The Fallen - David Baldacci (Book)

The Fallen - David Baldacci.

One of my colleague is a huge David Baldacci fan and soon as she came to know of my book reading obsession, she told me not to buy the latest Baldacci as she was going to get it anyways. Unfortunately neither I knew that she read books nor who this Mr. Baldacci was so I was totally blank but a book coming to me free of cost is always a big huge welcome with a wide grin on my face :), so there goes my first Baldacci book. Now the book in question is the latest from his "Amos Decker" (the FBI agent) series but was a pretty average read. The moment I came to know that it was a thriller with serial killer on lose, a treasure hunt in parallel, sleepy god forsaken town on the verge of a collapse, I wasn't expecting an Agatha Christie suspense and twist or Conan Doyle finesse but at-least a good dose of something Sydney Sheldon types but this guy came nowhere close to none. In future I would rather read a Sheldon again, instead of going anywhere close to a Baldacci book when I am looking for some fun reads. Having said that, I would really request the Baldacci fans (if we have any) to tell me one of their favorite book that I can read and give another chance to him and myself as I don't want to judge him by just one book. If that too doesn't makes me too much happy as I always want to be with the books, then I will give up on him and move on to find some other entertaining writers who are above average.

The story as I said takes place in the sleepy town of "Baronville" (Pennsylvania) when a FBI agent Amos Decker witnesses some suspicious activity in a nearby home to his colleague's sister's house in the neighborhood. Initially they were off duty and on vacation but what they actually end up doing is, uncover the truth behind the four murders which had taken place in the town a while ago, followed up by two more murders in the neighboring house of Ex FBI agents (and a couple of more shocks on the way). The whole thing just gets better when the town's bankrupt millionaire becomes a suspect on whose family's name the town is named and they indeed owned a majority of happening activities back in the good days. The entire town blames the "Barons" for its sad state and there is a rumor going around town in hush hush that their may be a fortune hidden somewhere in Baron Estate by the first Baron. Drugs is another big issue which keeps the interest of reader hooked up and keeps making the things go forward. Now with that kind of plot and story, I expected something cracking but it just turns out to be a pretty average read. Although the book was 400+ pages but still I end up finishing it in flat three days. The one thing that I totally loved about the book was that the story actually had a little heart and the FBI agent Decker was totally believable (read Lovable). With his own dark past and family's story pulling him down plus his colleague's little niece who dotes on him was the high point of the whole book. As it did choke me up at least three times and that I totally loved. Also, another thing that I will praise Mr. Baldacci big time is that he refrains from any kind of love angle between the colleagues that I so much expected and it actually made me happy in the end to not to have it in this story as that would have made it another run of the mill book.

Have you read "The Fallen", did you like it? Which as per you is the best David Baldacci novel, an individual book or may be a part of any of the series he has written. Do let me know so I can read it and make a final opinion about his works.