In this gripping mystery, an FBI Agent’s search for her sister clashes with a military investigator’s high-stakes case, leading them both deep into a global conspiracy–from which neither of them will escape unscathed. For many long years, Atlee Pine was tormented by uncertainty after her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted at the age of six and never seen again. Now, just as Atlee is pressured to … Atlee is pressured to end her investigation into Mercy’s disappearance, she finally gets her most promising breakthrough yet: the identity of her sister’s kidnapper, Ito Vincenzo.
With time running out, Atlee and her assistant Carol Blum race to Vincenzo’s last known location in Trenton, New Jersey–and unknowingly stumble straight into John Puller’s case, blowing his arrest during a drug ring investigation involving a military installation.
Stunningly, Pine and Puller’s joint investigation uncovers a connection between Vincenzo’s family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core.family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core.family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core.family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core.more
David Baldacci’s Atlee Pine series is a sterling example of an author having a great deal of fun creating stories, even when addressing serious topics. The third installment in Atlee Pine’s journey to discover what happened to and the whereabouts of her twin sister so many years ago takes her and Carol Blum, her trusted assistant, to Fort Dix, a huge military installation in New Jersey. There she encounters John Puller, a military CID agent with the U.S. Army. Puller’s appearance was briefly foreshadowed in the second book in the series, A Minute to Midnight, when Atlee mentioned that they worked on an investigation together years ago and he served as a mentor to her. Baldacci fans will be happy about the full-fledged reappearance of his protagonist from another four-book series.
Puller is investigating a drug ring operating out of Fort Dix. Atlee wants to speak to the man at the center of the drug ring because he may be the grandson of Mercy’s kidnapper. He’s the only living relative of Ito VIncenzo. He lives in the family home, which turns out to hold information about Mercy’s disappearance, and works in the motor pool at Fort Dix. At the outset, Atlee does not suspect that he might be a criminal. She discovers that her mother played a key role in Ito’s brother being convicted and sent to prison. Atlee has to piece together how Ito managed to find her family when they were supposed to be safely tucked away in a witness protection program.
Atlee and Puller decide to team up, but their collaboration is not effortless. They are an unlikely pair, adhering to and operating by different rules, procedures, and their superiors’ expectations. Puller operates within the context of Army regulations — guidelines applicable to civilians are irrelevant to him. But Atlee is a trained FBI agent bound by Constitutional principles and protections such as due process that have no meaning in the military universe. And Atlee’s career is very much in jeopardy. The events of so many years ago have wreaked havoc in her personal and professional lives, and the FBI has given her a brief window of time in which to wrap up her investigation and get back to work. Or not return to duty at all. But as she explains to Carol, she just can’t let go of either the search for her sister or the investigation she has gotten caught up in. “The only reason I’m an FBI agent is because I want to see people who destroy other people’s lives brought to justice and pay for what they did. The want the families of their victims to have closure.” In other words, she wants the families of other victims to have the one thing that has always eluded her.
Readers might be surprised to learn that Atlee is the first female lead character Baldacci has created and featured in a series. She is believable and empathetic, and readers have taken her into their hearts. She is a large and physically imposing woman with a physique enhanced by her commitment to fitness, particularly weightlifting. That was a deliberate choice by Baldacci, given that Atlee is in a profession that remains dominated by men. Her physicality is an asset to her career and helps her command respect from her male counterparts who recognize that, at least from a physical perspective, she is their equal. Atlee has worked hard to get where she is, and makes no apology for being a woman in a traditionally male job.
Which is not to save that she isn’t vulnerable. Because she is. She suffered a traumatic event as a child — Mercy’s kidnapping and sustaining serious injury herself — that motivated her to join the FBI. She is without family, having lost her parents, as well as Mercy. And she makes mistakes. Sometimes she develops tunnel vision in her determination to find answers, and she makes reckless choices, but she is a sympathetic character. Pairing Atlee with John Puller made sense. Both characters are sometimes fragile as a result of tragic familial relationships. While Atlee lost her family, Puller has never felt that he could live up to his father’s example. He feels that his father will always outrank him, even though Puller is a combat veteran who was wounded.
