The Edge

 

While looking at this blog before writing this review, I was surprised to see that this is the 20^th Baldacci novel that we’ve reviewed. I had no idea that we had read so much of his prolific output, and eight of those reviews came from me. I was very entertained by his 5-book Camel Club series but those books were read and reviewed by in me 2011. By 2024, I had come to think of Baldacci as being a B+ writer which means a dependable effort could be expected but that he had not captured the same excitement I felt from reading his earlier books. So, I took on The Edge when I had run out of autobooks and this one became available on Libby. And, my impression of this mystery novel was most favorable. It gets a strong recommendation from me for all of you murder mystery and espionage readers. This is the second book in the 6:20 Man series, although I liked the second book much more than the first one.

 

Jenny Silkwell, a CIA operative, was killed when she went to her family home in Maine, and Travis Devine was called to investigate. Initially, it looked like a simple case to solve, but Putnam Maine was a place that did not trust outsiders like Devine, and it had a long list of secrets that the town folks did not want revealed. There were two powerful families that dominated the scene, including a Senator who was slowly slipping away as the result of Alzheimer’s Disease. This was a town were everyone knew each others’ business. Devine discovered that the assault and rape of Jenny’s sister, Alex, had been hushed up, and Travis was sure there was a connection between that long ago event, and the current murder. So, it’s a good mystery and I did not see the plot’s final twist until I was upon it. Baldacci certainly showed his skill as a writer in this book.