in for no apparent reason. It sat in front of her, stained and discolored after a long residence next to the unforgiving elements of an estuary reeking of equal parts saltwater and freshwater.Fourth, the settings are barely described and add very little to the story--which is a shame because I would have liked to have learned more about the James River area of Virginia. Well, time apparently caught up to Novak. Everything has now gone belly-up in the last couple of months.” who made his money in railroad, timber, and mining. He owned a mansion in Colorado, a five-story town house in New York, and this place in Virginia. It’s on land where a British Lord built his home; it was later burned down during the Revolutionary War.” She added in a joking manner, “So there might be a ghost or two around.” She parked in front and got out. The only sound was the breeze and the occasional bird opening its beak in anticipation of the dawning springtime. The tree canopies were still relatively bare, and the gloomy sky did not provide much light in the afternoon.