Walk the Wire by David Baldacci

A hunter stumbles upon an already-autopsied body. A former FBI detective is on the case with his partner and goes to a town called London (not the English London). It's an unsophisticated, rough town, seeming to exist and survive because of fracking. 'It's like the Gold Rush of 1849, only on steroids.' Our hero further adds '...the ordinary rules of civilisation don't necessarily apply up here.' And so begins an investigation into the sordid goings on inside a town that attracts a whole host of unsavoury sorts. Plus a secret military base. Must not forget that.

Baldacci creates a complex case with plenty of potential suspects as the investigation takes on many issues, fracking being one of them. The victim has a mysterious past, which no doubt explains why an out-of-town detective team is called in as opposed to the local police force. Her identity, where and why why she died are far-reaching questions that make it virtually impossible for the reader to guess the outcome.

The plot is made clearer by the uncluttered and adjective-free narrative, so it is easy to follow. There are a few outdated tropes such as the strong, cold, lantern-jawed men and every woman being measured by her level of attractiveness, but generally the characters are quite well drawn. A clever technique is that he includes a couple of characters from his other books (and series) so adding that extra depth and hook. The dialogue is direct and plentiful; action and pace just right.

A great addition to the series of detective books. This story is much more than a simple whodunnit  demonstrating the skill of the author, which in turn is reflected in David Baldacci's successful career.
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Published by Pan MacMillan on 16 April 2020. Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.

David Baldacci is one of the world’s bestselling and favourite thriller writers. With over 130 million copies in print, his books are published in over eighty territories and forty-five languages, and have been adapted for both feature-film and television. David is also the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation®, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across the US.

Trust him to take you to the action.

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Other books in the Amos Decker series: