One Good Deed by David Baldacci

After fighting in Europe during World War II, Aloysius Archer, (“just call me Archer”) is sent home to Oklahoma only to be arrested and sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  Upon release he hopes to start fresh in Poca City but soon finds circumstances stacked against him.  He is hired by a rich man, Hank Pittleman to repossess a car offered as collateral for a $5000 loan.  Archer visits the man, Lucas Tuttle only to find that Tuttle will repay the loan only if his daughter, Jackie, who has taken up with Hank, returns home.  While Archer tries to negotiate her return, Hank is murdered and Archer begins seeing Jackie.  Archer becomes the number one suspect in Hank’s murder but the detective, Irving Shaw finds evidence leading another direction.  Hank is secretly broke and has a brain tumor.  Shaw sees potential in Archer’s investigative skills, appreciates his honesty, and invites him, a suspect, to help in the investigation.  Soon other associates of Hank’s are murdered including Lucas Tuttle.  Conceding to pressure from above, Shaw is forced to arrest Archer for the Pittleman and Tuttle murders.  Archer without money choses to represent himself at trial.  Contrary to popular belief, this client is no fool.

I enjoyed the flashback to the post-war period and the authenticity of cultural norms of the time.  The lead character is likable and honest to a fault and the plot is complex enough to allow for several outcomes yet simple enough to follow.  This is one of the better Baldacci novels I’ve read and the door is open for a series.