Nash Falls

Nash Falls is a new novel from David Baldacci who is introducing a new protagonist, Walter Nash. Nash came from a Vietnam War verteran father and a most loving and supportive father. His parents’ marriage was a good one and both of them were obviously still in love with each other through Nash’s early years. Nash was proud of his father’s accomplishments in Vietnam, a decorated war hero. His dad had also been a star athlete in high school and college, and Nash thought he wanted him to follow in those footsteps. However, Nash chose tennis because he loved the sport and didn’t have to get beat up by others in the process of playing. Nash always thought that was the reason that they had a major falling out and then both father and son began leading noncommunicative lives. Nash perceived that his father hated him, and that did not change when his mother was diagnosed with late-stage cancer and died at too early an age. Although Nash himself got married and had two children with Judith, he always maintained an emotional distance from everyone.

 

Meanwhile, Nash used his college degree to become an expert in investments, and he advanced to a senior executive VP at a company called Symbaritic Investments. The company was wildly successful because of the financial success of Barton Temple who had founded the company, and then turned the CEO duties to his son Rhett. Rhett was Nash’s boss, and Rhett was clearly a severe narcissist and could not accept that the company’s significant continued prosperity was really due to Nash and not himself.

 

Although Nash and his father lived only eight miles apart, there was never a rapproachment for Nash and his father, Ty, and Nash only learned of his father’s death from an elderly neighbor who let him know that his father’s funeral was about to happen. It was at the funeral that Ty’s best friend, a fellow Vietnam veteran, stood up and openly verbally ripped Nash a new anal orifice. But then Ty’s will seemed to cloud the picture about his real feelings for his son.

 

At the same time, Nash was approached by the FBI about illegal dealings by his company, something that he had not known. This was when this story got most interesting. There were giant forces at workon both sides of the corruption, and Nash’s life was certainly in danger. When Barton Temple was murdered and all vectors pointed at Nash as being responsible, when this emotionally limited man’s marriage was coming apart, and then his beloved daughter was kidnapped by the very evil side in the corruption struggle, Nash turned for help to the very man who had badly embarrassed him at his dad’s funeral. He disappeared for more than a year while getting ready to return to deal with both the FBI and the evil forces leading the corruption. 

That’s enough of the plot. The plot development was excellent and the characters were believable and held my interest. I think this book shows Baldacci at his best. It comes to an end just as Nash is flying to Hong Kong to take on the very dangerous and notorious Victoria Sterers who has been stealing billions of dollars from Symbaritic. Now, ASAP, I want to get my hands on the sequel, Hope Rises.