The year did not begin well. I can usually rely on receiving a swag of books as Christmas gifts, but this year my haul was limited to one. And so, in early January, with my bookshelf fully read and the library closed, I was forced to resort to raiding my Dad's bedside table book pile.
At this point, I came face to face with the challenge I'd decided to set myself of reading more widely, among authors and genres that would not usually atrract me. My choice was limited: thriller, thriller or thriller. I decided to choose a thriller, and picked up David Baldacci's First Family.
The storyline dealt with the kidnapping of a US president's neice, foucssing on the experiences of the private investigators (ex-secret service agents) hired by the First Lady to find her neice, the kidnapper and his motivations, and the 11year old kidnap victim. While unravelling the clues, twists and turns of the primary story line, the two private investigators (recurring characters in a series) deal with the suspicious death of one of their mothers and the developing relationship between themselves.
First Family delivered just what I expected. The writing was clear, the plot reasonable for the genre, and consistent within itself and the characters interesting enough to keep me reading til the end. In fact, I think it was the characters, rather than the mystery they were solving that kept me engaged. I'm not rushing out to pick up another Baldacci, but thats because my tastes don't run to thrillers, rather than any flaw in his writing.
I should add a disclaimer - I've labled David Baldacci as Old Geezer Lit solely because he's one of my Dad's favorite reads, and my Dad is an Old Geezer. I am not sugesting that everyone who reads and enjoys David Baldacci's writing is an Old Geezer. But they probably are.
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