But then comes a distraction; one of the mules that transports tourists up and down the steep canyon trails is found dead - gutted with two seemingly meaningless letters cut into its hide. Be it thrillers, holiday heartwarming stories, or something with political implications, Baldacci usually knows how to convey his point through well-developed novels. Of course it’s the lack of motivation for its murder and disappearance of its rider – who seems to have a murky international relations job – that is really of interest and before Atlee knows it doors are being shut in her face and she’s being warned off.

All of these great interesting people involved and that was the best story line he could come up with?Aided by her able assistant, Carol Blum, Atlee finds herself in a world gone crazy as she is faced with desperate danger, horrifying murders, Russians, Chinese, Koreans and where she can trust no-one, not even the FBI. I’ve previously mentioned that I was once a fan of espionage type thrillers and an avid reader of Robert Ludlum, Len Deighton and David Morrell. This underlying thread keeps the story moving along, as Atlee seeks to avenge the powerlessness she suffered as a child by capturing the worst criminals who cross her path.

At the age of 5 years old, Atlee was left seriously assaulted after her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted from their bedroom. Atlee is a loner, she is close to nobody, and she is not ambitious, she has no interest in living and working in a city and has sought to be placed in remote locations as the sole FBI representative in the area. Her pursuit of this case led her into some extremely dicey and dangerous situations that revealed a lot about Atlee, how she thinks, reacts and reasons. stars was the plot - hardly credible - and the storyline - which seemed to wander the entire USA and back again. Pine sets up the initial investigation but soon discovers that some of the FBI’s top brass are watching events very closely.It’s seared into Atlee Pine’s memory: the kidnapper’s chilling rhyme as he chose between six-year-old Atlee and her twin sister, Mercy.

What starts as an animal murder and a missing person case soon escalates to a plot of political espionage involving North Korea, Russia and the US Government. One sentence summary: A book filled with Baldacci cliches, too-big plot and too-simple ending, and a boring main character. Her off sider in this story is also a woman, and an older one whose usual position is as her assistant in the office. Working with the locals who respect, and also sometimes fear her, and have never really been allowed to know her, Atlee Pine turns her vast investigative skills and unmatched drive to find out the truth. As I read, I was reminded of another series character: Jane Hawk, the feisty heroine conceived by another favorite author, Dean Koontz.The opening set-up, which was also well-telegraphed in the title, and then even the mysterious death of a mule in the Grand Canyon promised a lot here but it all got side-tracked into a totally absurd conspiracy plot where each plot twist was more unbelievable than what came before.