True Blue

David Baldacci has always been a winner. I have purchased and read ALL his books but True Blue had so many unbelievable situations, I found myself saying, "yeah, right" with each one. Playing basketball with a killer in order to escape was just one example, but there were others. If this had been advertised as a fairytale, it might have worked but not for an adult reader. The two sisters were likeable characters and the young lawyer was o.k. but the feats of stupidity boggled the mind. C'mon David, I know you can do better than this.

I have really enjoyed all of Baldacci's books before True Blue. This book is just lightweight silliness with comic book heroes and an awkward writing style. I finished it, but only because I had already paid for it. I will definitely think hard before I buy his next book.

What a disappointment! I felt as though I'd been dropped into book three of a Mace Perry series and missed the first two. Poor character development, mundane dialog, reality suspension needed. I'll stick to the Camel Club books.

I've read a number of the Camel Club books and enjoyed them. I found the main character in this book and the book itself to be the worst kind of trash. The protagonist resembles a Marvel Comics superhero, the description of her riding style on the Ducati and her actions in general simply defied belief. Don't waste your money on this book!

Mr. Baldacci owes his fans an apology. I say that not because this book is awful (which it is), but because I simply refuse to believe that he actually wrote this book. I always get a bit suspicious when an author seems to release two or three books per year. O.K., I suppose it is possible, but one wonders if someone else actually penned this thing, with Baldacci simply looking over their shoulder for about five minutes per week to ensure that there’s some sort of coherence.

If you've read Baldacci, you know his schtick. His books seem to always take place in Washington D.C., and there’s some sort of murder, kidnapping, assassination, and/or terrorist attack that has taken place or will take place. We usually uncover that, tangled up in this web, are usually some high profile types (even the President himself) that are pulling the strings behind these catastrophes. Such is the case here as well, and it’s not the actual story that is bad, it’s the idiotic, under developed characters that we’re forced to believe have any resemblance to actual people.

Our hero here is a female cop named Mace. Mace is one of those cops who doesn’t “follow the rules”. She’s actually an ex-cop because, as our story begins, she’s being released from prison after serving her time for a crime that she, apparently, didn’t commit. Fortunately for Mace, her sister is the Chief of Police in Washington D.C. So Mace, eager to regain her reputation, sets out to prove she’s innocent and was set up. Now, normally I don’t post spoilers when I post reviews, but this book was so bad, that I really don’t care if I break protocol: Mace never meets her objective. The story simply takes an abrupt turn somewhere within these pages, and we get sidetracked into another story that really doesn’t have anything to do what Mace originally set out to do.

Instead, there’s a mysterious murder that happens at a law firm, Mace tags along with her sister to the crime scene, and starts an investigation on her own since she’s no longer a cop. So Mace teams up with one of the lawyers at the firm who knew the victim, and manages to break a library full of rules since she’s violating her parole and isn’t supposed to be conducting any kind of investigation. Of course, her sister reprimands her with the obvious threats of “sending her back to prison” over and over, but ol’ Mace simply doesn’t care. It seems her life is now a “prison anyway” since she can’t be a cop anymore. Yeah. Right. Whatever.

So we read about Mace racing through the badlands of Washington D.C. on her Ducati (an Italian motorcycle, I think) while wearing high heals and getting herself in trouble, yet managing to weasel her way out of situations in the most unbelievable ways possible. In one instance, she encounters a thug in a rough part of town while she’s with her lawyer friend, and manages to avoid a violent death by having her friend challenge the thug to a basketball game. If her friend wins the game, they get to have their lives spared.

I swear I didn’t make that up.

We’re then introduced to so many ridiculous characters that have absolutely nothing to do with the story (neither the original tale, nor the one we’re detoured towards). If they do have something to do with the story, the people are so one-dimensional, that you actually can feel your stomach turning as you’re trying to turn the pages. We meet the prosecutor that sent Mace to prison, who doesn’t have one ounce of kindness in her. She reminded me of Cruella De Ville from that Disney movie. Such characters work in cartoon fantasies, but they sure as heck don’t work in any attempt at serious literature. We could say the same about the encounter with her estranged mother. We also read far too much about Mace’s new job as a social worker. Nothing within these situations matters a lick in terms of where the book is supposed to be going.

Reading this book reminded me of those times when you’re fighting to stay awake late at night to finish a particularly dull movie. You don’t really want to stay up, but you keep shaking your head because you’ve figured that you’ve made it far enough in the movie to where it becomes a challenge to just get through the stupid thing. When you wake up exhausted the next day, you curse yourself for wasting your time on such an idiotic movie. This was what reading the last 100 pages or so of this book felt like. I think I managed to finish the last 100 pages in about 10 minutes, since I couldn’t make myself read every awful word on every awful page.

What’s really scary, is that Baldacci could bring back these unpleasant people in future books. There is still too many unanswered questions about Mace and company, but it simply isn’t worth it to bring these characters back to life. Let’s hope Baldacci retires these idiots and sticks to King and Maxwell and The Camel Club. Please.

Many years ago someone gave me a Baldacci novel and I could not make my way through it as the plot and law enforcement procedures described were so silly and completely inaccurate. Several years later I read another book by this author, this one not about law enforcement. I believe it was called Saving Faith. It was an outstanding book, believable, well-written, poignant and enjoyable. Then last week I bought True Blue for $1.00 at a used book store, figuring I would give the author another try. Big mistake! This book is so silly, so unbelievable in plot and characters, dialogue so trite and silly to the point that at times I thought I was reading a spoof. I am in complete agreement with another review writer, Jim Morrison.

So many of the scenes are absolutely ludicrous: The "bandit" sighting through the scope of a sniper rifle from a fast-moving vehicle to shoot a person on a fast-moving motorcycle; the idiotic 'one on one' basketball game between a gigantic gang-banger named "Psycho" and the lawyer/partner of the hero, in an agreement that if "Psycho" wins he will then kill the hero and her lawyer/partner; the "knife fight" between the hero and a Russian assassin with the agreement that if the hero wins her lawyer/partner and the hero will be allowed to go free; the agreement between the hero and Psycho (who has just kidnapped her) that as a last wish she be allowed to have "one punch" at his gut before he kills her but Psycho is unaware that the hero has a concealed 900,000 volt set of "zap knuckles" which totally incapacitates him, even though Psycho has a "double black belt." And these silly and unbelievable scenes pile one upon another in this completely predictable and implausible plot. And one big puzzle is that the author cites many law enforcement and legal experts on the "Acknowledgements" page and yet the book is so full of inaccuracies and unbelievable situations that one cannot help but wonder if any of these "experts" could have possibly read the proofs of this novel.

The book is one huge and predictable stereotype from beginning to end and filled with dialogue that is just one cliche after another. Overall, it is probably the worst book I have read in years. This is definitely the last book by this author that I will ever read. I will stick with Lee Child, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, Daniel Silva, Alex Berenson, Vince Flynn, Nelson DeMille, David Ignatius, and several other authors whose plots ring true and whose characters are believable.

Mace Perry just spent two years in Federal prison for crimes she did not commit. Actually, she did commit the crimes; she just did not know she was doing so. While an undercover narcotics detective for the Washington, DC, police force, she was kidnapped off the street, forcibly addicted to drugs, and then dragged along as part of a crew that specialized in armed robbery. After one of their forays, the crew deliberately slipped away and left Mace in the store holding the gun, literally.

The gun was not loaded and Mace didn’t even know who she was, but that didn’t matter to the particularly ambitious US attorney, Mona Danforth, who tried her case. She was able to convince a jury that Mace had simply slipped to the dark side while undercover. And Mace’s sister, DC Chief of Police Beth Perry, had not been able to find enough evidence to contradict the gun or the videotapes.

Mace has never wanted to be anything but a cop, a “blue” as they refer to themselves in DC. But convicted of a felony, she cannot carry a gun, so she cannot go back to the force or even get a license as a PI. To get back what she lost, she knows she has to get herself exonerated.

However, Mona Danforth is now in line for a prime federal appointment. Furious that Mace got only two years instead of twenty-to-life and determined not to have her future derailed by an overturned conviction, Danforth preempts Mace’s plans by approaching the police review board prior to Mace’s release, planting seeds of suspicion regarding any “new” evidence that might be “discovered” by a police official related to a felon. Thus, she hopes to not only thwart Mace but to set up Mace’s sister to be publically discredited, even fired and charged with a felony herself. A major coup like that would most likely insure Mona’s political future.

However, as sociopaths are wont to do, Danforth brags to Mace about what she has done. She even crows about how her plan will destroy Mace’s sister’s life at the same time. Oh, Mona, as the saying goes, “you really shouldn’t have done that!” Apparently, Danforth has no idea what it takes physically and mentally to survive undercover on the streets for years. And apparently, she has no real comprehension of the fact that Mace has just spent two years of her life literally fighting to be alive the next day. Danforth may be morally corrupt and verbally vicious, but Mace Perry is, to the core, feral. And a lioness always protects her cub.

As part of her probation, Mace has taken a job as a social services research assistant with a philanthropist, a job arranged by her sister. But even as she begins that job, Roy Kingman enters her life. Roy is a former criminal defense attorney turned corporate acquisitions lawyer who happens to find the body of a colleague stuffed into the office refrigerator. Chief Perry always visits the scene of any homicide in her city and she allows Mace to tag along. Unable to suppress her detective skills and seeing an opportunity to begin rebuilding her reputation, she aligns herself with Roy and the hunt begins.

With the plotline now established, Baldacci spends the next 400 pages using Mace Perry and Roy Kingman as protagonists in a complicated weave of murder, politics and counterterrorism. And it is a tale that is, at first, hard to get a credible grasp on. There seem to be too many coincidences, too many favors, too many close calls, and too many improbable escapes. Then the reality of the plotline sank in. Mace Perry is not and has never been a typical cop. A normal undercover agent would have been murdered, not elaborately framed. But she is not a regular guy; she is the sister of the Chief of Police and the daughter of a murdered chief US attorney. And the mad skills she displays throughout the story are not implausible contrivances at all. They are skills honed by years of use when she was not only a street rat but a prison inmate.

The writing is concise and there are no info dumps. However, Baldacci does not always identify one speaker from another during a conversation. This was manageable when only two people were speaking, even if I had to go back sometimes and re-track the speech by counting out “Mace-Roy-Mace-Roy,” etc. But when three or more people were in a scene, this lack of identification became irritating, as who says what was quite important to following the clues.

“True Blue” is a standalone novel. In several respects it does not end the way I wish it had, but it ends the way reality dictates. After all, this is a political thriller/police procedural, not some formulaic romantic suspense. However, just enough remains unfinished that Baldacci could, in the future, write a sequel should he so choose. And I would read it.

As a professional musician it irks me when authors write I'll-informed folderol about musicians and the way they play. As an avid motorcyclist, I found Mr. Baldacci's I'll-informed folderol about motorcycle riding annoying. But when he wrote that the girl named Mace "punched the clutch with her boot" I said a bad word. One doesn't "punch the clutch" on any motorcycle. The clutch lever is on the handle bar, and, if anything, you might 'pop' it by releasing it quickly with your hand. I can't imagine that even the nimblest rider could, or would ever be inclined to contort her leg up to the handle bar clutch lever and punch it. Really, people! One does not punch with one's foot. One kicks with one's foot. One especially does not, in fact can not punch a motorcycle clutch with one's foot. I think it's presumptions and even rude to write so irresponsibly. What is this? His 902nd novel? Could he not have taken a few minutes to research? Or skip the research and send the manuscript to an editor at a motorcycle magazine for perusal. Yet I'll keep reading. Who knows? Maybe Mace will find a way to put the pedal to the metal...

