The Forgotten by David Baldacci is the second book of the John Puller series. For those who don’t know, John Puller is a top investigator in the US Army’s CID. Puller is the man the US Army relies on to investigate the toughest crimes facing the nation. Now, he has a new case. But this time, the case is personal. His Aunt has been found dead in Paradise, Florida.
I read many crime fiction by David Baldacci. Among them, The Forgotten is different and one of the best. After reading Zero Day, this is the book I’ve been looking for as a thriller reader, and I’m satisfied. Because when the author is David Baldacci, you have to be satisfied 😃.
Plot
After the harrowing experience in West Virginia, US Army Special Agent John Puller was taking a vacation to recuperate. But a letter written by Puller’s Aunt, Betsy Puller, who lives in the nearby town of Paradise, forces Puller to put his mind to work. After moving to Paradise City, the death of Aunt Betsy, and a few eye-opening events, Paradise turns into Hell for Puller instead of Heaven. Puller then jumps into the action using his entire army career experience….
My Review
David Baldacci presents the main character of each of his crime fiction series in such a deep way that anyone is bound to like it. Baldacci’s storytelling is so good that everything is visible in the eyes while reading. How tightly an author goes into detail about every single thing can’t be understood without reading Baldacci’s book. After reading Zero Day, the first book of the series, I was leaning toward Amos Decker’s series, but after reading Forgotten, I admitted I was totally wrong. Despite being such a huge book, the fast-paced story surprised me. Each character description and scene description is so perfect that I didn’t feel bored reading them. The author was describing the story so beautifully that I liked it very much. Like Peter Lampert’s Bungalow or Oil Platform, the author has created suspense through perfect writing that will appeal to everyone.
In my opinion, the plot of the story was the base of this story. The international crime story about Paradise and the Gulf of Mexico is thrilling, but it also makes me think that there are beasts in the form of humans. This book is an example of the people who sit in the high places of society and treat other people like insects.
The action scenes in the story were excellent. It’s really cool how Puller applies his Army career experiences to the Fight. There is nothing unrealistic, nothing exaggerated; it just happens. I enjoyed every fight scene of the story.
Around the city of Paradise, the writer has shown the reality of two types of people: A group that gets rich off the backs of the weak. For them, people are just ladders to climb to the top. And a group of weak opposites. And the twist at the end was shocking, which I could not catch until then.
Characterization
There are not many characters in the story. Not to mention the main character, John Puller, but in the previous book, Puller was more active and in an action mood. His every step is very careful. I am a casual reader, but I really enjoyed his daily routine and activities. After finishing this book, I discovered an amazing character of John Puller, created by David Baldacci, who didn’t even appear in Zero Day. There is another character I have to talk about. It can be said that it was an equal character to Puller in the story This “Meko” character has given the story a distinct charm from the very beginning. The author weaves the character of Meko in such a way that it is bound to attract the reader. I like his strong thinking. His careful taking of every step will thrill the readers. In addition, Sheryl Landry, Chrissy Murdoch, Hooper, and Bullock, each character have adapted well to the story. And everyone is bound to hate Peter Lampert’s character. For some such people, Paradise becomes hell.
Price
Kindle – $11.99
Hardcover – $37.68
Paperback – $12.05
Personal Rating
8.5/10. This rating, from my point of view, means this is an excellent book. I recommend this book to the thriller lover. Reading this book will feel that the time was well spent.
