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  • Long Road to Mercy (An Atlee Pine Thriller, 1)
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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
42,261 global ratings
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Long Road to Mercy (An Atlee Pine Thriller, 1)

Long Road to Mercy (An Atlee Pine Thriller, 1)

byDavid Baldacci
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Top positive review

All positive reviews›
C Wm (Andy) Anderson
5.0 out of 5 starsScarily Tough FLAWED Heroine - Taut, Intriguing Action-Adventure. MUST-READ
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on November 13, 2018
If I have a favorite genre, it would be either Action-Adventure or International Crime and Conspiracy. To my line of thinking, "Long Road to Mercy" is Action-Adventure, but I noticed it was billed as International Mystery and Crime. At any rate, I knew that it would be a good story, as I always enjoy books by this author.

In one sentence, I found Atlee Pine to be an authentic, Scarily Tough Heroine. "Long Road to Mercy" is a Must-Read.

Mind you, though, that the early chapters in which we learn much about our heroine did give me cause for concern. Why? It seemed eerily close to Silence of the Lambs, but the character by Jody Foster was a much more physically adapted character. A character who, by the way, felt much more authentic than your typical heroine.

Even though I don't think it would be a spoiler, I'm not going to explain the cause for her developing in such a direction, because that is the fresh take, early, regarding this character that makes these first few pages intriguing to read.

The second half of the novel is better than the first half. In fact, some two-thirds in, this becomes a great page-turner. I enjoyed the adventure in this part almost as much as the character.

BLUSH FACTOR Readers familiar with Baldacci will know that his characters are not the sort from the Wizard of Oz, so don't expect to be reading this to youngsters or with your prayer group. But, even if you have objections to the eff-word, this is a book worth reading. And, frankly, the profanity is somewhat sparing. It is used to good effect as a seasoning agent, rather than to an excess.

CHARACTER: My thoughts regarding Atlee Pine - At last, a female FBI agent who feels real and is not some Charlie's Angel or a model. This character has just enough flaws to make her intriguing.

POV: Third person.

EXCERPT:

I'm only posting the briefest possible tidbit, just so an informed judgment becomes possible.

'...After losing Mercy, she had been put into counseling. As a bereaved six-year-old, she had found it confusing, scary, and, ultimately, unhelpful.

Four years ago, she had tried it again. With the exact same result. She had sat in a group counseling session and had listened as the attendees went around the room discussing their most personal issues. When her turn had come, Pine, who had been shot, stabbed, and attacked multiple times in the line of duty, had started to sweat and taken the coward’s way out—she had passed on her turn and never gone back.

For some reason, all of this had made her averse to possessions. She wanted to go through life with as few as possible. These included people as well. Some shrinks might interpret that as her being fearful of another significant loss. And they might not be far off the mark. But Pine had never allowed herself the time or opportunity to dig deep enough into her psyche to prove that theory true or false.

She showered to take off the dirt and sweat of the Grand Canyon. She dressed in fresh clothes, sat down at her knotty pine kitchen table, which had come with the apartment and which also doubled as her home office, and checked her emails, phone messages, and texts.

There was one from her direct superior out of Flagstaff. He wanted to know

Baldacci, David. Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine) (pp. 45-46). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.

BOTTOM LINE

Although the trip to the prison to visit the serial killer felt a little too familiar, and raises other questions in the reader's minds, it was enough different and personal enough that it was not so similar to other stories in this genre. Further, the writing throughout "Long Road to Mercy" is taut with intrigue and suspense so much so that I could only, with much difficulty, put it down to take care of other pressing needs, such as make a pot of coffee and the like.

Five stars out of five.

I am striving to produce reviews that help you find books that you want, or avoid books that you wish to avoid. With your help, my improvement will help you and me improve book reviews on Amazon. Together, you and I can build a great customer review process that helps everybody. Will you join me? It is people such as you who have helped me improve over the years. I'm still learning, and I have a great deal yet to learn. With your help, I'll improve every day.

One request: Be respectful and courteous in your comments and emails to me. I will do likewise with you.

Thank you so much for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment. for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment.
Read more
379 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
Dennis Anderson
3.0 out of 5 starsGood story:
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on April 3, 2023
The story was good, but the plot and some of the situations that Agent Pine got herself into bordered on far fetched. The ending with the standoff in her office was unrealistic.
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From the United States

C Wm (Andy) Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Scarily Tough FLAWED Heroine - Taut, Intriguing Action-Adventure. MUST-READ
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on November 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
If I have a favorite genre, it would be either Action-Adventure or International Crime and Conspiracy. To my line of thinking, "Long Road to Mercy" is Action-Adventure, but I noticed it was billed as International Mystery and Crime. At any rate, I knew that it would be a good story, as I always enjoy books by this author.

In one sentence, I found Atlee Pine to be an authentic, Scarily Tough Heroine. "Long Road to Mercy" is a Must-Read.

Mind you, though, that the early chapters in which we learn much about our heroine did give me cause for concern. Why? It seemed eerily close to Silence of the Lambs, but the character by Jody Foster was a much more physically adapted character. A character who, by the way, felt much more authentic than your typical heroine.

Even though I don't think it would be a spoiler, I'm not going to explain the cause for her developing in such a direction, because that is the fresh take, early, regarding this character that makes these first few pages intriguing to read.

The second half of the novel is better than the first half. In fact, some two-thirds in, this becomes a great page-turner. I enjoyed the adventure in this part almost as much as the character.

BLUSH FACTOR Readers familiar with Baldacci will know that his characters are not the sort from the Wizard of Oz, so don't expect to be reading this to youngsters or with your prayer group. But, even if you have objections to the eff-word, this is a book worth reading. And, frankly, the profanity is somewhat sparing. It is used to good effect as a seasoning agent, rather than to an excess.

CHARACTER: My thoughts regarding Atlee Pine - At last, a female FBI agent who feels real and is not some Charlie's Angel or a model. This character has just enough flaws to make her intriguing.

POV: Third person.

EXCERPT:

I'm only posting the briefest possible tidbit, just so an informed judgment becomes possible.

'...After losing Mercy, she had been put into counseling. As a bereaved six-year-old, she had found it confusing, scary, and, ultimately, unhelpful.

Four years ago, she had tried it again. With the exact same result. She had sat in a group counseling session and had listened as the attendees went around the room discussing their most personal issues. When her turn had come, Pine, who had been shot, stabbed, and attacked multiple times in the line of duty, had started to sweat and taken the coward’s way out—she had passed on her turn and never gone back.

For some reason, all of this had made her averse to possessions. She wanted to go through life with as few as possible. These included people as well. Some shrinks might interpret that as her being fearful of another significant loss. And they might not be far off the mark. But Pine had never allowed herself the time or opportunity to dig deep enough into her psyche to prove that theory true or false.

She showered to take off the dirt and sweat of the Grand Canyon. She dressed in fresh clothes, sat down at her knotty pine kitchen table, which had come with the apartment and which also doubled as her home office, and checked her emails, phone messages, and texts.

There was one from her direct superior out of Flagstaff. He wanted to know

Baldacci, David. Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine) (pp. 45-46). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.

BOTTOM LINE

Although the trip to the prison to visit the serial killer felt a little too familiar, and raises other questions in the reader's minds, it was enough different and personal enough that it was not so similar to other stories in this genre. Further, the writing throughout "Long Road to Mercy" is taut with intrigue and suspense so much so that I could only, with much difficulty, put it down to take care of other pressing needs, such as make a pot of coffee and the like.

Five stars out of five.

I am striving to produce reviews that help you find books that you want, or avoid books that you wish to avoid. With your help, my improvement will help you and me improve book reviews on Amazon. Together, you and I can build a great customer review process that helps everybody. Will you join me? It is people such as you who have helped me improve over the years. I'm still learning, and I have a great deal yet to learn. With your help, I'll improve every day.

One request: Be respectful and courteous in your comments and emails to me. I will do likewise with you.

