I’ve read twenty-seven books written by David Baldacci, some I gave two stars, some earned five. I’m thinking four stars is just right for The 6:20 Man.
Every day without fail, former Army Ranger Travis Devine boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at Cowl and Comely, the city’s most prestigious investment firm. He gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks.
Then one morning Devine receives an anonymous, untraceable message which reads: “She is dead.” Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, is found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide—prompting the NYPD to put him on the suspect list. If that wasn’t enough, Devine is blackmailed into digging up dirt on his firm.
Baldacci gets serious points for his characterization of protagonist Travis Devine, and the complex, twisty plot has me turning the pages late into the night. I thought the details on computer hacking were also fascinating. He lost a few points, however, because the way Devine interrogated people was ridiculously unrealistic. People spewed info with little encouragement. Actually, the entire plot is implausible, but hey… this is fiction! Baldacci is a reliable thriller writer, so it won’t be long before I pick up another of his books.
Genre: Thriller
“The money folks will forgive a lot if the cash keeps rolling in. Same goes for the government.”—David Baldacci, The 6:20 Man