I have read several of David Baldacci's books and recently read True Blue and am disappointed to see all the negative reviews on it. I thought it was one of the best I have read by him and was looking on here to see if anymore with the same characters had been published so I could look for them. I am not sure what all the other reviewers found wrong with it and it is not like I have not read any of his books before so I don't know the difference. I thought it was well-crafted and suspenseful and I became attached to the characters and would like to see more of them. I am curious to know if any more books have been written about these characters or if these negative reviews precluded that from happening.

The issue of Mace Perry's having been set up to go to prison was not resolved, but then might have been in a subsequent book, or the search might have been continued to do so. Castle is one of the most watched TV shows on TV and the murder of Beckett's mother goes unresolved in its completion for seasons and nobody seems to find anything wrong with that, so I don't understand what all the negative fuss was about with this book. I find discrepancies in almost all the books I read by any author and especially the suspense, crime, or thriller authors, many of whom I read every book they publish. This one was actually one I didn't find a discrepancy in, which I was feeling very pleased with until I got on here and read the negative reviews.

I feel now that I will have to try to communicate with the author to find out whether he ever wrote anymore in this series. I consider myself to be a fairly good judge of suspense writing and could find nothing wrong with this book. I enjoyed it very much and had trouble putting it down. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.

The plot in the story is flawed from the very beginning. A young associate attorney working in a high-end (offices in London, NY, Dubai) law firm in D.C. goes to the office early one morning. He's apparently the first one there. He goes to the kitchen to make coffee, opens the refrigerator door, and a dead female attorney, fully clothed and with no apparent injuries who works at the firm falls out onto the floor. Let's think about this.

When he walks into the kitchen does he notice any racks, shelves, food, etc removed from the fridge? No he does not, and nor do the police when they arrive immediately after being called. Are the racks, shelves, etc. in the fridge? No, of course not, since a full grown and dressed woman could not fit in the fridge with all her clothes on if the shelves were there.

There is a security guard in the lobby. He only noticed the woman, and an hour latter, the man arriving early for work. Nobody before or since leaving. Certainly nobody carrying refrigerator shelves. The police don't notice the shelves missing.

All this implausibility within the first 5% of a book from a supposedly experienced and successful crime story author. I guess I'll never know what happens because I'm not wasting any more time on the book. It's books like this that make me very thankful that I get my books from the library rather than the book sellers.

I occasionally read event-driven stories just for a break in my usual fare. Baldacci is a master at creating fast-paced stories that keep you turning the page, and he obviously did some research and got good advice when he wrote this story. It must have taken considerable work to write a book as complicated as this story is, and 114 chapters is nothing to sneeze at. I give him credit for what he does well.

Since it's a plot-dominated story, there's no real character development. Okay, I don't usually expect it in a story of this genre, though I still miss it, which is why I don't read books like this all the time. Just as a reader, however, I was often frustrated. I couldn't understand Mace, the main character. Specifically, why she was so obsessed with becoming a cop again, and even stating, at various times, it was what she was "born for." Why this obsession? It wasn't justified by anything I read. Still, going along with the plot, I expected that after reading over 400 pages (hardcover), that she would somehow be reinstated and be cleared of all charges, which meant she had to solve the mystery of who framed her and why.

If this book is part of a series, I should have been informed, but I wasn't. Thus, the ending of the book gave me another "yech!" feeling. No closure of any kind. The really immoral characters, Donnelly and Burns, were not really punished for their crimes. In fact, Mace and her sister, Police Chief Beth, are told that they were doing their duty for the safety of the country, blah-blah-blah, so there's no come-uppance for them. In fact, the hush-hush intelligence explanation that we have to deal with the devil, and do the devil's work, to keep the country safe, has to be disquieting to any American. What line separates us from our enemies? Does it boil down to "my tribe against their tribe" and nothing more?

Some of the plot developments staggered the imagination, but these have already been pinpointed in some of the negative reviews, and since I am late in voicing my opinion, I won't go over them, but I might mention a few: Mary Bard, a Russian super-killing machine working for us? Lou Dockery, the Vietnam vet, with his childish obsession with Twinkies? Sperm sample from Dockery obtained and he couldn't remember where? The bad guys showing up instantly when Mace and Roy were snooping around his workplace?

The author kept me turning the pages to see what happened, and he's real talented in that area; yet sometimes what happens doesn't seem plausible, but mostly I was soured by the ending, which left me with no closure at all. Mace is not reinstated to the police force; she doesn't find out who framed her or why; the really bad guys in our "intelligence" community never meet their just desserts; our dealings with the devil are not adequately explained or justified; Mace does not "move on" in her life. Instead, we're left with the unsatisfying image of Mace and Beth racing at high speed on her motorcycle, with the elder sister, the D.C. Chief of Police, whooping it up like a child. 114 chapters I read through and that's the only reward? No, I wouldn't accept a fairy-tale ending, but reading is an active form of entertainment (meaning it takes effort by the reader), and I want a little emotional reward when I read the final pages. Not "yech!"

"True Blue" is an apparent standalone from the best-selling American mystery author David Baldacci, though it does bear all the telltale signs of having been left open ended enough that a series could be fashioned from its leavings. Baldacci, a native Virginian who still resides in his place of birth, boasts the rare distinction of having produced 17 consecutive New York Times best sellers. The book at hand, as I gather, most of his previous publications, is set in Washington, DC, and concerns high jinks among that city's high and mighty.

There is a high-profile homicide. Mason "Mace" Perry, who was previously a firebrand cop on the D.C. police force, until she, claims, she was kidnapped and framed for a crime has lost everything-her badge, her career, her freedom-and spent two years in prison. Now she's back on the outside and focused on one mission: to be a cop once more. She believes that her only shot to be a true blue again is to solve a major case on her own, and prove she has the right to wear the uniform. But even though her local police chief sister Beth is on her side, Mace has to work in the shadows: A vindictive U.S. attorney, Mona Danforth, is crusading for higher office by looking for any reason to send Mace back behind bars. Then Roy Kingman, a young lawyer who repped the poor until he took a high-paying job at a high-profile law firm, comes into her life. It was, you see, Roy who discovered the dead body of a female partner in a refrigerator at the firm.

Baldacci writes competently enough, however, he's told interviewers that he never edits himself for length, and this is a long book that might have been at least 150 pages shorter with good editing. But the action does eventually rise to fairly exciting. This book is a fairly quick read that demonstrates he does know something about bits of Washington that tourists never see. And the author writes with humor. But if this summary screams threadbare "same old, same old" to you, welcome to the club. I've previously read this author's The Camel Club and The Collectors, and disliked both of them, similarly: I never want to read another book about high jinks among the high and mighty in Washington DC if I can help it. But, unfortunately, my mystery book club, which is tied to the local library and accordingly is enduring tough times financially, had to read this. However, somebody must have bought those 17 previous consecutive books to make them best sellers; if you're among those people, you just might like this one, too. I didn't.

In what seems to be a one-off story, our hero, Mace Perry is on a quest to get her badge back after being unfairly framed and kicked off the police force. Her sister, Beth, just happens to be the chief of police. When Mace gets out of jail, she throws herself into a case involving shady guv'mint dealings. While I'm reading this, I'm assuming somewhere, her own case will come out in the wash. However, it never does.

This is a story that, though it's engaging and kept me glued to my seat, the outcome left me scratching my head. While the main story was somewhat covered, the core issue with the main character never even came close to being resolved and was in hindsight, barely touched upon. What made it worse was that there was never much of a lead-in to a sequel where we might finally get around to learning if she ever found out who framed her. I guess that was never part of the deal, just something to give the character baggage.

I found I enjoyed reading it, but the outcome wasn't very satisfying. The resolution was half-baked and though it probably came closer to the truth for real life, I prefer my fiction to be more satisfying. At least the heroes didn't die, but the bad guys didn't either, so there wasn't much of a finish.

Mr. Baldacci has done a lot better than this. Maybe the next one will be better.

I'm a DAVID BALDACCI fan, but this wasn't my favorite because it was kind of all over the place.

The story centers on Mace a young woman who bleeds blue cop uniform, but she is sent to jail on what she claims to be bogus charges... Upon her release, Mace is bent on regaining her badge by any means. Her sister is now the chief of police of while she loves her sister, she also loves her job. Although, her mission is the same as her sister and that is to get her back on the police force because she is darn good cop.

In true Baldacci form the book takes you on a thrill ride. However, this ride left me feeling thrill not chill. I really wanted MACE to win... She did win in one aspect, but lost in another. I'm not a reviewer that gives the story away.

There were a few lack luster parts in the book. Like how does a big bad man named psycho play a person in a game of one on one basketball for their life? NOT GOING TO HAPPEN..... '

This book will not deter me from reading more from Baldacci, because it's action packed but a tadbit far fetched...

I am a Baldacci book fan, but this book leaves much to be desired and I had to force myself to finish it (and not without a lot of frustration). It starts out OK and there are parts of the book that are well-written and make you want to keep going, however, there are so many other chapters that made me roll my eyes back in disbelief. The book would have been good if the story had just focused on Mace and Beth trying to prove Mace's innocence. Instead the plot is over-complicated by the fact that Mace thinks she can solve a huge, unrelated case with an untrained sidekick and breaks every rule in the book going after the bad guys -- just to get her job as a cop back. The character of Roy, although likable, is just plain silly, especially under the terms in which he comes running to save the day. No one, in their right mind, is going to get beat up and shot at and everything else he went through because he likes a girl he's just met. I hope Baldacci returns to what he does best: writing intriguing thrillers with great plot lines, interesting and brilliant characters, and books that keep me a lifelong insomniac because I just cannot put them down, especially at bedtime.

Baldacci's works continue to decline. This was by far his worst effort yet. One of the murders in the book has an attorney showing up at her office at 6 AM then she is raped, killed and stuffed in the office refrigerator before 8 AM when her body falls out of the fridge as another attorney opens the fridge to make coffee. Anyone who has ever worked in an office or even owned a refrigerator for that matter knows that you cannot stuff a body in refrigerator without taking out all of the shelves and the food. No small task in any office. And then the body is not likely to fall out when the door is opened. Completely unbelievable. The book has many of these plot flaws through out. To make matters worse I bought the Books on CD version and the person reading the book is horrible. His characters go from having a southern accent to not having any accent at random and Baldacci's dialog is filled with so many cliches that I just could not stand it. I kept hoping Baldacci would return to his early style but I've been disappointed too many times. I'm done reading Baldacci.

David Baldacci is a very competent and entertaining writer. His novels are generally gripping from the first to the last page, as is this one. His chapters are short, usually only several pages and each ends in an interesting manner.

This novel focuses on Mace Perry, a dedicated and extremely competent cop who was kidnapped, drugged, and made to appear as if she took part in a bank robbery. She was captured, jailed under horrendous conditions for two years, and lost her career. After being released she hopes to find the person or persons who framed her and she thinks that she can regain her position as a cop if she is able to solve a significant case on her own. Her sister Beth, who raised her, is the police chief and is very close and very helpful to her.

A vindictive acting US Attorney tried the case against Mace, is angry that with Beth's help, Mace only got two years of jail time. She is determined to get revenge and destroy both Beth and Mace. Mace joins up with a young lawyer, Roy Kingman, in an unusual relationship, and the lawyer helps her. The two discover just the kind of case that mace is looking for, one with national significance.

Readers will be enchanted to find out if she is able to reach her two goals. The engaging novel has a surprise ending.

This was another reliably entertaining read by Baldacci. Some of his characters seem a little formulaic, for example, the tough-as-nails woman, the down-on-his luck man, the man who thinks he's not tough but discovers throughout the circumstances presented in the book that he is, and the typical rule-the-world, the end justifies the means type government types. There were some surprises in this book, but also some predictability too. I wasn't staying up late wanting to read this one, it was definitely a fast-paced book but I wasn't dying to finish it. This wasn't Baldacci's best read, but is is definitely worth your time, if you are a fan of Baldacci or mystery/thriller books in general. I personally think David Baldacci is always better than John Grisham, but that's just me.

