#LongRoadToMercy #NetGalley I already knew that David Baldacci was a great crime writer and so I was excited to have the chance to review the first in his new series which features a female lead character FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine. Boy, I was not disappointed!! Atlee is a great character - tough, determined, gritty, unafraid but, as with all great characters, she comes with a troubled past. The writing is great, fast paced, full of action and twists and turns. I loved the way that she teamed up with her assistant Carol Blum and how cool was it that the real life Carol Blum won a competition to have a character named after her and what a brilliant character too!. At times I did wonder if the storyline was a little unrealistic, but really, who knows what people are capable of in this political climate. Having holidayed in Arizona many years ago, it was great to remember places especially the Grand Canyon. As you would expect from the first in a series, not all loose ends are fully tied up - things will no doubt become clearer in future books and I look forward to reading more about the adventures of Thelma and Louise!. I, for one, cannot wait for the next in this series and if you are contemplating reading this book, just do it, you will not be disappointed!! A brilliant five stars

It was about this time last year that I read David Baldacci’s book The Christmas Train, a real good feeling book about, you’ve guessed it, Christmas! It’s the same old story – travelling at Christmas in inclement weather, and an adventure with plenty of intrigue. I think I was twenty pages in when I suddenly thought this would make a charming film and guess what, they made one! I digress! Halfway through Long Road to Mercy there’s a thrilling scene set on a train travelling across America, it made me think of David’s previous book! Plenty of subject matter and imagination available there then!

So this time around we are introduced to Atlee Pine, Baldacci’s first female lead and in a time of #metoo and sexual equality Atlee has arrived just in time, in fact her timing is impeccable. She’s a ballsy character and one who knows what she wants and how to get it. She’s intelligent and clever and can beat most men at hand to hand combat, she also has a soft side but that takes a little coaxing out!

Atlee carries a lot of baggage as we soon discover, attacked at the age of 5 in her own bedroom, the abduction of her twin sister Mercy that same night, helps mould her into the fierce loner we are introduced to. She doesn’t enjoy relationships, a loner as I’ve just said and someone who’s really not interested in climbing the corporate FBI ladder. Give her a beer at the end of the day and she’s happy.

Long Road to Mercy moves at a frenetic pace, helped in part by great characterisation – especially Atlee and her secretary Blum – who following a sticky beginning, click and help carry the storyline along. I really enjoyed the story, how Baldacci brought in relevant and current international topics of concern – Russia and North Korea to name but two – and the bad guys you find yourself hating! It always amazes me how authors can get this reaction out of readers but it helps when you have an author at the top of his game.

The length is just about spot on but the final third flies by in the blink of an eye with quick chapters and great adventure. The only question left is who will end on top and will Atlee save the day? I guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out – I know!

Long Road to Mercy is the first in David Baldacci’s new series featuring a female protagonist- FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine. It is 30 years since Atlee’s twin sister Mercy was taken from their shared bedroom. Daniel James Thor, a notorious killer, has been tried and convicted of several murders but not Mercy’s. Atlee is certain he knows what happened to her twin sister. Toe is still a residentboat a high security prison in Colorado.

Atlee has been posted to the wilds of Western United States. She suffers from survivors guilt and has never stopped searching for her sister. Now she has been called in to solve the case of a mutiliated dead mule with strange carvings in its flank and hopefully find its rider, Benjamin Priest, who is missing. Whilst investigating this gruesome case, with the help of park rangers, she realised this is only one in a spate of such crimes. Working with her assistant Carole Blum, Atlee soon realises that she can trust no one, not even her colleagues in the FBI.

This novel illustrates why Baldacci is an award winning and best selling author. This storyline at first seems very fanciful and far fetched but when considering the shift in geopolitics and the increasing Russian /bro right influences on both the US election and UK Brexit disaster, for example, it becomes depressingly more realistic although still enjoyable to read. Baldacci reveals the vulnerable side to Atlee - she is determined to find out what happened to her twin and has dedicated to her tattoos. She is a very strong woman who just missed out on a position in the Olympic team and she is dedicated to her career and solving crimes rather than climbing the career ladder. An enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the rest in the series.


I received this book via Netgalley and Pan Macmillan in exchange for a honest review. #netgalley #longroadtomercy

Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy of this new book. The book introduces a new character for David Baldacci - of course one who has a past which will be the back story to future tales. Atlee, for that is her name is a gutsy gal trying to make her way in the world. I have read most of Baldacci's work and enjoyed them but whilst I thought the main character was great I did find the story she and Mrs Blum were mixed up in a bit unbelievable (of course who really knows) and I did tune out to parts of the big reveal but I persevered. I hope that we will hear more from Atlee but perhaps with a more realistic adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this advanced copy of the newest member of the Baldacci "family". Atlee Pine , FBI Agent not to be messed with (a cross between Lara Croft and Jackie Chan!!), is the main character along with her sidekick Carol Blum in this intriguing tale set in the stunning surroundings of the Grand Canyon, It is really fast paced and an extremely well written and thought out story. The attention to detail is first class as always. Looking forward to the next adventure with Atlee Pine. I have no hesitation in recommending this book. Another winner and a great addition to the David Baldacci collection.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy. When it arrived in my in box I was so excited, and started reading it straight away. I love all David Baldacci books, they are so varied and different. OK so they may all have a little bit of Washington DC in them, but that is the only similarity between them. I really liked Mercy - she seems a great character, much in the way of Michelle King. I don't want to give the story away, but the email characters are well drawn and the sort of people you want to know, whereas most of the men and awful (but brilliantly written). I just hated most of those in power and was really glad when Mercy stuck it to them. Now just a long wait for the next Mercy book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good Thriller/Mystery.