Thank you so much for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment. for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment.
379 people found this helpful
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Diva 70
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy buy buy
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on May 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
Couldn’t put this book down. Great plot
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Phillip Miner
4.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful!
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on February 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
Long, but a fast-paced storyline most of the time. Surprise ending. Made we want more! Loved the fact the author didn't feel the need to introduce boy meets girl and fall in love, have sex, breakup, get back together storylines. Just good ole suspense, intrigue, murder and surprises.
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porsche
4.0 out of 5 stars HIGHLY ENTERTAINING BUT NO PULITZER PRIZE
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on November 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
First of all, there must have been some huge mistake when GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING published this book because the copy of the book that I received was not boring, was not terrible , not hard to get into, and was clearly not DB's worst book ever - in fact, I have enjoyed all of his books in all of his regular series - CAMEL CLUB, ROBIE, PULLER, MEMORY MAN...and if some of you do not like the geopolitical themes, then don't read geopolitical thrillers. And for those of you who appear to be extremely pro-federal government, have you been deaf dumb and blind fo the past several decades?
The government has lied to us about the Vietnam War - LBJ said in no uncertain terms that we would win that war, Westmoreland painted a rosy picture of how the war was going, when in fact the US military had no clue as to what they were doing or what the capabilities of the VC were - example, the TET offensive. Then you had the Nixon Administration which was a total clusterf--k, ending with his resignation, then you had Reagan and Oliver North with their Iran-Contra scandals, in the 90s you had Clinton who was a total disgrace to the Presidency, then Bush Jr. got us involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, which we are still fighting to this day, and now Trump who is obviously undermining every pillar of our democracy that is somehow still standing. And Atlee Pine said it best near the end of the book - the Russians are not our friends - never have been, never will be. Wake up, America!

As for the book itself, IMHO, it was a very interesting, well thought-out book, with some really good action and inter-agency rivalry which still exists to this day despite the aftermath of 9/11 when everyone swore cooperation between fellow Agencies. Of course, to be honest, I don't know why the book is entitled the way it is - the book had nothing to do with Atlee Pine finding, or even investigating, her sister's disappearance.

And one last note which I feel compelled to make - DB is usually a very detailed, disciplined author. That being said, how could he possibly note that Fort Bragg was in California when everyone knows that it is in North Carolina, and the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki was NOT a hydrogen bomb - it was a plutonium bomb. Mistakes like that are totally unacceptable from an accomplished author, as well as his editors - no excuse can possibly be made for such obvious misstatements.

And one last point - if you have trouble with your KINDLE, or you think that the price of the KINDLE edition is too high, or you don't like the particular narrator, or if you did not receive your book, or you received it when you never ordered it, don't give the book a one (1) star rating - those problems have nothing to do with the book but they do negative skew the book's rating. If you have one of those problems, take it up with AMAZON!

All in all, however, I feel comfortable rating this book as four (4) stars.
15 people found this helpful
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RARowland, Cincinnati reviewer
4.0 out of 5 stars Finished it.
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on December 15, 2018
Verified Purchase
Prior to writing this review I had to look at the ratings it received to see if my head was still on straight.
I noted the book got a 45% 5 rating, which didn’t surprised me all that much considering this was a Baldacci read. But, I was a bit relieved to see, in descending order from 4 down to 1, ratings of 17,12,12, and a 14% for a 1 rating.
First of all, I am a committed David Baldacci reader. I’ve not read everything by him, but, suffice it to say, I’ve read a few.
So, having said that, what to say about this read?
Well to begin with, we are dealing with a new character FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine. In my opinion having read several books wherein a new character is introduced there is (must be really) a learning curve in order for us, the reader, to get to know the character being introduced. I get that.
This book seemed to me to be long on introducing agent Pine to a new series.
It took me a ā€œloongā€ time to get through this read and I suspect the above had a lot to do with it, given what I just said.
What I will say at the outset, length of time to complete the read and how many times I put the book down in order to do so, the Plot was tight. I rate Plot by setting a book aside for a time. Returning to the read was I able to pick up where I last left off without having to re read passages to do so? When I can do that level of ā€œrecallā€ I call that tight Plot. This book had that.
Baldacci did a good job in his character development of Agent Pine. We really got to know her. Bravado instincts to be sure, but not just one dimensional in personality either.
What was missing for me was any real indication of rising action. The action for me didn’t start until the 80% mark in the read. Frankly, it wasn’t until that point that the book really got interesting for me.
I confess I’m torn on what rating to give this read. It will be either a 3 or a 4. It can’t be any lower because of the tremendous amount of research the writer put into the book. There was a lot of more information about hiking the Grand Canyon than I could ever have learned from any other source I can think of. But in fairness to my self, and despite my opinion of this author, I just cannot bring my self to give it a 5 rating.
I don’t retell story lines in my reviews so I am not going to expound further about that.
I will continue to read Baldacci regardless that I did not consider this to be an outstanding read. And that is the best I can say about this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book , if a little far fetched
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on January 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
I