Just One Gripe:
Mace? Mace is her NAME? Seriously?

The Best Thing About This Book:
I'ts nice to read about strong female protagonists.

Former hot-shot, Washington, D.C. cop, Mace Perry gets out of prison after being framed.

Returning to Washington, Mace wants nothing more than getting her job back. Her sister, Beth, is Chief of Police. Mace knows that she can't do anyting official but she knows that if she's able to solve one big case, it could get her back on the job.

Improbably, Beth brings Mace along when she's informed of a homicide. Mace meets Roy Kingman, who discovered the body at his office. Mace overhears Roy's statement and when police leave, she ask more questions and later, she and Roy become friends and work together, unofficially, to attempt to discover who raped and killed Roy's co-worker.

U.S. Attorney Jamie Meldon's body is found. Beth and her staff and the FBI converge at the scene but are ordered off by higher,unnamed authority.

Mace overhears a conversation between Beth and acting Chief District Attorney, Mora Danforth. Mora prosecuted Mace when she was sent to prison and Mace knows that Mora would love to see her fail and be sent back to prison.

The action is steady but much of it is beyond belief. Having the Chief of Police allow an ex-con accompany her to a murder scene seems improbable but more so is when Mace and Roy are cornered by a street gang and Roy challanges the gang leader to a game of one-on-one for his and Mace's life.

Mace is an entertaining character and a person who the reader can sympathize with however, the plot wasn't believable and the ending was contrived.

Let me discribe this book in the best literary way I can. Succinctly and to the point, IT SUCKS!!!!!!!
If you only have 65 years left to live, your time is way too valuable to waste on this book!

David Daldacci is a great writter. I love his other books, but he must have been on a bender when he wrote this one. AND his publisher was right there with him, drinking all he could. I can prove that! He published this book, didn't he! (Only a drunk publisher would publish this book)

And what is my point? STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK.

I became a Baldacci fan about 2 years ago and have read half his books at this point. I started reading this book and kept going because I thought it had to suddenly get better. This book is terrible (sorry David)! First, as a woman, I find the female characters humiliating. Mace seems like an idiot to me in terms of her decision making and actions. Baldacci thinks a strong woman is one that pumps up like jock, rides a motor cycle, talks trash and likes to hang out in ghettos. She seems like a narcissistic ditz; rules don't apply to her ever, etc.! Actually I wondered if she was originally written as a male character and her sidekick Roy Kingsman was female and then Baldacci thought it would be cool to switch their sexes.
The plot is so bad I can hardly believe Baldacci wrote this (see other reviews); his other plots are what I really like about his books. Like I said, I kept hoping the book would get better, when it didn't I went online to see what other people thought of it, all bad... I've now decided to put this book aside without finishing it as now I see if never gets better and I found it very unpleasant, annoying reading! NEXT!!!!!

Baldacci is an extremely talented writer, however in my opinion this was not his best work. There are many other much better Baldacci books out there like the Will Robie series, King & Maxwell, and the Memory Man series.

I recommend saving this one till after you've read all his other books and read this only if in dire need of a "Baldacci fix".

I have read The Camel Club books and like them for the same reasons I liked the old "Mission Impossible" TV show back in the day: the all-for-one and one-for-all aspect of this unlikely group of friends.

So I expected to like "True Blue." I did like the characters (especially the stand-up sisters), but I must say I got the giggles at the total irrationality of the plot, including some of the extremely unlikely "caped-crusader" escapes.

Okay, cliff-hanging situations in fiction is part of what makes fiction fun to read. Getting to the end of the book with many dangling loose ends, however, is as frustrating as real life. Five hundred sixty-nine pages later, we're no closer to knowing anybody's reasons for railroading Mace into prison, nor is she any closer to having her police career reinstated, than was true on page one. There is also a rainmaker attorney who was specifically described toward the end as part of the dastardly plot, but who escaped the (rather ironic) end net in which all the other "bad guys" were caught.

No idea if Baldazzi has it in mind to answer some of these questions in future Mase Perry books. Guess we need to wait and see....

Balducci used to be a good thriller writer and I don't know what happened--maybe success spoiled him? So many cliches here, like the opening when you know what is going to happen to the guy after a few paragraphs and then in the women's prison Big Juanita and then outta left field Mace's big city police chief sister gets her out 2 days early after two years in prison and then Mace gets to investigate a crime? Huh? Mace is in jail as a disgraced cop--this is just silly. This author should stick more with men because he just doesn't have the feel to convincingly write female characters and this storyline is poor. I gave this 70 pages and brought it back to the library. I have learned if a story smells in the beginning that it positively stinks in the end. He used to be a good thriller writer though and you can see some sparks of that here--but just not enough. Maybe it is just the pressure to write books by the publishers short schedule that leaves this not really thought through--like his earlier books are? I dunno? Read some of his early stuff. Skip this one.

David Baldacci quickly became one of my favorite authors. I'm not the biggest fan of his Camel Club series but all of his novels are typically good reads. He definitely took a step backwards with this one. It's not a bad story but you have to suspend all sense of reality to enjoy it. You have to believe that a police chief would invite her disgraced ex-con, ex-cop sister to a crime scene investigation. You have to believe that an ex-cop and a corporate lawyer with no investigative experience can out maneuver the police. And you have to believe that the just out of prison ex-cop would willingly break the law - while on parole - in the belief that an ex-cop just out of prison could get her job back through such tactics. This plot is more suited for a short-lived TV series than for a Baldacci book. That being said it's not badly written but also definitely not worthy of the praise that Baldacci fans will give it just because it's a Baldacci book. This is the juncture where Baldacci can buckle down and bring back riveting stories or he can go the way of other massively successful authors (Grisham and Patterson are good examples) who realize anything they write, regardless of quality, will be an instant best-seller and they seem to put in the effort lately to prove that point.

Baldacci's True Blue is a fun, violent ride through the streets of D.C. as we follow two sisters catching the culprits of various crimes. Beth is the Chief of Police and her sister Mace is an ex-con trying to demonstrate her worth as a former law enforcement officer. She is tough, smart, in great condition, attractive, and relentless in her pursuit of truth and justice. Working the streets, she tries to uncover the reason for a murder that occurred in a law firm. Aside from her sister's warnings, she keeps at it and nearly gets killed in the process.

The story moves at breakneck speed and includes court room scenes, gun battles, martial arts, gangs, wealthy, poor, politics, and yes a little romance. This zingy book keeps the pages turning with excitement, anticipating the conclusion where everything works out. Mace uncovers the murderers, the reason for the deaths, the powerful corruption, and spends several moments getting herself out of various predicaments.

A well-written plot with interesting characters, True Blue suffers from weak dialog, and larger than life people. Almost super-hero stuff blankets the pages as Mace gets out of every scrape she encounters. Further the complicated plot becomes rather gray and ambiguous, dealing with Middle East money, billions of dollars, corruption, and a myriad of law enforcement agencies. Overall rather confusing at times but resolved in the end. As the story progressed, the lack of realism and the stilted dialog caused an apathetic response. Still a fun read but certainly not one of his best.

Hopefully this is the start of another series for Baldacci. The plot line is a disgraced ex-cop and a corporate lawyer stumble on to a security agency rogue operation via a couple of murders. At an extracted level, there's a certain resemblance to Baldacci's Maxwell and King series. This is more of Baldacci using a book as a platform for criticizing the way security agencies operate. I think its a worthwhile area that needs more public srutiny as well as understanding, and I think Baldacci is the type of author who handles it well (albeit with an author's flair). He has a good start, and two attractive characters to base a series on, I hope he keeps it rolling as I found the last Maxwell and King book was feeling a bit tired and losing focus.

For Baldacci fans, you'll read this anyway, and enjoy it. For newbies to Baldacci, this is a good book to start with. It isn't part of a series yet, and it gives you Baldacci's basic range and genre for most of his books. If you like this one, then you'll like most Baldacci books.

Two rather far-fetched but believable conspiracies form the basis of this first in a new series introducing Beth Perry, Chief of Police of Washington, D.C., and her younger sister, Mace (changed from Mason). The latter is a disgraced former police sergeant just released upon having served two years in prison, having been convicted of armed robbery after presumably being set up in a Patty Hearst-type abduction during which she was doped up and forced to perform illegal acts.

Mace wants nothing more than to be a cop again, but of course being a con, such an event is highly unlikely. Unless, of course, a miracle happens and she clears herself or solves a big case overcoming all obstacles. Both sisters are somewhat beyond credibility in either mental or physical acumen, but, after all, that is the nature of much fiction and many protagonists.

The women's paths cross with that of an attorney who discovers the body of a female partner, raped and murdered, falling out of his law firm's refrigerator early one Monday morning. The body of a U.S. Attorney is discovered a couple of days later, shot in the head. Are these killings related? Are there national security implications? Some of the antics are unbelievable; on the other hand, who would believe the planting of explosives in someone's underwear?

Written with the author's usual smoothness and deft plotting, there are some frightening scenarios about intelligence operations. And the question of the ends justifying the means raises serious consideration with respect to government operations. On the whole, does good always outweigh evil?

Recommended.

Oh dear, possibly the worst book I have read by Mr Baldacci.

Framed ex-cop is out of jail, and her sister happens to be Chief of Police. And luckily they are both attractive, smart and gutsy women. Oh and their main adversary is a very attractive devious DA. Of course.

Within hours of her release our heroine is joining her sister at a murder scene (of course) and within a day is doing all sorts of daft. investigating and is joined by a lawyer who is more than happy to get involved and put his career at risk. Ooh, cuck in a multi-millionaire benefactor, and some cliché bad guys who tell each-other the plot to save you time working it out.

Baldacci is an unusual author and at least tries different things but here he gets it very wrong in a ham fisted attempt to do an empowered tough woman thriller. It’s readable but with no depth or substance.

I really enjoyed this book when I read it. I got the abridged version (because it was the only available at the store) to listen with the wife on a long car trip. This was a mistake. The Editor who did this "approved Abridged" really did an awful job. I can forgive a line here and there but when you forget entire threads and wind ups and a final chapter.....well that sucked. So many threads left hanging. What happened to.....what about....how did? So Do NOT get this abridged version. Spend the money and hope the clown who proudly announced his name at the end of this badly done version didn't get his hands on it....

A very good drama and thriller demonstrating the dark side of national security! Loved the characters -Mace Perry, kidnapped and drugged and spent two years in prison, losing everything including her badge. She is determined to solve the case and find her way back on the force. Her sister Beth is the police chief which cannot help her, while others have their own agenda to send Mace back to prison.

Loved Roy Kingman-- a young lawyer (past college basketball player), who aids the poor and discovers a dead body (one of the law partners-Diane) at his firm in the refrigerator. In addition, at the beginning Jamie Malden is also killed and they need to find the connection. Roy and Mace begin their secret investigation to uncover these secrets of the national capital. Along with way came colorful characters (the Captain-homeless vet and his Twinkies, Razor, and more) which gave the story some humor and some romance as well. Again, listened via audio and the sound effects and narrator were both excellent.

Mace Perry has just gotten out of jail for a crime that she had no control over. She needs to crack a case in order to have any chance of being reinstated to the police department. Her older sister, Beth, happens to be the chief of police, but even she can't help Mace.

Roy Kingman's nightmare begins when he goes to work on Monday morning and finds his co-worker, Diane Tolliver, dead and stuffed in the refrigerator. As a transactional lawyer, he is way out of his league. Mace enters because this is the case she is determined to solve, and hopefully reclaim her old life back.

