The simple truth

by David Baldacci

Paper Book, 2018

Publication

New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2018. First trade paperback edition.

Collection

Call number

Fiction B

Physical description

462 p.; 21 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Fiction B

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:When cop-turned-attorney John Fiske comes to Washington to investigate his brother's murder, he unearths decades-old secrets and discovers the truth is anything but simple in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.It's never what it seems...Young attorney Michael Fiske broke the law when he took Rufus Harms's prison letter from the Supreme Court. But he also sealed his own fate. Suddenly everyone who has anything to do with Harms or his appeal mysteriously dies. Now Michael's brother John, a cop turned attorney, comes to Washington to find out why his brother was murdered�??and what it had to do with a crime that Harms committed twenty-five years before. But the one man who can help John, the one man who knows what really happened more than two decades ago�??and why�??has escaped from prison and is running for his life.… (more)

Media reviews

The Literary Review Service
David Baldacci is a superb storyteller, and even better writer...His genius is to keep readers guessing and reading while he's tossing out twists like so much confetti...He compels you to read, and read, and read. You won't argue.
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Virginian-Pilot
David Baldacci is in total control, every second, every page.
Newark Star Ledger
He's done it again!...David Baldacci has become a key player in the action-suspense genre...Baldaccii...excels at creating suspense.
Times Record News (TX)
Gripping...The pace never yields...You'll love this book, that's the simple truth.
Southern Pines Pilot (NC)
Top-notch...Baldacci writes thrillers that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing right up until the end...John Grisham has some serious competition.
Copley News Service
A complex delight...Leaves readers breathless...with entertaining and twisting plots.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Another wild Baldacci ride...Fascinating...Engrossing...more than just a fast-paced thriller...Baldacci is still one of the best thriller writers around, and that's the simple truth.
A strong-boned thriller...Captivating characters...Vivid detailing of the Supreme Court behind closed doors -- where the truth, apparently, is anything but simple.
Newsday
Baldacci excels at creating really good guys and putting them at risk.
Arizona Republic
The newest superstar of the thriller genre.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Fascinating...David Baldacci is a terrific storyteller...Far exceeds anything he has done before.
USA Today
Compelling...finely drawn...a page-turner worth losing sleep over.

User reviews

LibraryThing member margmarieh
I enjoyed reading this for the most part, found it fairly interesting but the plot was almost inconceivable to me. I guess that's what fiction is, though: based in reality, but fictional! Liked the character development on main protagonists.
LibraryThing member eargent
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and the characters were well developed and interesting. I would definitely read this author again.
LibraryThing member nakmeister
A good legal thriller, with the emphasis being on the thriller rather than the legal which has got to be a good thing. In fact, the legal bit is really just the backdrop for a pageturning thriller, centering as it does around the US Supreme Court. You get an interesting insight into the workings of
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the Supreme Court, without being bored by all the legal cases, lawyers arguing etc.

Not as good as his other books I've read, but still a good read that didn't take me long to read.
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LibraryThing member foovay
Yet another great read by Mr. Baldacci. Be sure you have time to read it through because you won't want to put it down.
LibraryThing member wispywillow
Quite a good story with interesting characters and a well-paced plot.

I did have a few nits with it, though. (Mainly because I’ve made the same mistakes in my own writing. ^_^) The main one was the constant subject-verb, subject-verb, subject-verb sentences. Quite a few times I noticed over half
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the sentences in any one paragraph beginning with “he,” “she,” and the like. And, of course, once I saw that, I couldn’t un-see it, so it bothered me for the remainder of the book. In general, the writing is good, but a little more variety in sentence structure would have been wonderful.

And I felt bad for John for losing his brother before being able to become friends with him again. There’s quite a gulf between me and my own brother that I doubt will ever be bridged, but seeing it from an outsider’s perspective is sad.
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LibraryThing member TheBoltChick
This is a very exciting legal thriller. I picked it up, and only put it down when I started suffering serious eye strain. I couldn't wait to rest my eyes and finish it.
This was the first time I read this author, but it certainly won't be my last!
LibraryThing member Darla
Rufus Harms has been in a military prison for 25 years of a life sentence for killing a young girl. But he's been having flashbacks, and remembers now what really happened. So he sends an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Michael Fiske, a Supreme Court clerk, finds the appeal, which doesn't follow the
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proper procedures and should be turned down, but something about it interests him, so he takes it with him to check it out. One of the calls he makes is to his semi-estranged brother John, who's an ex-cop turned defense lawyer.

Before John returns the call, though, Michael is killed, and Sarah Evans, the Supreme Court clerk Michael had proposed to shortly before his death, contacts him, and they begin an investigation that brings them closer together and deeper in danger.

I really enjoyed the conspiracy plot, but the backstory and the Supreme Court tutorial went on too long and interrupted the story too much. It was interesting, but it really wasn't part of the story.

The romance plot, too, bugged me in spots. I had a very hard time understanding why Michael would propose to Sarah, when they'd only dated casually and hadn't even slept together. I also had trouble believing that Sarah fell in love with John at first glance.