I have read many of David Baldacci’s books and he certainly knows how to tell a good story; in fact this novel was so compelling I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.
FBI agent Atlee Pine is a great new character and Long Road To Mercy is obviously the first in a proposed series. She is an interesting female lead with a dark past- her twin sister Mercy was abducted at the age of six and has never been seen again. Having recently recalled some of what happened on that dreadful night Atlee is trying to find out more information from a convicted serial killer who is in a high security prison as she believes he knows where Mercy is or at least where she is buried.
However the main focus of the book is Atlee’s investigation into a missing person and a dead mule in the Grand Canyon which is her jurisdiction. This leads to a high level conspiracy plot and a fast paced and exciting read.
Atlee works with her secretary Carol Blum who is also a wonderful character. She is a divorced mother of six children who lives alone and she really injects some humour as well as some clever investigative techniques into the plot. The two characters work really well together and their interactions were enjoyable. I particularly liked their comments that get were like Thelma and Louise due to the road trip aspect of the investigation.
Coincidentally I read most of this book whilst on holiday in Arizona from the UK and the scenery and landscape descriptions of the area were spot on and it was fun to read it whilst actually holidaying in the area it was set!
I don’t want to reveal too much about the story but suffice it to say that this is a great read and will be well worth buying when it is published next month.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

The prolific thriller writer David Baldacci begins a new series featuring female FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine, with quite a backstory. At the age of 5 years old, Atlee was left seriously assaulted after her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted from their bedroom. Plagued by survivor's guilt, and feeling the wrong sister was taken, Mercy was the good girl, not Atlee, Atlee's memories of what happened that long ago night have only recently returned. She is convinced that convicted serial killer, 57 year old Daniel James Tor, was responsible for taking Mercy, and although Tor's patterns of behaviour make this a possibility, there is no proof. With tattoos on her body that serve as constant reminders of Mercy, Atlee visits Tor in ADX Florence high security prison in Colorado, aware that it is highly likely he is going to play mind games with her, but she doesn't care, she has to find out what happened to her sister. With Tor being less than helpful, this is going to be an overriding storyline in this series.

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. She is a physically strong woman who just missed out in being on the US Olympic weightlifting team. She has been at the Grand Canyon placement for a while and has spent some time getting to know the communities and people in this stunning location. A mule has been mutilated and savagely killed, and his rider, Benjamin Priest is missing, a disturbing set of facts that has Atlee investigating with the help of the Park Rangers. She can have no idea as to how deeply this will blow her world apart as she is warned off looking further into the case by her superiors in the FBI or face suspension. Atlee is not a woman to give up, no matter what the cost to her career and job. 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.

Baldacci's plotlines here might sound a trifle far-fetched here, until you look at the gloomy and dangerous state of US politics and the global machinations at play in the world today, at which point it all seems scarily possible. The central protagonist here, Atlee Pine, is a heavyweight as a character, you get a real sense of her as a rounded character, vulnerable but spectacularly good at her job, unafraid of doing what has to be done even when her life and those of others is on the line. Baldacci gives us a gripping thriller and the beginnings of a great series here. The book is fast paced, highly entertaining and full of suspense and tension. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Panmacmillan for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan MacMillan for an advance copy of Long Road to Mercy, the first novel in a proposed series to feature FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine.

Atlee Pine is called to investigate a murdered mule and a missing person in the basin of the Grand Canyon. Not one to shirk her duties she starts to investigate tenaciously and soon uncovers more than she bargained for, putting both her and her assistant Carol Blum’s lives in danger.

I thoroughly enjoyed Long Road to Mercy which is a convoluted tale of governmental chicanery and good triumphing over evil. I would love to say that the plot is absolute nonsense but with the current administration nothing is completely beyond the unimaginable so Mr Baldacci has taken recent events and created a scenario that could arise, complete with some very nice touches, and produced a well written and imagined thriller. It held my attention from start to finish with some good action scenes, some very scary scenes of government agencies in action and a plot that encourages the reader to keep turning the pages to see what is coming next.

Atlee Pine is a kickass protagonist with great skills. An interest in weightlifting and MMA gives her physical strength and survival skills and being 5’11” she is as strong as any man. Mr Baldacci writes that he wanted to create a strong female protagonist but is making her some kind of Amazon the right way to portray a strong woman? I don’t know but it doesn’t seem quite right to me, the couch potato, fortunately she is also smart and resourceful. At the same time as investigating the mule she is dealing with her own problems. Twenty nine years ago her six year old twin sister, Mercy, was abducted from their home and Atlee was left seriously injured. Recently Atlee has recovered her memory of those events and suspects that serial killer Daniel James Tor was the perpetrator so she has started visiting him in prison to find out what happened to her sister. This will be an ongoing thread in the series or to quote the title, a “Long Road”.

Long Road to Mercy is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.
As usual with this author, the writing is excellent; the dialogue flows well and conveys the intensity with which his new character Atlee Pine tackles a possibly world-ending investigation. From the apparently benign beginnings of tracing a missing person from the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the contemporary storyline weaves through governmental and super-power plotting, and along the way Atlee loses trust in her Federal organisation and teams up with her secretary Carol Blum to find out exactly what is going on. Throughout, the writing really captures the essence and atmosphere of this intriguing story; the vastness, dangers and beauty of the Grand Canyon; the partnership between Atlee and Carol and their clandestine operations and, not least, Atlee's determination to discover the truth - not only for this investigation, but what did happen to her sister?
A real page-turner, and very nicely and thoroughly concluded.. Can't wait to see what she gets up to next.