For most of the novel, I was intrigued. How did Tolliver die? Baldacci leads the reader to believe the Captain cannot be responsible for her murder and rape, and it is quite obvious he was framed, but by who? What does the killing of a US Attorney have to do with Tolliver's murder? There was a lot of potential for this novel, but I felt let down after turning the final page. The end wasn't a resolution I necessarily agreed with, but also, it didn't flow with the rest of the novel. I'm not going to give away the ending, but I will say that I was left confused and let down. I'm sure there is going to be a sequel, but the ending of this novel didn't leave me eagerly waiting for the next. I thoroughly enjoyed Baldacci's past novels such as Absolute Power and Total Control. I can't say the same about this one.

I'm sorry to say this book is simply awful. I can't imagine how this author turned this novel out.
The story & characters are contrived. There is absolutely no character development. They simply seem to have dropped in. The story is poorly developed; it's pretty unbelievable as well. The dialogue, while we're at it, is also terrible. Blues & Bandits seem to be two hip words the author has learned & it seems he can't stop using them.
Mace Perry is an ex-con who was set-up and spent two years in the slammer. Beth is her sister who happens to be the Chief of Police in D.C. Mace is someone who breaks all the rules, especially being an ex-con, and her sister just lets her. She's a super hero who knows no bounds. Together with a lawyer who has the hots for her they get through one scrape after another. Do or die they will solve two murders which the real cops can't seem to do. On top of this, the reader is brought to an ending as bad as the book. Additionally, with all the talk of who framed her a couple of years ago, she never finds out. I guess that's the opening for the sequel. Dear God, I hope not. "True Blue" is punishment enough.
Halfway through, I no longer cared & skimmed the rest. Just pass this book up.

The only positive spin I can put on True Blue is that hopefully it signals the point where Baldacci has bottomed out from his addiction to seeing his name in big letters. This is the worst book I have read in a long time. I didn't even buy it. I downloaded it from the library. I want my bandwidth back.

Mace just finished a 2 year sentence for armed robbery. She was framed, of course. Is her path to redemption finding out who framed her? No. It is latching on to the first murder case her Police Chief sister is called into. She thinks if she solves it before the police, then they will reinstate her. See, she wants to be a cop again reallly, really bad. So bad that this unlikable narcissist is willing to risk going back to jail for a long time and ruining the lives of all around her.

Within 48 hours of being out of prison, Mace commits a felony, get's a job for $150,000 as a research assistant, even tho she herself is a convicted felon who never graduated college, and scoots around town violating her parole at every chance she gets. Then you have a lawyer who is a possible suspect in the murder, who is such a horn-dog he helps Mace tamper with evidence. As a lawyer he should know that his actions could result in the evidence being thrown out and the case being lost, but no matter.

BTW-DC needs a bigger police budget because in most cities, the police chief does not investigate crimes. They have detectives for that.

Mace is wicked smart. Just look at the puzzle she solved: She has a key, and an email that says "We need to focus in on A-." Let's see, another way to say that is "We need to key in on A-" Therefore, the key must go to a box at the A-1 Mailbox store!!!!"

Wow. Just wow.

I doubt Baldacci even wrote this.

Any review giving this book 4 stars is a fake.

Baldacci usually writes excellent books, but this is not one of his best. However, at some point mid-way through I had the vision of this making a great "caper" movie, with whoever is the latter day equivalent of Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. Too many bodies discovered in too many weird places, and weird inter-weaving of plots, characters. Is it corporate espionage? terrorism activity? And the situation of the Chief of Police of Washington, DC being the older sister of the disgraced (framed) beat cop just made of lots of unbelievable situations. Still, it held my interest, but I rolled my eyes a lot.

Most disappointing is that the whole premise of the book -- that Mace Perry (the fact that she was born Mason Perry may be a give-away to this being a comedy to begin with!) was framed for a crime and has spent 2 years in jail -- was never resolved.

I really like David Baldacci's work, but I think his publisher must have been pushing him for a new novel, so Baldacci hired a ghost writer to write this. This book is just bad, really bad. Mace Perry is a former DC police officer who was in prison (or something not her fault, of course) and is now released. She gets involved in trying to solve a crime that has nothing to do with her or the reason she was arrested. Her sister, Beth Perry, is the chief of the Washington DC police runs around responding to police calls that involve homicide. She also spends a lot of time trying to solve the crime her sister is working on. Now, really, is that what the CEO of a very large metropolitan police force does? If Chief Cathy Lanier reads this book she will probably have Baldacci arrested for impersonating an author.

Mace Perry is an ex-cop who has just spent two years in prison for a crime that she was arguably innocent of. Fresh out of prison, she decides (as you do) that if she can only solve a murder case all on her own before the police can, then her innocence will be proven and she can get her job back. Luckily her sister is Head of Police and lets her tag along on a murder investigation on her very first night out of prison. Luckily too, the lawyer who discovered the body is so attracted to Mace that he is willing to team up with her, committing numerous felonies and losing his job along the way, to help her try to solve the crime (despite the fact that their relationship remains platonic). Oh and of course it all involves a sinister Government conspiracy as well as lots of opportunities for Mace to race around Washington DC on a Ducati.

I picked up this book expecting a gripping thriller, but I found it such hard going that it took me over a week to finish it. For starters, the plot is just ridiculously far-fetched, simply riddled with implausibilities. A lot of time is also taken up with a convoluted sub-plot that adds nothing to the story. While the heroes aren't very interesting, the villains are one-dimensional and behave in the most unlikely ways. For example the reader needs to accept that a brutal gang leader nicknamed "Psycho" would agree to play one on one basketball with his intended victims rather than just knifing them, or that a top notch assassin would decide to have a knife fight with her victims rather than just killing them.

I found the writing to be highly repetitive (I counted at least 9 chapters that ended with some variation of "Mace ran to/roared off on her Ducati") with numerous highly similar discussions between the same characters. I'm not sure that the book's ending even made sense, but by then I was past caring.

The book is a complete disappointment. There are better thrillers out there.

I've read about a dozen Baldacci books, and they had all been good reads - 4s with occasional 5s. But this book was awful. I simply don't believe Baldacci wrote this. The main character is ridiculous, her sister not much better and the male interest only marginally better. The plot is outrageous. The writing is at a grammar school level.
This is only the second mystery/crime type book I've ever given up on. When I got to the part where Mace is telling the clerk at "A-1" about her aunt, I had to either give up or wretch. Or both. Usually I'm curious enough to finish even a bad read just to see how it gets wrapped up. Not this book.

So, I am trying real hard to get through the audiobook version of True Blue, and I am having a really hard time of it. All of the complaints about the silly parts of the book (crazy situations with pretty much impossible results) are nothing compared having to listen to the narrator of this story. I have never heard such a bad narrative before! The reader sometimes uses female-like voices for women, sometimes not. All of the men sound like tough guys from New Jersey. Half the time the spoken voice doesn't even match the words being read (like obvious questions pronounced as statements).

This audiobook is driving me crazy! I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it! Maybe I should try reading it for myself and drop the audiobook version. Maybe I'll enjoy it then.

If you absolutely have to listen to this one, do yourself a favor and borrow it from your local library. It is certainly not worth purchasing!

As a fan of David Baldacci, I was terribly disappointed in his latest work. The characters are unbelievable and the plot even more so. And then what seemed to be a main plot line (who framed Mace Perry) is never resolved. Frankly, I think Baldacci should should slow down the pace of his publishing.

Having read all of David Baldacci's books, I was excited to pick up his latest, True Blue. Fifty pages into it my excitement turned to disbelief and disappointment. I honestly questioned whether he had written this. And I'll tell you why:

Totally unrealistic plot elements

Juvenile dialog

Cardboard characters

Choppy writing - many chapters are less than 4 pages long

It's obvious Baldacci wrote this in a hurry (if he even wrote it) and with the intent of a sequel (major plot element unresolved). I guess I should have known this was not going to be a good book when I read the comments from reviews in the beginning of the paperback edition. Reviews were from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, [...], Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Wichita Falls Times Record News, Winnipeg Free Press, Colorado Springs Gazette, etc. There were no comments from the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Newsweek, AP, People, etc, as previous Baldacci books enjoyed.

I won't be buying any of his future Mace Perry novels. I only hope he does his normally excellent job on Camel Club-themed and other novels.

This is Only my second Baldacci Novel,I'm half way thru it and I don't find it Boring at all. So far I am finding the story interesting! Great characters lots of twists & turns to the plot. Mace Perry is a herione you can rut for...I really felt Bad for (the Captain) the Homeless Veteran. I don't normally read books with these kinds of storylines But Baldacci tells the story in a way that holds my interests thru out the whole book. I finished this book last night and i have to agree with another reviewer there was some loose ends that didn't get taken care of...BUT I Still LIKED the Story! IMHO...WAS Still a Great Read!! As far as Mace's Situation all I can say is Hmmmmm...

I Really LIKED the Narrator "Ron McLarty" Enjoyed listening to him! GREAT JOB!!

This was the first novel I read by David Baldacci. The plot began simply enough but then morphed into something way too convoluted. The focus of the narrative got lost some 100 pages into the story and it never fully recovered. The story as a whole left too many holes with no real resolution. The worst part was that as a reader, as you got closer to the end of the book you knew one of two things was going to occur: either all things are resolved far too quickly and makes a reasonably believable story too fantastic and convenient or the author just doesn't get around to it. The latter occurred. I wouldn't waste your time.

I'm a fan of Mr Baldacci and think many of his novels are good but this is not one of them. The plot is weak and not fully developed, the characters are not convincing and will not earn your respect and the ending is abrupt, unrealistic and completely unsatisfactory.

The book has over 450 pages and yet certain aspects of this plot and characterization are weak and incomplete but there are many passages that are just fluff and go nowhere. Mona Danforth, the antagonist to the Perry sisters could have been developed much more and made more dimensional. I find it hard to believe that with all the laws Mace was breaking, Danford couldn't come up with a way (like assault, reckless endangerment, withholding evidence etc) to throw Mace back in prison. Jarvis Burns, the bad guy, was the most disappointing. There could've been a lot more added to his character and what he was doing to "save" America with his black ops as well as his planning to stop people who found out about his illegal activities. Adding more about the planning of and adding more intrigue to the killing of Tolliver and Meldon would have been better. Dropping Psycho and having an assassin that is more realistic that could generate a better ending would make the story more believable.

The book had threads of good ideas and potential but there were too many miscues that took the book down. If Mr Baldacci intends to make these characters a series, I hope he puts more thought and effort into the next episode to make it a more serious, thought provoking piece of fiction.

I was disappointed with the Mace character.....she was hardly realistic but more like a cat with nine lives......I. short, no one could be that lucky. A lot of this book was just too unbelievable.....she couldn't fly but she was more like tiny Wonder Woman or Superman,she was so stubborn, reckless and stupid,she really tried my patience. Personally . this author has written many really entertaining novels, I guess he deserves a break ....I finished it but it made me tired.....don't think it's his best......read at your own risk.

This story is about a couple of sisters on the police force. One gets framed and goes to jail while the other becomes police chief. Great setup. Mace (a bit over the top for a name, really) gets paroled and wants to prove her innocence so she can become a cop again. She is determined that nothing will stop her... Not her arch-nemesis the District Attorney that put her in jail, and not even that pesky thing she was sworn to uphold called the law. We quickly find out that this woman is so dirty that it would have been only a matter of time before she was kicked off the force anyway. Whoever framed her did society a favor.
On her quest she stumbles across a murder. It is part of a cover-up by the head of a national agency who imports Russian muscle to kill off the CIA hit men when they grow a conscience about killing too many innocent US citizens. The moral of the story is always remember to carry a penknife: so you too can escape death in an ice cold refrigerator that has been chained shut... by hacking your way through its bottom while trapped inside. Like I said, suspension of disbelief. If you can put those things aside, it's not a bad story, although it does leave at least one major story line unresolved. 2.5 stars.

