End Game by David Baldacci
End Game is David Baldacci’s fifth installment in the Will Robie series. For this reviewer it, and the fourth installment The Guilty, have been the most satisfying works so far.
The two main characters are Will and his colleague Jessica Reel. They are two of the USA’s best assassins, though Reel is one of the world’s best snipers. They are both government employees working to protect and defend the USA. As lone operators, they are inserted into whatever trouble spot around the globe their handler Blue Man deems necessary.
The first three installments, The Innocent, The Hit and The Target, showcased Will carrying out clandestine missions on behalf of the US Government. His skills are unparalleled by few, and he considers himself a loner until Reel arrives, first as his enemy then as his somewhat reluctant partner. Both have severe character issues, enhanced to the point of almost no return, by their tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. However The Guilty added layers of background to Will never previously guessed and Reel proves herself a truer partner than either of them could have believed. Redemption is on the way for both of them and End Game takes the action/adventure to yet another small town in eastern Colorado where Blue Man has disappeared.
For holiday reading, Baldacci is a trustworthy deliverer of unexpected realms of action adventure set in present day America. Unlike author Clive Cussler, Baldacci doesn’t need a historical secret or buried treasure to start a plot; the civil and world wars in which the USA is constantly embroiled provide enough material for years to come.
Find End Game by David Baldacci in the SMSA Library Catalogue
Belinda Coombs
Member of the SMSA Mystery & Crime Reading Group
