Member Reviews
Atlee Pine #2
This story features two crimes. The first being FBI Agent Atlee Pine's search into the abduction of her twin sister, Mercy thirty years ago. Atlee returns to her hometown, Georgia to try and find out what happened to her sister and to try and find her mother who has also disappeared. Her friend and colleague, Blum goes with her. While they are there, there's a murder. Pine and Blum are asked to help,find the killer.
Anyone that's read a David Baldacci book before knows that they are in for a terrific read. And this book does not disappoint. Atlee Pine and her admin assistant, Carol Blum are the only two characters from the first book in this series. It's hard to review this book without giving too much away. This is a pacy, well written, twist filled, tense and gripping read. The ending is spot on and sets things in motion for the third book in this series. This book could be read as a standalone but I always recommend, if you can, you read a series in the order that they were written in.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Pan McMillan and the author David Baldacci for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
An excellent thriller that stays with you long past your bedtime. Incredibly well depicted characters. Highly recommended!
Another wonderfully complex thriller from David Badacci. Lots of twists and turns with one mystery solved and another deepening. Will we find out about Atlees sister and mother in the next book? I hope so.
This is the second book in the series featuring Atlee Pine. If you read the first book in the series, ‘The Long Road to Mercy then this one starts where that one finished. This can be read as a stand-alone novel although there are a number of references in it from the first book.
Atlee Pine is the only FBI agent in Shattered Rock, Arizona, but she does have an assistant Carol Blume who is not and FBI agent. At the beginning of the story we see Atlee or Lee for short visiting Daniel James Tor, the narcissistic, sociopathic serial killer, that she is convinced was responsible for the abduction of her twin sister Mercy when they were six years old. He is currently residing in the only American federal super max prison. But on her visit he is not prepared to reveal anything to Lee, far better to play mind games, leaving her more frustrated and angry than she was before visiting him.
As she heads back home to Shattered Rock, Arizona, she ends up in a car chase that stems from a child abduction case, Lee manages to save the child, Holly, from a prolific sex offender, but after the visit from the prison her emotions are high and she loses control, overstepping the mark, leading to a violent altercation with the captured offender.
Lee is offered time off, allowing both herself and Carol, to go back to Lee’s childhood home Andersonville, where 30 years earlier, she had been the victim of a brutal attack, and her sister Mercy was abducted. Maybe she can work out for herself what actually happened that fateful night. Of course this wouldn’t be a thriller if other things weren’t added into the mix. Lee gets drawn into several local murder investigations, which could reveal more things about the past, that could shatter everything she though she knew about herself and her family.
This is another great read from David Baldacci, there are a lot of plot twists, keeping the reader engaged and guessing, fast paced, engaging, some great characters, I like Atlee and Carol as well as a couple of other characters that I would like to see more of in the next book. A gripping read, I highly recommend. A definite novel for crime fiction fans.
I would like to thank #Netgalley and #Macmillan publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.
This is the second book in the Atlee Pine series and judging by the ending it certainly won’t be the last! This was the sort of thriller that you just couldn’t put down , investing you in the characters and their outcomes .
The book features both a cold case, Atlee’s investigation of her twin, Mercy’s abduction thirty years earlier and a modern day serial killer story.
FBI Agent, Atlee, returns to her home town in Georgia to find out what happened to her sister and try and trace her mother who has also disappeared. She is accompanied by her assistant, Blum who as well as being her office back up, is also her friend and in some ways her mother figure .
Whilst looking into the past a murder occurs - is there a connection to Atlee's own case ?
Atlee's investigation into the murder is full of twists and turns - what is the connection between her sister's abduction and this murder ? if anything at all .
The Author is a great story teller , producing a fast paced , suspense filled thriller that kept me fully engrossed to the end .
I look forward to reading further books by the Author in the fiture .
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
A gripping and entertaining page turner that kept me on the edge till the end.
Mr Baldacci can surely write a book that will keep you hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
This is the second book in the Atlee Pine series and judging by the ending it certainly won’t be the last! This was the sort of thriller that you just couldn’t put down.