This is one of the worst books I have ever read. It is drawn out, far fetched, and super boring. The ending is incredibly lame, and I feel like I wasted precious time even reading it. Do NOT buy this book, I promise you will regret reading it if you do.

Mason "Mace" Perry had been an outstanding cop in Washington D.C. - until her public arrest for armed robbery and drug use. Mace knows that she was kidnapped and framed for the crime, but she's lost her badge, her apartment, the life that she knew. Two years have passed and Mace has been released from prison. Now Mace's one goal is to clear her name and win back her badge. It helps that her sister, Police Chief Beth Perry, believes in her and will not be deterred from hunting down the truth of what had happened two years ago. Mace tries to recreate what had happened and to solve the mystery of who had set her up and why.

Mace accompanies Beth Perry at the her latest crime scene at a lucrative corporate law firm where a partner was discovered dead. Mace connects with Roy Kingman, the associate who discovered the body, and somehow Mace enlists Roy's aid in investigating the death and uncovering secrets. The routine homicide soon proves to be part of a complex crime. While Beth, Mace, and Roy must work together, Mace curb her reactions and instincts and learn to play by the rules.

The Perry sisters face an additional danger. U.S. attorney Mona Danforth is dead set against the Perry sisters. Danforth had sent Mace to jail the first time and is looking forward to sending Mace back to jail - and removing Beth from office.

Review:
Fast-paced, action packed, and full of plot twists, True Blue is a fun escape. Beth and Mace Perry are strong woman lead characters - which makes the book even more enjoyable. The relationship between the sisters gives True Blue an additional layer of complexity. True Blue was my first exposure to David Baldacci's writing and I am looking forward to the next Baldacci novel!

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (October 27, 2009), 464 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

This work would be better off as a graphic novel, with BIFF! POW! SOK! for dialogue. Why did Baldacci do this....this miserable excuse for "writing"? The plot is laughable, the heroine, Mace Perry, appears to be crazy on speed. This D.C. cop, having been drummed out of the police force for attempted armed robbery, serves two years and comes out bent to find exoneration. By the 2nd chapter I didn't care whether she was guilty or not, so alien did she appear to me. She and her D.C. police chief sister Beth, remained comic-book characters right to the end.

David Baldacci just plain knows how to write. Doesn't matter which book of his you choose, you will not likely be disappointed. The Camel Club books are all great. His characters make you care about them, his plots are well thought out, extremely researched, and you usually have a hard time putting his books down. True Blue takes you down a slightly different path but still is gripping and satisfying. David's books are NOT Stuart Woods books! Think more Michael Connelly books. And, if you haven't heard of Michael Connelly then God help you to find a decent, popular author.

You have out done your self again sat on the edge throughout the entire book. With the happenings in today’s world the book at times almost felt like a true non-fiction account of secret intel operations.

I had read many of David Baldacci's early novels but kind of got away from him for a bit. I rediscovered him reading Divine Justice and listening to First Family.

I chose to listen to True Blue.

Mace Perry was a cop's cop on the DC force. Until she was kidnapped and forced to participate in robberies. She went down for two years. Newly released from prison, she returns to DC, determined to clear her name. Her sister Beth is the chief of police. In her first few days out, she becomes involved with a young lawyer, Roy, who discovers a female attorney's body at his office. Mace can't help herself - she was born to be a cop. She dives in, working outside the law with Roy to solve the case. She hopes it will get her reinstated. Others are hoping she fails and are willing to make sure that happens.

A mystery, legal and action thriller all rolled into one with lots of action. Yes, the characters of Mace and her sister Beth are a little over the top, but if you're looking for an entertaining read or listen, this is a good bet.

I was thrilled that Ron McLarty was the reader again. His voice is slightly gravelly and rich. He easily portrays the female Mace character and male roles with enough difference that you know who is 'talking'. His inflection is excellent and his voice effortlessly describes action and emotion.

I enjoy most of David Baldacci's books that I've read. But not True Blue. Everything from the lead female character to her disinterested, selfish, mother and there-for-her sister was staged. This time instead of being somewhat creative, Baldacci was stale. There may be nothing new under the sun, but a great storyteller tells even the same story with interesting characters, unexpected plot twists, and excitement. I so disliked the lead female, I can't even remember her name. Tough girls can be tough without being obnoxious. There was nothing about her to love or root for. True Blue was truly boring.

TRUE BLUE
David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing
$27.99 - Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-446-19551-5
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

A formidable 454 pages, David Baldacci's, TRUE BLUE, is a tale of two sisters who possess a mutual love of law enforcement. Currently Beth Perry takes on the challenges of being the Chief of Police in Washington, D.C. Her sister, Mace, a former D.C. police officer has lost her right to be part of the law enforcement community when she spends two years in prison for acts she never committed.

Once she is released from Prison, Mace sets out to find the people who kidnapped her and set her up. Along the way she meets a young attorney who once walked the path of a criminal defense attorney. He now makes nearly three thousand a year for a private firm but still holds dear to his heart the street sense he developed in his former job.

With her sister Beth telling her to stay out of the investigation of the death of a young woman attorney who also worked for Roy's firm, Mace and Roy follow their leads to a surprise ending.

This work has all the elements to keep a reader's interest...great characters, a storyline that takes the twists and turns that keeps a reader quickly turning pages and an ending that that begs for more. No doubt we will be hearing more from Beth and Mace and who knows; even Roy may stick around for the next exciting story.

Baldacci introduced this sister pair previously, and it was a promising debut. However "True Blue" misses, but not by much. The plot is strong and the characterizations, especially Mace are dead on, yet where he might have exploited their individual personalities for high drama he seems to back away when the plot could become even more intense. Mace, an intensely driven former cop who is desperate to clear her name and return to the police force starts out with a single minded determination that the reader would expect she would not back away from until she was successful, and that is where the story falls off the tracks. Mace doesn't give up, but suddenly, when least expected she agrees to accept help from her sister (Chief of Police) and a lawyer boyfriend and play by the rules. It rings false. But Baldacci is such an adapt writer that he pulls most of the plot together in a believable way and ties up most of the major plot points - except where Mace will go next and that was a let down. I guess that would mean another episode is coming eventaully, so we must wait. If you want escapist reading that will satisfied your need to be entertained for a few nights reading I recommend "True Blue." If you want great literature that will last for decades, well, maybe you need another volume.

I borrowed (and quite glad I didn't buy) this audiobook from the library to pass the time on my commute. As a new fiction writer, I was intrigued with the story line but was mortified by its execution. The story took what best can be described as bizarre and completely unrealistic turns. Completely inplausible, and, thus not enjoyable.

Plot = Not Believable
Characters = Weak, Robotic, and Contrived. (In fact, I found about mid-way through the book I was rooting against the protagonist and her "partner".)
Dialog = Unrealistic and Forced (especially the female characters)
Action Scenes = Laughably Unrealistic
Subplots = Full of Coincidences and "Easy-Outs"
Scenes/Locations = Properly Described

The only reason I finished this book was to increase my novel writing knowledge. Now I clearly know how not to develop characters, plot, and dialog. Since I'm categorizing this book as "educational", I'm giving it two stars instead of its deserved one star. Lessons Learned. Thanks, Dave.

This book is clearly written to be the introduction to a series, rather than a standalone, and that's all right by me. The characters are Baldacci standards, not black and white, although there is a clear delineation between those for whom you root and those for whom you wish would get stuck on the subway. :) Blood is thicker than water, and I'm not going to regurgitate the basic plot here as you can read that for yourself. Just trust me, if you enjoy Baldacci's easy, flowing, style of writing, and the fact that you won't have all the answers until the end - and even then there will still be lingering questions, you want, no you need, this book in your collection.

True Blue by David Baldacci

In his newest thriller comes David Baldacci at his heart-stopping best with Mason "Mace" Perry. Mace is a cop ho was kidnapped and framed for a crime she did not commit, spending two years in prison. Since her older sister, Beth, is the Washington DC Police Chief behind her, Mace has to solve a new case on her own to prove her innocence and become a "True Blue" once more.

When attorney Roy Kingman enters into Mace's life, the two join forces to solve two high ranking attorneys murders. They both find more than they bargain for when they mess with street gangs in DC and when they dig deep for evidence on the murders, they find that there might be terrorism involved and that the security of our country is at stake. When the two get too close to the answers, their lives are at stake. To help free an innocent VietNam Veteran from a conviction, Roy and Mace must fight some ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to kill them.

Forever Friends Rating 4 Stars by Teri
Until Next Time, See You Around The Book Nook

Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-19551-5
456pp

Baldacci' s story is about two sisters in different circumstances who both get involved in the fight against domestic terrorism in Washington,D.C. One is chief of police,the other is a former cop wrongly imprisoned for being"dirty".Together with some friends,they wrangle through the mire against the twisted forces of the federal government organizations in post 9/11U.S.A.Some danger,twisted plot lines,and general mistrust rule this story.But,of course,it's nicely finished with the heroines saving everyone at the end just in time to see justice done.

The plot of David Baldacci's new novel, True Blue, moved quickly and provided lots of suspense. While I kept wanting to savor the development of the interesting characters, I found that with every passing chapter, they became more cardboard-like rather than human. Set in Washington, DC, two sisters are featured: one the police chief, the other, a former cop who's being released from jail as the story opened. A hundred or more pages could have been edited out of this novel without much loss. Readers looking for a thrill will find some pleasure here, but those who want more depth to characters, should look beyond True Blue for something else.

Rating: Two-star (Mildly Recommended)

If you like Baldacci's style--fast-moving but not much depth--you'll enjoy this. A special treat for me was the fact that the heroine rides a Ducati motorcycle. I've been riding Ducatis since high school, and assumed the author enjoyed them too. Then, disaster struck: in one scene where she was shifting gears on the bike, it said she depressed the clutch with her foot! In one sentence, he revealed that he knew absolutely nothing about motorcycles, much less Ducatis. If any motorcycle ever had a foot-activated clutch, it must have at least 70 years ago...if ever. Not a big thing you say? Maybe not, but it makes me wonder about the quality of his research in general. I mean, this is really basic stuff: it's like saying someone's toothbrush ran out of gasoline. I can understand that many guys are afraid of motorcycles, but most of them at least know how a motorcycle works. It means that neither his editor nor his proofreader knew how a motorcycle works... nor any of the folks who read the galleys. That had to amount to over a dozen people. What are the odds of finding over a dozen people--all working on the same project--who are completely clueless as to how to operate a motorcycle?

The language and the quality of the scenes are as well written as his other books, really good.

The whole premise was silly. Sister of the police deputy chief is an ex-cop framed and sent to prison. Gets out into a big silly plot. Around every corner more silly and thoughtless attempts to bring her down. Grand and pointless schemes around every corner. Even if we accepted the people out to bring her down, at every turn they use three steps when one would do.

Somehow the author or his editor thought placing all this in DC would somehow make it a wonderland of crime and plots where we the readers would accept all this without question.

I have always liked reading David Baldacci's books starting with the Camel Club Series and this one sure didn't disappoint me any! Every time I thought I had figured out 'who dun nit', along came David and he threw a twist into the plot and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the sidelines scratching my head . Don't get me wrong, this was not a problem for me. He just keeps you in suspense longer!

Yes, I would recommend reading this book!

"True blue" is a good read. The reason I did not give it four stars is because the ending is weak. I like that David Baldacci creates strong female leading characters not victims. Each of the Baldacci books I have read has a unique story. Many authors find a story line that works for them and continue writing a variation in future books. I would definitely recommend "True Blue".