I like Baldacci. I like his character driven stories. The story here is secondary to his excellent descriptions of peop!e and places. One of my favourite series is Robie and Reel, as well as the Camel Club.
W
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Dick
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellenr reading.
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on January 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
My prior comment on Mercy (the final book of a 4 book series) goes for each of the other 3. All well written andholds your attention...Once started, one cannot put any one of the books down .
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Nick Nappi
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait to read the next in the series.
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on March 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
Can't wait to read the next in the series. It kept you on the edge of your seat, hard to know where and when to take a break.
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Monnie Ryan
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Fiesty New Character Hits the Ground Running
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on December 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
A new series from a favorite author? I'm on it! And although I've just finished, I'm already eager to read the next installment.

That is not to say, however, that FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine totally won me over. I like that she's strong (both mentally and physically) and thus able to handle just about anything that comes her way. That she's carrying around a traumatic childhood - her own almost death and the kidnapping of her twin sister, Mercy - is less intriguing; for me, it simply provides another dimension to the story and, most likely, a recurring theme for the series. As I read, I was reminded of another series character: Jane Hawk, the feisty heroine conceived by another favorite author, Dean Koontz. Both women live and work on the fringes of credibility - both in what they are able to handle physically and in terms of a sometimes hard-to-believe plot. But I'm one of those who go with the flow and accept a story for what it is - a story - and this is a good one.

At age 35, nearly 6 feet in height and an almost-Olympic weightlifter, Atlee has joined the FBI and now happily heads up a remote office near the Grand Canyon National Park. At the beginning, she remains fixated on finding out what happened to Mercy; believing that a prolific serial killer was involved, she visits him in the no-mercy federal prison in which he's expected to spend the rest of his life. But then comes a distraction; one of the mules that transports tourists up and down the steep canyon trails is found dead - gutted with two seemingly meaningless letters cut into its hide. But as she and local park rangers begin to investigate, she's suddenly called off the case in no uncertain terms by folks way above her pay grade. Then, the two park rangers who were helping her are abruptly reassigned.

When Atlee and her capable secretary, Carol Blum, forge ahead despite orders from on high, they find themselves the targets of some very nasty men. Narrowly escaping death, the two now are certain that something rotten in those canyon walls besides a decaying mule. But rather than concede victory to the higher-ups (and probably more bad guys), the pair decide to go rogue. From this point on anything I write would spoil things for others, so I'll just say they face a number of other close calls before they figure out what's really going on and decide what to do about it.

In my book, it's an adventure well worth reading - highly recommended.
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lighthouse88
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjjoyed the story and Atlee rocks!
Reviewed in the United States šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø on November 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Reviews can be well written, fair or poorly written and some shouldn’t be considered a review. One I read for this book was ā€œI didn’t order this bookā€ so they gave it a 1 star. Really? The author had nothing to do with the person getting the book, so he shouldn’t have received such feedback. Most of the readers liked this new character named Atlee Pine and her work as an FBI agent. Atlee survived a childhood trauma and used it to focus her life on making sure others didn’t suffer as she did at the age of 6. Atlee’s secretary is someone with wisdom and insight into life and attempting to understand Atlee.
The strength of Atlee’s character and her drive makes her the ideal agent to work cases that are really tough. What she wants isn’t the bureaucracy positions or to be a boss over other agents; she is the kind who wants her boots on the ground chasing down leads and arresting criminals. Even with all the dangers and at times people kicking her butt physically, she can hold her own. On her current case, she allows her secretary, Ms. Blum, to accompany her when Atlee decides that going rogue will be the only way she can solve the case.
Atlee doesn’t make friends easily. In fact, they are mostly acquittances, but they help her when she gives them a call. There are many twists, turns and maybe even a few rabbit trails in the plot that only serve to heighten the drama unfolding in the story! I enjoyed the various characters that would occasionally pop into the storyline, and I loved the action that took place in the Grand Canyon!
In the book, I chuckled when it came to a ā€œThelma and Louiseā€ reference; it was perfect! I recommend the book if you like a solid story that grabs your attention and makes you stay up to see what happens next. There is no sex in the book. There are some words used sparingly that might offend some, but overall, I wasn’t offended, and it didn’t detract from the novel. Nor did the author build his tale around sex, foul language or one of a hundred topics he could have in the book.
A great thriller with nonstop suspense!
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