It featured both a cold case, Atlee’s investigation of her twin, Mercy’s abduction thirty years earlier and a modern day serial killer story.
FBI Agent, Atlee, returns to her home town in Georgia to find out what happened to her sister and try and trace her mother who has also disappeared. She is accompanied by her assistant, Blum who as well as being her office back up, is also her friend and in some ways it seems that Blum looks out for Atlee as a mother would.
Whilst investigating these long ago events, a murder occurs and Pine and Blum are asked to help find the killer. Atlee even wonders if there is any connection to her own case.
There are lots of twists and turns in the course of the novel and it was nigh on impossible to guess who the modern day killer actually was.
I was intrigued by the cold case and all the characters in the town who had known Atlee’s parents 30 years previously. Did one of them take her sister or was it someone else entirely?
This was a compelling read which had me on the edge of my seat. Baldacci certainly knows how to tell a story and like all of his books which I have read this one was a real page turner.
Definitely five stars from me and recommended to all crime thriller fans.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the Atlee Pine series and the series continues to enthral. It is difficult to write a review of this book without giving too much away and spoiling it for the readers but here goes.
30 years ago Atlee’s twin sister was abducted from their bedroom in their then home town of Andersonville and has never been found. Atlee, now an FBI agent had recently narrowly avoided being kicked out of the FBI when arresting a paedophile and had been given leave of absence. She decides to use this time to investigate the disappearance of her twin sister.
She believes that a serial killer, Daniel James Tor who is spending multiple life sentences in a maximum-security prison is probably responsible for her sisters abduction. However, having visited him in prison she is still unable to get a confession or any information so decides to visit her old home town to see if she can find out more about the abduction as Atlee has no clear memory of the event as Atlee was attacked and left for dead during the abduction.
During her time investigating her sisters disappearance she finds out more information about her parents. Whilst there, a series of murders occurs and Atlee and her able assistant Carol Blum who has accompanied her, find themselves working with local police and another FBI agent bought in to investigate these new crimes.
I am a big fan of David Baldacci having read all of his books and I would like to thank I would like to thank both Net Galley and Pan Macmillan for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3027903504
This second book in the Atlee Pines series sets off where the first one stopped. Although there are numerous references to the first book, I think it can be read as a stand alone.
It is very hard to write a review for this book without any spoilers; there are many twists and turns and slowly Atlee starts to unravel what exactly happened on that awful night when she and her sister were only six.
Together with Carol Blum, her very efficient assistant - who is in fact not an FBI agent but just a very efficient and clever administrative assistent, Atlee returns to where it all began. Does she find the answers she is looking for? Yes and no. I have a feeling a third book is necessary to unravel the whole truth.
I think David Baldacci wrote an interesting story and decided to not put everything in just one book but divide it between two - or more - books. The first book was not his best, but it gave the reader a chance to get to know the main character, Atlee, before the real action sets in.
My personal favorite is Carol Blum. She is clever, honest and efficient and sometimes very funny too.
Thanks to Netgalley for the digital copy of this book for reviewing.
Agent Atlee Pine is back in David Baldacci's A Minute to Midnight which is a fast paced, page turning thriller.
Pine returns to her "home town" in order to understand what actually happened to her sister nearly 30 years ago. Whilst there a murder victim is found and Pine gets involved with the investigation
The author is well known for this thrillers and A Minute to Midnight is an excellent addition and a book I thoroughly recommend
An enthralling page-turner that kept me gripped to the end. I enjoyed this very much.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book
a new series and we meet atlee pine an fbi agent and a woman with a mysterious past...her twin sister had been abducted 30 odd years ago from their bedroom and atlee was hit so hard she nearly died....
atlee or lee as her friends call her is troubled with the mysterious past and her father committing suicide plus her mother disappearing things come to ahead when whilst on duty she goes overboard and attacks a dangerous paedophile, who has abducted a young girl
though atlee is not suspended from her job she is advised to go home and look into her past to see if she can fathom out what happened all those years ago....
its not a bad story i just couldnt warm up to atlee...this superhuman woman, i liked the other characters in this book and this storyline flowed just something about atlee that i just didnt like
but she might grow on me....