Nothing really happens in the book. Yes there's some action but in the end, nothing really changes for the main character. The bad guys are caught, but aren't prosecuted. Mace doesn't find who framed her and she can't return to police service. A couple of low level guys are arrested, but minor characters. Nothing really got resolved by the end of the novel.

I bought this on Kindle for iPhone because I like just about every other book from Baldacci, but this one was horrible from the beginning and I erased it from my phone before even coming close to finishing it. I even tried to pick it up a couple times between other books, but lost interest so completely I just deleted it. The book just pounds you over the head with how "macho" these women police officers are and never stops. The storyline is lame and so are the characters. Do yourself a huge favor and don't buy this book. It doesn't mean I won't try Baldacci again, but I will be very wary in the future.

Bestselling author David Baldacci introduces a slew of new characters in his latest thriller, TRUE BLUE. This stand-alone effort is based in Washington, D.C. and intertwines its plot around local law enforcement, corporate and criminal attorneys, and various government agencies.

Mason "Mace" Perry is an ex-cop and now ex-con --- just released from prison at the onset of TRUE BLUE --- who was incarcerated as a result of various allegations made against her when she was on the job. As Mace begins the fight to clear her name against the unfounded charges that landed her in prison, she must a toe a fine line with her older sister, Beth, who happens to be the local Chief of Police. Almost immediately, she is thrust into a high-profile murder mystery when an attorney at the D.C. corporate law firm of Shilling and Murdoch is found raped and stuffed in a refrigerator inside the office building where she worked.

The victim, Diane Tolliver, was discovered by fellow attorney Roy Kingman, who meets up with Mace to investigate all aspects of the murder. As their investigation proceeds, they learn several startling secrets that point to both the private and public world of the nation's capital. At the same time, Mace takes a job working for a wealthy philanthropist named Abe Altman in an effort to regain credibility with the police force. She is paid a handsome salary, receives lodging in the expansive guest house on Altman's property, and is tasked with supporting and driving various efforts with the under-privileged communities in the D.C. area that Altman's charities provide for. Roy, who is quickly developing feelings for Mace beyond professional ones, assists her in both the criminal investigation and her work with Altman.

Roy and Mace are focused on a cryptic clue in the form of an email Tolliver sent to Roy the night she died. The half-sentence, "Need to focus in on A-," poses more questions than answers for them. All Mace wants is for a shot to be "true blue" again --- and this strong desire leads her into some situations that could threaten to put her back behind bars. Leading the charge to prosecute the murderer of Tolliver is State Attorney Mona Danforth --- the same prosecutor who helped railroad Mace and put her behind bars for two years. There is no love lost between Danforth and either Mace or Beth, and she will stop at nothing to make a name for herself at their expense as she continues her rise up the ladder towards a seat in the White House. As the bodies start piling up, the characters begin to ask: "What is the connection between the victims? And what does it have to do with the U.S. government?"

TRUE BLUE is a non-stop thriller that presents one cliffhanging situation after another --- particularly for Roy Kingman and Mace Perry, who have no idea how much danger their actions are placing them in. At times, the novel enters into George Pelecanos territory when the story of Mace and Roy's side charity work for Abe Altman put them in various perilous situations in some of Washington, D.C.'s most dangerous neighborhoods. Baldacci deftly ties these and all other storylines together with a well-written and complex plot that will keep readers guessing at every turn. Hopefully, Mace and Roy will have an opportunity to turn up in a future Baldacci novel, as he has truly created some thoroughly engaging characters his fans will want to see more of.

--- Reviewed by Ray Palen

I've only read a couple of Baldacci books, which were OK, but because of this one I'll never read another one. So if you are a Baldacci fan do yourself a favor and don't read this one. Maybe he ran out of ideas or needed to write one to meet a contractual obligation, but this book was lousy. The characters were unreal, the dialogue was even worse. Porn has more inspired dialogue than this novel. The worst part was probably the basketball playoff. I actually laughed out loud because it was so unbelievable.

Having read most of the Baldacci novels, I was somewhat disappointed in True Blue--it just did not measure up with a level of intrigue and mystery that many of his other novels have presented. All in all, though, his abilities enable all his novels to overcome the shortcomings in some of his novels and this one, in particular, and still provide me with an entertaining read.

I have been a Baldacci fan for years and first in line for his new hardcover books. I have converted quite a few friends and family by sharing his books and singing his praises. However, I can get this book just about anywhere for less than the Kindle price, and also the quality of this writer's product does not live up to expectations. I am giving this a one star rating because so much more is expected from this seasoned writer based on his past performance and for the pricing of this electronic book. For future Baldacci reading I will wait for my public library copy where I can get his books for the price of my local taxes.

I'm a big David Baldacci fan. True Blue is one of my favorites by him. Yeah, it is totally over the top. I mean the crap that the heroine Mason 'Mace' Perry (yeah, get it?)pulls could never happen in real life. But that is the point. This book is fiction, people! It's not really supposed to be realistic. It is a slam bang thriller. The good guys win, the bag guys lose. And you have a fun afternoon reading about how that happens.
David Baldacci has never claimed to write literature. He writes great popcorn thrillers. It bugs me that other reviewers gave this book a poor rating because it was unbelievable. That is what is great about these kinds of books. You can get lost in a fantastic adventure and leave the recession, health care reform, the wars, etc...all that real life stuff behind.
I for one am glad that I can lose myelf in these kinds of books.
Thank You David Baldacci!!!

I'm a huge Baldacci fan and have read everything he's written ... but this book made me want to resign from his fan club. I couldn't even LIKE the main character, the story line was dumb, it was poorly written ... and made me want to quit my job and become a novelist. Why? Even I could write this book. I hope this was just a bump in the road or Mr. Baldacci will join the ranks of James Patterson (those who sell books because of their name, not their talent). Mr. Baldacci, please spend your time writing Camel Club books and not go any further with this character. Too many great books out there to waste my time reading something like this! And the saddest thing is that I picked up your books without hesitation knowing I'd love it. Never again.

THE TEASER
A teaser is a loathsome device designed to catch browsing customers in bookstores with upfront action, albeit out of context. In practice, teasers usually only confuse and mislead readers. In "True Blue" the teaser is a "flash-ahead" in which U.S. Assistant Attorney Jamie Meldon is abducted by FBI agents and killed, on the orders of FBI director Jarvis Burns on with the knowledge of Director of National Intelligence Sam Donaldson. This event actually occurs about 1/3 of the way into the novel, by which time most readers will have forgotten the names of the characters and probably the events as well.

THE SETUP
Former policewoman Mace Perry has just been released from prison after two years, having been framed. Her sister, Beth Perry, the Chief of Police of Washington DC arranges a job for Mace as a research assistant for a very rich man. The vague implausible "research" involves improving the lives of selected inter-city poor, and recording their progress. Then an attorney Diane Tolliver is killed. We eventually find out that Meldon (from the teaser) was killed because he had met with Tolliver. For some incomprehensibly implausible reason, Mace believes that if she can solve Tolliver's murder, then her felony conviction will be magically "forgotten" and she will be reinstated as a police officer. Tolliver leaves some very cryptic clues with an associate (corporate lawyer) she was not really close to, Roy Kingman. For some vague reason, Roy teams up with Mace. The same weird team of spooks who killed Tolliver attempt to kill Roy and Mace, but implausibly give up (at least for a while) when their first attempt fails.

COMMENTS
The plot is contrived, implausible, and convoluted. The sense of unreality is pretty much the only constant. We (the readers) initially believe and hope that Baldacci will brilliantly pull it all together, with rational explanations for everything, to our amazement and devoted applause. And if so, "True Blue" will be the greatest Baldacci novel ever, a monumental achievement. But that doesn't happen.

For example, Mace's six-figure salary and use of a mansion with a gourmet chef, for a (normally minimum wage) research assistantship is something from a fantasy world---especially considering that she is not expected to do any actual work on the alleged project. It is obvious to the reader that the research project must be bogus (fictional), and that Altman (the rich guy) will turn out to be some sort of perv, and probably the eminence grise behind the murders. Right?

Okay, I know, Mace/Roy rescue ONE inner-city mother and her son, but that's gotta be a red herring. Right? And moreover, that has to be the setup for something really awful to happen to them while in residence in the rich old bachelor's mansion. Right?

Nope. If you want to enjoy "True Blue" you have to throttle down your own intellect to idle, cease to be suspicious of implausibilities, cease to expect logical consequences, and just enjoy the action for its own sake.

Mace and Roy are interesting characters. Most other characters, such as "Psycho" are absurd cardboard cutouts. The Perry sisters could be the beginning of a great series---perhaps in the hands of ghost-writers following Baldacci outlines (since Baldacci has apparently given up the fine art of handcrafting rich brilliant novels).

THE VERDICT
If you like interesting characters and action, and don't really care if it makes any sense, then you'll probably enjoy "True Blue".

I've followed many other once great authors decline, as they begin churning out junk to meet contract deadlines, but I've never seen so steep a plunge. FAREWELL DAVE BALDACCI, WE WILL MISS YOU.

> Click on “Stoney” just below the product title to see my other reviews, or leave a comment to ask a question.

I really can't recommend this book. The characters that make up this tale are completely unbelievable: a police chief who allows her ex-con, disgraced sister to jeopardize a high profile murder investigation repeatedly with nothing more than mild tongue lashings; that same sister believing that committing repeated felonies and parole violation will somehow get her reinstated to her old position with the Metropolitan Police Department; highly placed government officials resorting to killing off innocent civilians, including US Attorneys and Law Firm Partners, needlessly when far less drastic measures would just as easily have achieve their means without the incredible risks (wait a minute, I think that's my beef with all Baldacci books); a vengeful US Attorney wanting desperately to be appointed Attorney General (and who will do almost anything to achieve that lofty goal) is probably the most laughable and least believable character in the entire book; a former NCAA Basketball star now corporate lawyer throwing away his lucrative legal career to represent a homeless Vietnam vet that he seems to have only a passing friendship (he represented him in an earlier career as a public defender and now provides him with the occasional needed handout) with, while somehow not realizing that since he was the primary witness to the alleged crime, he has a conflict of interest anyway; a skilled Russian assassin who instead of professionally finishing the job, decides to make a game of it and give her intended target a "fair fight"; similarly, a street-smart urban gang leader who instead of pursuing a confrontation with the aforementioned former NCAA Basketball star, allows himself to be talked into settling their differences over a one-on-one pick-up basketball game; two very skilled and very jaded FBI assassins (does the FBI really employ assassins?) who prove to be fatally naive and trusting when it counts the most.

However, like all Baldacci books, it was a fun and easy read. If you are REALLY SKILLED at suspending your belief, you'll probably enjoy it. If you are bothered by minor technical details like fatal plot and character flaws (like the sample listed above) you'll probably have real problems with this book.

An entertaining read that certainly keeps its readers spellbound throughout. However, the ending left me feeling unsatisfied and like I needed to go take a shower due to the realistic possibility of just such a situation. It was certainly worth the time spent listening to it on my way to work and back, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a true underdog story with a scrappy, albeit competent, cop who crossed the wrong people. Could you salvage your reputation if mysterious criminals in your own organizations ruined it and sent you to prison?

So, who framed Mace ? What was all of that about with the poor single mother and the kid ? Why was Psycho even in the book ? And, I still don't really get what all of the conspiracy to stop terrosim was all about, and why there was som many murders.

