Book Review

For this blog post, I am reviewing the book The Guilty by David Baldacci. It was published by Grand Central Publishing in 2015 and has 418 pages. The genre is mystery, thriller, and suspense. This book is about a man named Will Robie who fails a mission and discovers that his dad is being charged with murder. In order to save his father and confront his past, Will goes back to his hometown to clear his father's name.

The story takes place in a small, southern town named Cantrell, Mississippi. It is told from a third-person omniscient perspective and focuses on Will Robie. Will Robie is a top assassin for the United States government who fails to complete one of his missions after a traumatic event occurs. After discovering that he no longer has the will to continue, he goes back to his hometown to try to resolve his past issues and regain his skills. His father, Dan Robie, became a town judge while Will was away and was very respected by the other citizens of Cantrell. He refuses to state whether or not he committed the murder and represents himself in court. Jessica Reel, another top assassin and Will's most trusted partner, helps him with the investigation. The main theme of this book is redemption; even after being away from home for twenty years, Will and Dan Robie still wish to make amends and look forward instead of always looking back.

*I would love to give a plot summary, but there are a lot of spoilers that could be given away, so I think that the above paragraph is all the information I can give.*

I really enjoyed this book because you could never predict what was going to happen next; I enjoy thrillers and mysteries for that very reason. Even within the first twenty pages, there are so many twists that happen and keep the reader at the edge of their seats. The characters and plot are developed so well throughout the entire book that you feel like you're stuck in their situation along with them. Foreshadowing is also used throughout the book with the characters' actions and dialogue. The constant questioning and doubt makes you want to read more, and just when you think you have everything figured out, another twist or development comes up that changes the whole situation. I loved the way the story ended and how everything was resolved instead of having loose ends.

Overall, I would give this book a five out of five stars due to its unpredictability and its theme of redemption and hope for the future.

"'You[Will] were right. To go forward, you have to go back. You get this square, your foundation is set. You can move on. But until then, you're going to be damaged goods'" -Jessica Reel (Baldacci 276).





Author Research

The author of The Guilty, David Baldacci, has published close to 40 books and counting. Over 110 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and he has had several books on the bestselling list for both adults and children. His books have also been translated in over 400 languages and sold in about 80 countries.

Aside from his writing accomplishments, David has donated to and become a part of many charities and even founded one himself. He and his wife Michelle started the Wish You Well Foundation, which helps support the education of people who can't afford books or school. His main mission is to teach everyone to read. "If everybody read, we'd have a much better world" (Baldacci from Fox 8 interview).

David mainly writes thriller novels, but explored the fantasy genre when he wrote The Finisher for a younger audience. He likes having the ability to create an entire new world rather than having to comply to the rules of the real world for his books.

Despite living a solitary life as a writer, David says that he loves interacting with other people and going to book events because he believes that it helps improve the quality of communities.

Helpful Links:

http://davidbaldacci.com/

http://myfox8.com/2015/09/11/author-david-baldacci-visits-fox8-will-speak-at-bookmarks-festival/

Why I Read

For me, reading is a way to explore other worlds or philosophies by seeing through someone else's eyes rather than being lectured or simply told about something. Reading is an experience that allows me to relate to characters and go through their story rather than worrying about my own. By relating to other characters, I feel like I'm not alone in how I feel or think. I read because I want to learn new words and further develop my own opinions rather than conforming to everyone else's.


I liked getting locked into a story that I can't escape without knowing the ending. Even though characters aren't real people, when they feel like they are, it's such an incredible thing. I love it when books teach such incredible lessons that can apply to my life and help me through a tough situation or prepare me for the future. I love seeing how writers create such complex worlds and navigate us through them.


Books that can travel you back to another time period help me learn more about what it was actually like to be a person in that time, whereas history class only talks about the important events, not that the everyday person going through that event. It's important to know contrasting views about history, which I think books like All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr do so well. Rather than getting the typical American view of World War II, this book gives you the perspective of what people experienced in Europe before, during, and after the war. Books like this are the reason I read.