Fiction Addict

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: October 2009

Reviewed by Josh Olds

It’s DC like you’ve never seen it before. David Baldacci’s newest novel True Blue takes the reader on a no-holds-barred journey through the capital city as the just out of jail ex-cop Mace Perry seeks to prove that she deserves her badge back.

Mace was deep undercover trying to get some evidence to bust a major drug ring when somehow she was found out. Instead of being killed, the drug lords shot her up with meth and made her part and partial to some illegal activities. Jury didn’t buy it, so she spent two years in jail and lost her badge.

Her badge. Being a cop was really all she cared for. It defined who she was. And now that she’s back on the streets, she determined to become a true blue once again—by solving a crime. She gets a perfect chance when Roy Kingman walks into his law firm and discovers the dead body of a coworker.

She begins to investigate the murder, both relying on and getting in trouble with her sister Beth—who just happens to be DC’s chief of police. The farther she digs, the more Mace realizes that what seems to be a routine murder is only a small part of a bigger picture that may involve government officials at the highest level.

It’s a highly captivating read though I will admit that it requires some suspension of belief (an ex-cop on parole and a lawyer who is a suspect in the murder break the law repeatedly in order to help solve the case). Baldacci helps us believe the story through his realistic and compelling depiction of a DC not thought about by most—a tough and gritty neighborhood where even cops tread carefully and crimes are committed out in the open streets.

In the end, True Blue is a fascinating read that’s sure to appeal to anyone who enjoys government conspiracies, mind-bending twists, and a cocky and rough-and-tumble heroine (and who doesn’t?). Word is that True Blue is just the first in a new series that Baldacci will pen. If so, I’ll be awaiting the release of book two, in the hopes that I will find Mace Perry ready as ever to tackle the mean streets of DC.

As a note, True Blue does contain a lot of PG-13 language, enough so that I stopped counting. The usage fits the characters, but readers that are sensitive to this will not want to pick up this novel. Also, the murder in the book also involves evidence of rape, which is spoken about in a medical fashion but may be offensive to some readers.