I generally enjoy Baldacci's books, but not this one. Whoever wrote that blurb, "Great Chiller" at the NY Daily News clearly hadn't read the book. The book has its moments, but not 585 pages worth. Recomendation : Avoid

I have always been a Baldacci fan.... I think I have read everything he has written up until True Blue, and liked every book. But in this book, he "jumped the shark". The characters are not believable, and the plot is just too bizarre. Who rides a Ducati motorcycle in inner-city Washington? And how can anyone be trapped in a refrigerator with a chain on the door and manage to tip it over, kick out the bottom of the appliance (where the motor and compressor are generally located), and escape?

It was this way until the very end, where the ex-con heroine, Mace Perry,(we never do learn who "framed" her, which we were promised in the first chapter!) roars off on her motorcycle with her sister, who just happens to be the DC Chief of Police, on the back of the bike, while doing a "wheelie".

Puh-Leeeze.....

I wish I had not wasted my time on this, and I will be more careful in the future...

This is the first David Baldacci book I have ever read and it will be the last. Thank god I checked it out from the library. I got to page 101 and couldn't read any more drivel -one sterotype after another. In fact, this book itself was a lengthy "Mary Sue" trope. Idid, however, read the last few pages to see if it ended as tritely as I felt it would-and yes, it did.

Give this book a pass

I knew right off I'd have to suspend some disbelief, since I have trouble with the whole concept that Mace was kidnapped, drugged, and forced to commit crimes and yet was still convicted because of an overzealous prosecutor. Okay. But as the story began, I had a hard time accepting what others have called the stilted dialogue, and the unbelieveable plot devices such as Kingman knowing Mace (we won't even go into women characters being given mens' names...) for all of 5 minutes before he decides to go everywhere with her and do whatever she says, including spying on his co-workers and lying about evidence. Or Mace walking into a weapons shop, seeing a knife, and saying "Whoa, a channel-constructed handmade Filipino Balisong with an IK Bearing System." She sounded like Ralphie talking about his much-desired Red Ryder air rifle and I, for one, was not impressed. We hear every other page how much Mace wants to be a cop again, then she SHOWS it by stealing evidence, copying evidence, conducting her own investigation and enlisting civilians to take risks in order to help her; in short, acting nothing like a person trying to earn the privilege of being on the police force. I tried to like this book, I really did, but it just got worse and worse while the number of shots fired mounted. And the ending...yuk.

True Mediocrity: 2 1/2 stars
David Baldacci's True Blue has all the possibilities of a great story but after the first few chapters simply ran out of gas. I don't know what to make of Mr. Baldacci anymore. Since his Last Man Standing novel he simply has not produced a taunt thriller of note. They have all been journeyman works, and like True Blue have lacked any depth or realistic intrigue. He is writing by the numbers and it shows. True Blue is a story about a disgraced policewoman who after being released from prison will do anything to get back on the force. And from there the story tumbles into a confused disjointed tale that tests the credulity of a rational reader. Murders, political intrigue, secret national security operations, gang violence, and on and on. All woven together in a tapestry of whatever! Mr. Baldacci needs to get back to his original writing style as he is slowly slipping into a second rate writer of little note. This sadly may be my last book by him.

Character development was shallow and quite frankly unbelievable. Both main characters had incredible possibilities but were never developed to the point of comprehensive reality. In fact, there were so many characters that at times it became difficult to follow the story. One absolutely bright light was the Mary Bard character which Mr. Baldacci would do well to develop in future novels. She has the potential to be the next James Bond, Jack Reacher, or Gabriel Allon. I was surprised that Mr. Baldacci did not develop that rich character more. Hint, hint, Mr. Baldacci you have a literary gold mine in Mary Bard, develop her and mine that character in future novels.

No gratuitous sex, violence, or language. Get back to your literary roots Mr. Baldacci. You're simply writing pulp fiction, mediocre suspense novels.

Only recommended as a paperback or library hardback. It appears that Mr. Baldacci is burned out. His once high octane thrillers have become a disjointed mishmash of too many characters in a lukewarm soup of lackluster suspense. I hope you take the Mary Bard character and use her to regain your suspense thriller prominence. She is a diamond in the rough waiting to be developed. Go for it.

I enjoyed reading this book but found it to end too quickly. There were also some story lines that just fizzled out. He could have done a better job wrapping up some of the story lines and not made the ending so brief. I love reading Baldacci books but this wasn't his best work.

David Baldacci writes really good stories. I have read all his books and probably will reread many of them again. They are just that good. I love the way he intricately involves the characters and leaves it to you to decide how it should end but you have to wait to see how it does end. Really good for any one to enjoy.

I gave this book 4 stars because the story was plausible and the
writing excellent. Plenty of thrills and chills and parts that were
so tense I found it difficult take a normal breath due to the visual
action that Mr. Baldacci's writings conveyed. Characters were well
thought out and were both easy to cheer on, or in the case of the
villains, were to dispise.

The story line rips along at about the same speed as Mace drives her Ducati motorcycle around the streets of D.C. where she chases criminals and seeks to restore herself to the metropolitan police force. Roy Kingman becomes her henchman in her effort to solve the murder of one of his colleagues at a DC law firm. The trio dash from one tight situation to the other, trying to pick up clues and trying to avoid the clutches of Mona, the prosecutor who put Mace behind bars for two years on a charge she didn't deserve. Between sophisticated assassins and tough DC "crews" in the bad parts of DC, Roy and Mace dodge death at every turn even as Mace's sister, Beth, the chief of the police force, tries to steer her clear of this path. There are many good points to this book. For one Beth, Mace and Roy are likable, enjoyable and interesting characters. There are good moments of action and the intrigue does make one think. At times the book overdoes the heartwarming aspect to the point of schmaltziness. Although the author certainly did some good research to write this book, it could use a stronger intellectual element for more interest. Depicting the interrelationships between the DC police force and the other federal agencies helps in this regard. All in all it is a good to very good thriller that keeps you entertained throughout.The Griffon Trilogy (Pt. I)

Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
-- Proverbs 27:6

Mace Perry is the sister of the D.C. chief of police who hovers over Mace like a guardian angel as she seeks to regain her reputation and ability to be a cop again. Mace has a problem: She's hyperactive and can't keep from meddling into police matters. That problem leads to danger when deaths turn out to have government connections that threaten law and order.

I wanted to like Mace, but she didn't fully come alive for me. That was a big strike against this book. Having her be the sister of the chief of police seemed too far fetched as the story developed. That was the second strike against the book. In the end, there was a predictable moral muddle of the sort that many thriller writers include in D.C.-based books. I didn't feel rewarded for making it through to the end.

The book's premise is a pretty interesting one: a framed police officer ends up going to jail and comes out young enough to want to go back into police work. Like the premise, the plot has many interesting elements. But in the writing, there's a minimal attempt to develop each point. It's as though the author was on a deadline and didn't have time to do much rewriting to enrich areas that were skimpy.

Unless you feel like you need to read every word that David Baldacci writes, I suggest you skip this book and read one of his earlier books instead.

Aside from the fact that this heroine is not quite believeable, I found this audio book entertaining. However, after listening for fourteen hours, I felt let down by the fact thatr Mace's problems were not solved and there are loose ends everywhere.

This book cries out for a sequel but I see no indication that there will be one. I feel that I wasted a blot of time waiting for a resolution that nevewr happened. This is a good read but needs much more!!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, though I had to suspend reality for this thriller, as there were parts in it that were so far-fetched as to be ludicrous. Still, it was guilty pleasure that kept me turning the pages in this plot driven thriller.

Baldacci introduces what appears to be a new series of characters starring Mace and Beth Perry, who are sisters. Beth is the older one and Chief of Police in Washington, DC. Mace is the street smart, younger sister, who, as a DC cop, became known as the Patty Hearst of the 21st century, having been framed, convicted, and sentenced to prison for some things she did against her will. Having served her time, the disgraced Mace is now hell bent on vindicating herself. After all, she just wants to be back on the beat.

The plot, though somewhat convoluted, is certainly action packed, and Mace and her sister are likeable characters. Still, there is an almost cartoon-like quality about the plot, as it is so over the top at times. Moreover, the secondary characters tend to be somewhat two dimensional, as there is little character development. For the most part, the characters tend to speak in clichés, though the fast-paced repartee between Mace and the other characters tends to be humorous.

If the author were to craft another novel with these two main characters, I would certainly give it a whirl, even if the plot and action were, once again, a bit over the top.

It's a bit rare now days for someone to willingly do just about anything to keep their profession especially that of a cop which was the case of Baldacci's prime character, Mace. Convicted of a crime she did not commit she with her sister who is the chief of police, find themselves solving a crime which has dirty politics written all over it.
Baldacci keeps us moving through the seedier side of the city to the fat cats in the political arenas of Washington DC. An exciting portrayal of two very strong women.

I listened to this as an audio book, and loved it. I disagree with the reviewers and commenters who didn't like it. I thought Mace and Roy were complex characters and I enjoyed listening to their snappy dialogue. I admit that Mona is a bit one-dimensional, but isn't that what you want in a villain? I loved the Captain (and his nickname) and was rooting for him. I also loved Alisha and her son, and even her brother, Razor.

I like a stand alone Baldacci book now and then. I like how the author 'teaches' the reader about stuff in society or law tech stuff. Like the night vision contact lenses. It's all interesting and intigrigueing and fun.

Where to start? This book was almost a page-turner. Almost in that it was certainly engaging and I couldn't wait to get back to it, but not so riveting that I skipped meals, sleep, or a trip to the bathroom. But sadly, I don't come across those sorts of books much anymore. With TRUE BLUE I enjoyed almost every page. I found Baldacci's writing to be very smooth and his story easily accessible. I liked all the characters and the plot was very interesting and somewhat original. Overall I was totally pleased and not sure why the other reviewers gave it such a hard time.

Baldacci might just be a genius. But before I can make that determination I need to read a few more. Started Camel Club today so we'll see. Right from the get go this one looks promising.

"Mace" Perry former Washington D.C. police officer is serving a two-year prison sentence. Her sister Beth is the Chief of Police of the D.C. police force. A former mob lawyer is shot and killed execution style by two FBI agents. A seemingly unrelated murder takes place in Beth's territory... and when she shows up to take charge she is waved off the case by so many "initialed" government agencies that it makes her head spin. By this time Mace is out of prison and despite constant warnings by Beth... is spending every waking moment trying to clear her tarnished name and somehow be allowed to once again live her dream by the unlikely chance of being reinstated as a cop. Mace is on probation and one wrong turn and she'll be back in the slammer for a long-long-time. Mace said she had been wrongly convicted when "SOMEONE KIDNAPPED ME, STRUNG ME OUT ON MULTIPLE METH COCKTAILS LACED WITH WHO KNOWS WHAT, AND FORCED ME TO PARTICIPATE IN ARMED ROBBERIES WHILE I WAS WHACKED OUT OF MY MIND."

Lo and behold... the prosecuting attorney that convicted Mace... Mona Danforth... is also a daily hated obstacle of sister Beth. So throughout the story the venom spewed from the Perry sister's toward attractive... great dressing... politically motivated Mona... is non-stop. Roy Kingman a former star basketball player for the University Of Virginia who had spent a few years as a Criminal Justice Act (CJA) attorney before going to work for a large law firm that specializes in international contracts and money maneuvering... is enjoying a big salary without the demeaning stipulations to constantly build wads of "billable hours". Everything is great until one day he opens the refrigerator at work and the dead body of associate Diane Tolliver falls into his arms. A homeless mentally defective Viet Nam Veteran known as "Captain" that Roy had befriended in the past is framed for Diane's murder and rape. All these murders ... cover-ups... and top secret national security issues intertwine... and Roy and Mace become inseparable. Poor innocent Roy becomes a "Robin" to Mace's (stretched beyond belief) "Bat-woman". The weak point in this thriller is the overzealous profile of the Ducati-driving fearless persona the author has created for Mace Perry. As Roy surmises late in the story: "I'VE BEEN SHOT AT, CHASED, THREATENED, DONE THE TWO-STEP WITH A GUY NAMED PSYCHO, AND GOTTEN THROWN IN JAIL. ALL SINCE MEETING YOU."