But overall, the complex conspiracy and John's complex character saved the story for me.
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LibraryThing member LBM007
Solid legal thriller. Although a few events in the story seemed like they would not have happened in real life, the basic premise holds. The story unfolds well and keeps the reader's interest. I read the whole thing in a weekend because I didn't want to put it down.
LibraryThing member elliezann
Meet John Fiske, former cop now lawyer. He is a man estranged from his family and now finds himself in a mystery surrounding his brother's death. Michael Fiske broke the law by intercepting a letter from a prisoner addressed to the Supreme Court and tried to get the prisoner's appeal noticed. He
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dies suddenly and it is up to his brother, John, to piece the puzzle together.
Another thrilling ride from the Camel Club series writer.
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LibraryThing member ChasMoney
Read all of Baldacci's , especially enjoyed "Wish You Well"
LibraryThing member BearSkee
Michael Fiske-supreme court clerk
John Fiske- brother-cop lawyer
Sara- love interest
Rufus Harms -Josh Harms= Army harmed them -Brothers
evil doers army/CIA/justice/25 yrs /guards
LibraryThing member Carmenere
A mystery/thriller in the same vein as Grisham and Patterson. Seemingly intelligent people doing stupid things - The formulaic characters and storyline left me emotionless.
LibraryThing member Schmerguls
There is no doubt this book is easy to read and one seeks to read it to see what happens. But the writing is banal and the plot is not credible. The fictional oral argument before the Supreme Court is non-subtle, as is so much of the book. The conversations reported are jejune and all in all one is
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appaled by the poor quality of the writing. But it is eminently readable any way!
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LibraryThing member msprint
My first Baldacci thriller and a great read until the wrap up at the end with the guilty parties. It looked like someone told him his time was up and he needed to finish - very disappointing. Will try others as he writes well and looks like he does good research on his topic..
LibraryThing member DomingoSantos
Well-crafted and entertaining.
LibraryThing member sturlington
A Supreme Court clerk learns about a conspiracy through an appeal filed by a lifer and is murdered to cover it up. His brother and girlfriend are soon on the case to track the killer. Baldacci's writing is frequently plodding, the characters are thoroughly stereotyped, and the plot is both
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predictable and ridiculous.
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LibraryThing member dekan
Sizzling David Baldacci's novels have been called "sizzling" (USA Today) and "superior" (Houston Chronicle). Now Baldacci is back, with the story of a death row inmate, a Supreme Court clerk, and a crime that is costing people their lives... Terrifying Michael Fiske broke the law when he took Rufus
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Harms's prison letter from the Supreme Court. But he also sealed his own fate. Now Michael's brother, a cop turned attorney, is coming to Washington to find out why his brother was murdered-and what it had to do with a crime that Rufus Harms committed twenty-five years before... Simply the Best In his new novel of corruption, romance, family, and justice at the heart of the American republic, David Baldacci takes us on a journey of harrowing conspiracy-and proves once again that in the realm of suspense, he is in a league of his own. The Simple Truth It's never what it seems...
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LibraryThing member BookWallah
Another thriller that didn't thrill. Plot seemed a tad forced. recommended only for Baldacci faithful.
LibraryThing member NaggedMan
Unlikely but exceptionally well written and well plotted thriller, with characters who come to life on the page.
LibraryThing member Gatorhater
In a Virginia military prison Rufus Harms is just one more lifer claiming innocence, Convicted of killing a girl on an army base twenty-five years ago, Harms smuggles a desperate letter out of his prison cell. On request of Harms, Samual Rider, the lawyer that represented him of those charges in
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the military visited Harms in prison. The evidence was hidden within the envelope that was searched by the guards first and given to Rider too remove it from the prison cell. It's a bombshell-an appeal to the Supreme Court, that claims he was forced to commit murder, the army had given him PCP on an experimental drug program that the government were doing to some of their soldiers.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
fast paced tale that goes back to the 1970s ... but the real killers embark on a deadly campaign to ensure that the case will remain closed, eliminating all who could reveal the truth. A Supreme Court Clerk weighs in, gets killed; his girlfriend falls for his brother and..... The story outdoes
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itself as all the government alphabets get involved. I kept rooting for the girl, but in the end, she was predictable. The herding instinct of some players was also off putting. good plot, though.
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LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
This book was on the exchange shelf at the local Y. I've read and enjoyed other books by this author, so I picked it up to read. I started out reading it while waiting for exercise classes to start. This book is different than most Baldacci books I've read in that the action doesn't start out from
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page 1. In fact, it takes about 75-100 pages before the meat of the story really starts.

Which also means that it took quite a while for me to care about the characters or what happened to them. I rated this a 3 because the last half of the book was compelling, but it took me months to get to that point (and normally I can read a book this length in a week or less).

In fact, the plot reminded me more of a John Grisham book than a David Baldacci book, but I am glad to see Baldacci branching out a bit from his action-hero main character type.
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LibraryThing member susandennis
Like Baldacci's other books, The Simple Truth is the perfect book for the beach or a long plane trip. Supreme Court clerks, trying to find the truth in a 30 year old Army case, start to get murdered.
LibraryThing member creighley
Rufus Harms has sent an incriminating letter and appeal to the Supreme Court. He received a letter from Army which exonerates him from the crime he has been imprisoned for for the past 25 years. However, there are some extremely dangerous people who don’t want that truth to come out and will stop
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at nothing for it to remain hidden. When John Fisk, policeman turned defense attorney, learns that his brother has been murdered, he comes to Washington,D.C. to find his killers.
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LibraryThing member foof2you
A man is convicted of a murder he did commit, has spend 25 years in a military prison. A series of events takes place where murders are committed to keep well high placed individuals protected from a decades old secrets.Seems like a John Grisham book or maybe vice versa.

Language

Original publication date

1998

ISBN

9781538711903
Page: 0.1981 seconds