Daylight opens with Atlee following a significant clue about what happened to Mercy. In A Minute to Midnight, she learned much about her parents’ pasts. Now she uncovers what might have served as motivation for Mercy’s abduction in a complex turn of events that brings more new characters into the mix. As in the earlier volumes, Atlee gets a bit sidetracked by Puller’s investigation into the drug ring, but inadvertently discovers potential links between the two cases. Atlee and Puller are stonewalled repeatedly by powerful and corrupt government officials, including those running the prison system, as well as well-connected criminals.
The title of the book is significant. Baldacci picked Daylight because in this volume he moves Atlee out of the dark unknown and further into the light of truth. “Things become clear to her,” he notes, as she inches closer to finding out what happened to Mercy. Many additional details about the case are uncovered in this installment, forcing Atlee to deal with learning that virtually nothing she believed growing up was actually true.
Baldacci promises that in the final installment, aptly titled, simply, Mercy, and scheduled to be released on November 16, 2021, the fate of Atlee’s beloved sister will finally be revealed, her complete story told.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
Atlee Pine is the kind of character i appreciate — driven by a life-long issue that causes her to be fixated on solving the problem. At the same time, she is forced to survive a villain which is designed to bring chills and the creeps to even the most hardened reader.
Took a minute to remember the plot, but once up to speed, the book hooked me in. The last part of the book has a lot of action. Look forward to the next in the series.
The third instalment of the Atlee Pine Series by David Baldacci, as she continues the search for what happened to her twin sister. Again, Atlee is waylaid by an investigation of a black teen shooting she witnessed and that makes no sense, yet local police think the case is solved. With her assistant Carol Blum and help from her old friend John Puller, the investigation moves rapidly. There are numerous surprises and a potential cover-up that may have military and political ramifications. Finally, Atlee learns some truths regarding her sister Mercy but further mystery remains. A suspenseful thriller with an unforgettable hero with a five-star must read rating.
One of my favorite Baldacci books. I really enjoy the Atlee Pine character and also Robert Puller who is in this book too
A FBI/Military action-packed thriller that keeps you turning the pages. Murder and corruption and a continuing search for a missing sister. My first time reading a Baldacci book, but definitely not my last.
Classic Baldacci!
I like Baldacci, but he seems to be making his plots more and more convoluted of late. More twists and angles than are needed in a good mystery. Still, I did enjoy the book!
Awesome book
I love this character and her quest to find her twin sister. This is a series I stumbled onto by accident and am glad I did.
Not as good as his usual books. Didn’t like the ending.
I like David Baldacci and his different series that establishes individual characters. I like the development of the Atlee Pine character as it has been developed in the series. I also like that Baldacci has started crossing over characters from other series in his recent books as he did with bringing John Puller into this book
Attlee Pine is a great character to follow in her pursuit to find her sister. Enjoy various settings and secrets of the FBI.
A rip-roaring story! But, c’mon, give the readers some closure on the mystery of Mercy!
Can’t wait for the next in series it was grea.
For some reason, didn’t like this as much as most of his prior books. Too many crises and near-death situations and spur of the moment very convenient plot twists.
I love Atlee Pine and how John Puller was brought into this book from one of the other series that this author writes, however I wish that there was more backstory on how Atlee and John know each other. Atlee inadvertently gets in the middle of a case that John is working on, while trying to track down a lead in her sister’s disappearance. Atlee gets drawn into his case, seemingly at the price of her working on her own case. She does come back to it at the end of the book and but I wish that she would have found her sister in this book. The story did keep me glued to my seat to see what would happen next and is complex and well written, but I did not like how the book ended.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Poorly plotted compared to the other books in the series. Too many convenient coincidence. Bit surprised as Baldacci usually is better at this.
I always enjoy Baldacci’s books and this one is no different.
Great book