Long Shadows by David Baldacci

It has been a year since I read a new David Baldacci novel, and Long Shadows is what you would expect, a well-written novel with a great plot line regarding murders and intrigue. Baldacci has had multiple books reviewed in this blog which have generally been reviewed favorably. Amos Decker is an FBI consultant who does not fit the typical FBI special agent mold. He won’t wear a tie, and he does not pull his punches when faced with a policy decision by a boss with whom he disagrees. While the FBI seems to want to get rid of this pain in the ass employee, the problem is that he keeps solving cases, maintaining a 100% conviction rate during his decades with the bureau. This is the seventh book in the Memory Man Series, so titled because of Decker’s perfect recall.

 

In Long Shadows, Decker has been sent to southern Florida to solve a case involving the murder of a female federal judge. Her body was found in her own home, and she had been butchered with multiple stab wounds. In the same house, there was also the corpse of her body guard who had curiously been hired privately by the judge rather than using the Department of Justice to provide her with security. Unlike the judge, the body guard had been shot.

 

Meanwhile, Decker was assigned a new partner, a young black woman named Frederica White who seemed to be the victim of racism in the department. Decker was famous for being difficult to work with and hard on his partners, so a scratchy relationship between Decker and White gradually evolved into a good working partnership. Both Decker and White were traumatized by the loss of a child.

 

It was Decker who thought the two murders which happened nearly at the same time might have actually been done by two separate murderers. The cast of characters involved the judge’s ex-husband, an attorney, and her 17 year old son who was a football phenomenon. The ex-husband, a horrible alcoholic, was obviously not over the loss of this relationship, but the son was his father’s alibi for the time of the deaths.

 

I didn’t see the end coming in this complex plot with many more wrinkles that I’ve reviewed here, and Baldacci was a pro at disguising the ending. There is a formulaic quality to this murder mystery, but the story is a good one and it still gets my strong recommendation.

 

West Coast Don