the hit

David Baldacci writes a pretty good novel. My wife typically buys them action novels and I read them when she's done, and this was the case here. She thought the first chapter had a great hook and it kept up from there on in. I'd have to agree.

I've seen his name around on books in the house, but I can't remember the last time I read one by him, or if I ever have. that's one of the reasons I have this blog This one is about a hit man, Will Robie, who feels like he has to do the right thing, even though he kills people for a living. Seems like an interesting premise, and the hints in the story make me think this guy is a recurring character. As it turns out, he does care.

Will Robie is a CIA hit man (altho I'm sure there's no such animal in reality, right?) and he's minding his own business until the office calls, asking him to do something he typically doesn't; track down another agent who's gone rogue and is killing people. Robie shrugs, digs in and soon discovers all kinds of crazy stuff going on, and then he needs to decide whether to do the right thing. Then he has to figure out what the right thing is.

The Hit is tight, exciting and well paced. The writing stays out of the way and the characters develop pretty thoroughly by the end. There are some canned characters and sub-plots populating the story as walk-ons, supporting cast, and off-the-shelf, built-in backstory, but its not too disruptive.

I'd be interested in the story that led up to this one, but I wouldn't knock over a nun to get to it.