I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of A Minute to Midnight, the second novel to feature FBI Agent Atlee Pine.
When Atlee was 6 an intruder almost killed her and abducted her twin sister, Mercy. This has haunted her since then and she has anger issues. In a last ditch attempt to discover the truth she returns to the scene, Andersonville, Georgia, to try and get some answers and she’s not alone as there appears to be a killer on the loose.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Minute to Midnight which is a high octane thriller with a kickass heroine. The plot is quite convoluted with both investigations running in tandem and occasionally overlapping but it is easy to follow and offers up a stream of thrills, spills and twists. I found myself gripped, desperate to know what was coming next although I had, of course, to suspend my disbelief on a regular basis but it’s such a rollicking good read it hardly seems to matter. It should be noted that while this is a stand alone novel Atlee’s family situation is an ongoing thread in the series and will continue into at least the next book in the series. I’m champing at the bit already to see how Mr Baldacci uses the reveals in this novel to further Atlee’s story.
Atlee Pine is the ultimate female protagonist. Tall, beautiful and very fit she is a dedicated, smart investigator, unafraid to mix it up and get tore in about the bad guys. She is also prickly, untrusting and suspicious. I love her.
A Minute to Midnight is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
One of the best Baldacci books I've read in a while - punchy, thrilling, full of twists and turns. Will definitely be gifting this one to family for Christmas.
As with all Baldacci’s books, this was another fantastic book and am so pleased that I was able to get an early read. I loved the previous book in this series as well as characters etc, also due to the location of the Grand Canyon. This one was based in Andersonville, Georgia, but so well described you feel you are there too.
I equally enjoyed the developments of the main character, Atlee Pine, who, thirty years ago was brutally assaulted and left for dead and her twin sister Mercy was abducted from their family home. Neither her sister or the abductor have ever been found. and Atlee has gone back to her home town to seek the truth and also gets roped in to help with another string of murders.
David Baldacci is in my opinion, one of the best thriller writers on the planet. I don't think I have ever been disappointed by one of his books and have enjoyed them all, from the first once I read - The Winner (thoroughly recommended by the way) to the last
Keep up the good work and keep on writing. I cant wait for your next instalments.
This book held my attention right up to the last page! I found the principal characters somewhat hollow, but the story is great. The feeling for the location and the action are good, the plot well thought out. Another good read from David Baldacci.
Baldacci does it again - a great, fast paced book with lots of twists and turns. Attlee Pine, an FBI agent, goes back to her home town to discover more about her family and why her twin sister was abducted when they were six. Baldacci gives sufficient description to be able to picture the characters without being bogged down in long narrative. I could visualize it as a TV series or film. The motives for some of the crimes seem a little thin, but is doesn't detract from it being a very enjoyable book.
It was only after I finished the book that I discovered that it is the second in a series, hopefully not the last.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is the second Atlee Pine book, in which she delves into her traumatic past in an effort to address her problems in the present. I found Atlee a likeable hero and the central mystery of what happened to her is intriguing. However, I did find some of the characters a little predictable and the dialogue was overly expositional at times (the first visit to Atlee's home town reads like a tourist pamphlet).
Firstly thank you to Net Galley and Pan Macmillian for this advanced copy.. Another excellent read from David Baldacci. Set in Georgia this fast paced thriller features Atlee Pine who is becoming another firm favourite.. I look forward to reading the next instalment.
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.
This is the second book in a series and whilst it can be read on it’s own, I’d recommend you read the books in order. I enjoyed reading this book, and want to read the first one now. The main character is very likeable, has a good back story which is explored fully in this book. Atlee returns to the town where her twin sister disappeared from when she was 6 years old and is looking for answers. When there several murders happen and as an FBI Agent she helps investigate the murders whilst looking into her sisters disappearance at the same time. She finds things out she never knew about her parents which lead to more questions that I hope will be resolved in the next book. There was a big reveal at the end I didn’t expect ! I found this book thrilling and easy to read, thought it was very well written and flowed together really well. I read it in just over a day as I couldn’t put it down and wanted to know what happened next. I will read the next book when out.