If you're a fan of government security initials you will get your fill with DCI... DIA... NSA... FBI... among others... including initials of foreign government security divisions also. Note 1: As a basketball fanatic I must give praise to the scene where Roy plays a game of one-on-one in the middle of the D.C. ghetto against a gangster named "PSYCHO". If "PSYCHO" wins he will kill Roy and Mace. If Roy wins they get to walk away. Note 2: Potential readers should remember this is fiction. :D)

Good, strong female protagonist....look forward to more about the Perry sisters.
Exciting action, politics, espionage, philanthropy, a snip of street gang violence and a riveting plot.
This was my first Baldacci novel and I will read more!!!
Don't know why all the Baldacci fans are giving such bad 1-star reviews...the book doesn't deserve them. Unless maybe they cannot connect with tough-as-nails strong female leads.

Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. David Baldacci presents another page turner. There's excitement on every page right up to the end. I must admit that there were times I lost track of who were the good guys, or what was at the bottom of the problem, but it all becomes clear at the end. I love books with a female protagonist, and this was no disappointment. If you enjoy action and espionage, this book is for you.

I've been a faithful Baldacci follower since I first read The Camel Club. I felt that this book seemed to be just a little too "cookie cutter" for me.

I never got into it. The Female police Chief of WAshington DC with a sister, who had been busted and put in jail. It all seemed a bit far fetched and the fact that the sister kept getting involved in an investigation. There were too many concidences and the way things unfolded were a bit trivial for me.

It hasn't deterred me from reading his other books. I hope that this was just one that was off the mark a bit and that the future books will be better.

I wouldn't recommend this as a first choice of his books.

I think this ranks up there as one of my favorite Baldacci books (though I don't think anything will ever top Wish You Well). I hated Mace's name, especially the way the symbolism is pretty blatantly spelled out, but I liked her as a character. Roy turned out to be a good partner for her -- patient, steady, and with just a little bit of crazy to balance out her wild amount of crazy/reckless abandon/obsession. The mystery does get a little bit confusing, as there are several layers of bad guys, but it's all spelled out pretty well at the end. I do suspect that this isn't the last we've seen of Mace and Roy.... She still has a lot of questions she needs answered.

True Blue is a feel good story about personal redemption. I liked it. The pace was fast and engaging. There is a heroine with whom to identify and if gender poses a problem there is also a back up hero. The two provide some romance.

A woman starts out in prison with various real and imagined demons as cell mates. By the time the story unfolds these demons are mostly resolved and there is an opportunity for the reader to enjoy the resolution.

The word count is high so there is a good value for the price. It is unlikely that most readers if any will finish the book in one sitting. There is enough book to last for a cruise or long weekend.

Why not a rating of 5? Perhaps, a few too many times when reality has to be suspended. But then it is fun if not taken too seriously. I recommend True Blue.

I'm a Baldacci fan but I was disappointed in this book. Frankly, I found the characters, especially Mace, annoying. She is self absorbed with no warmth or humor. The dialogue was somewhat stilted, and the plot a little too slick. From another author, I might have given it 3 stars but this is David Baldacci-mediocrity just doesn't cut it. If I'd known more about it in advance, I still would have read it, albeit with lower expectations-but I would have borrowed it from a library because I'll never reread it.

When he burst onto the scene with "Absolute Power" followed by "Total Control", Baldacci was writing riveting political thrillers that featured rich and complex characterizations and plotting. I don't know whether it's due to publishing commitments (which seem to be the modern trend) that require a book per year or less, or whether the well has simply dried up, but I have noticed that since those books Baldacci simply hasn't been able to reach the same level of literary achievement in his following works.

That having been said, we now look at "True Blue". I won't rehash the whole story line, as you can see that in the store's product description and some of the other member reviews.

The plot is very simple and (unfortunately) straightforward Baldacci rote: government mandarins carry out evil deeds against fellow Americans, all in the name of "national security". Plucky but damaged heroine (in this case; hero in other books) doggedly pursues all leads in an attempt to solve the crimes while simultaneously redeeming herself for the crimes for which she was (unjustly?) convicted.

I found the characterizations to be amazingly two-dimensional; not very interesting, and not at all compelling. Larry the Cable Guy is a more complex character. The plot, such as it was, was very simplistic... and even worse, wasn't even resolved at the end of the book! I assume the reason for that was to pave the way for a sequel if not a continuing series... but minus one star for that alone.

If you can get past those shortcomings, the book does move along swiftly, with lots of action. But that's pretty much what it is: a "shoot-`em-up", rather than a serious novel a la Michael Connelly or James Lee Burke.

Or early Baldacci, for that matter.

Three stars as light out-of-season beach reading. Two stars as a novel. Total 2 ½ stars.

I received this book as a Christmas present. While I have liked some of this author's books, namely the series that tied together, some of the other titles have been less enjoyable. I would rank this one at the top of the second list.
Not sure why a guy writes a book with a female as the protagonist. For me it did not work. While it might make a perfectly good screenplay for a perfectly average PG action flick, I thought the story as a whole was a yawn.

This rare stand-alone thriller from David Baldacci harkened back to the depth and intensity of Baldacci's earlier works like Absolute Power or Total Control. Mace Perry, former DC police officer, comes out of prison at the beginning of the book, claiming that she was set up for the crime that stripped her of her badge. Mace is determined to either prove her innocence or solve a major crime, either of which she believes will give her a shot at getting her badge back. Mace's sister Beth is the DC Chief of Police and Beth is determined to protect her sister and keep her from going back to prison. But Mace will not be deterred from her goals. She begins investigating the murder of a young attorney from a DC law firm. In doing so, she hooks up with another attorney from that a firm, a former UVA basketball star. Mace and Roy embark on an investigation parallel to that of the police. But the investigation reveals links, complexities and problems that neither could have anticipated. This book had great characters -- Mace and Beth in particular -- and a fast-moving, well crafted plot. The combination makes for powerful reading.

This one is just not up to Baldacci's usual work. One can easily see where Mace and Beth could return in a new series for Baldacci, but if they do, he'll need to step up the action. The Camel Club and King/Maxwell series have remained revved up throughout - True Blue presents as an ongoing introduction to these two characters. That type of foundation is necessary for a new series, but the book seemed to focus TOO much on intros. Just when it seemd the action was picking up, Baldacci bogs down, then revs the engine, then slows it back down. If you're a Baldacci fan, read True Blue. Be forwarned it won't be your favorite, but you'll probably appreciate his other works that much more.

I was a little disappointed in this book. I don't like the use of intials when refering to the different government agencies. Also some of the dialoge sounds like children speaking to each other instead of the police chief and her sister speaking to each other.

I often referred to David Baldacci as my favorite author and participated in two book signings in Atlanta to express my appreciation for his work with "Wish You Well". I always admired his ability to develop genuine characters both moral and flawed. I can appreciate his efforts to extend beyond his comfort zone with a police novel "True Blue" as he did with his global thriller "The Whole Truth" but I found it a failure and suspect it will lose him more readers. I can hardly believe that such a talented writer capable of building compelling characters such as "Oliver Stone" actually wrote this. His characters in True Blue were completely forgettable, shallow and single dimensional, and in 454 pages he had plenty of opportunity to go deeper. The story could have been covered in 5 pages as it barely had a climax and knowing Baldacci's talents could have been SO much better.

My advice to David would be if you want to settle for mediocre novels with the likes of Patterson, etc. then put out one each month and focus solely on making money. I believe that you prefer the pursuit of excellence so I look forward to much more excitement in the new year!

Dan

I really enjoyed this book. However I felt many parts were quite unbelievable. It has some yawningly slow patches but they did not deter me from continuing on in the book. I did not think it was a thriller at all. Just a nice book to read if you like a whodunnit with a little bit of minor thrills thrown in. Certainly not edge of your seat stuff.

I was extremely disappointed in this book. I know it's fiction but It should be labeled science fiction. There could not have been any truth in the story. No possibility of any of the plot taking place. I'm done with reading Baldacci's work for quite some time.

Doesn't even worth writing about it, but a warning should be given to all...so there you go.

I love books. In fact I think I would die if there were no books. I love to read. I read so much because I enjoy reading. It should be fun, even when the story is sad. It should be good and should give you a powerful emotional experience or whatever. Reading is life. That is why I hate to put down a book before I finish it. I have only read a couple of those stories so far that I just could not stand.

I have read most of Mr. Baldacchi's earlier works and really loved and enjoyed most of them. But this True Blue is so bad; I could only get as far as 50-60 pages, before I stopped, cursed and tossed it in the corner, against the wall. The next day, I picked it up from the floor and took it back to the library. Sorry about the damage I may have caused to this "wonderful" book.

..."curtain-raiser for a new series that has every chance of keeping the pot boiling... fast-paced and entertaining."
"never-ending action, suspenseful scenes"
"A heart-stopping thriller"

These fragments are from reviews on Mr. Baldacchi's website. The problem: people who wrote these, know less than crap about fiction writing. I know nothing about it either, I guess. But I know what I love about a book and what I want from a book.

People giving one star for True Blue here are in a difficult situation. There is no Zero star to give, which is a big mistake in this case, so if you want to rate it, you have to give at least one star. Too bad. I think people here are absolutely right about the shallow, ridiculous characters, the non-existing plot and all. By the way; plot. It is interesting. I mean, it is interesting, that someone might want to call this a book with a plot.

This book is just not up to a certain standard. Simple. In fact it is so bad, so badly and poorly written, it makes you angry. Angry with the main character, her sister, the dumbass lawyer and basically everyone who had the bad luck of being written into this thing. I can't even remember the names. Luckily, I don't remember too much of anything of it.

And finally, it makes you angry with Mr. Baldacchi. He used to be better than this, but now seems to have lost what it takes to write compelling stories. Sad, really.

There is one good aspect to it though: it makes you want to start a career in fiction writing. It gives you the feeling that you can do it. And why not? Just start throwing words together to form some sentences. After some time you'll have enough of those to fill pages, then some more to fill a "book". If you get stuck with your finely built characters or the never-ending action", the "suspenseful scenes" or the "boiling plot" you have figured out, all you need to do is ask your 12 year old child or the kid next door to help you out with some really serious ideas. His/her style and ideas at that age will be a sure winner. This seems to be the best way to do it and you might even get published. Mr. Baldacchi managed it, anyway, so why not try?

I would not suggest this book to anyone with any taste for a good thriller. A complete disappointment and waste of time, even if it only takes an hour approximately to suffer through 50 pages before you put it down.

Don't bother yourself reading it. Start writing your own stuff instead. One hour of thinking about your first novel's plot or main character might get you much further than True Blue and the hinted/planned following books in this series would ever get.

God save us all from any more of this rubbish.

Although I have read other David Baldacci books, I have not read any with these characters. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the novel. For a summary see some of the other reviews. I liked the ways in which the "good guys" triumphed. Wasn't particularly happy with the ending because it implies that high level government officials are not punished. It certainly held my interest.

Sisters Beth and Mace Perry have always had each other's back as kids and adults with both becoming cops. Temperamentally opposites they love each other, but their police careers go also in different directions. Beth has become police chief of Washington DC while Mace was kicked off the force spending two years in prison after being kidnapped and framed.

Mace wants vindication affirmed only by regaining her badge. Beth at the risk of her career will do what she can to support her younger sister because she is perhaps the only person in blue who believes Mace's story. Attorney Roy Kingman is in the middle of a gigantic case involving the murder of a US Attorney and the rape-killing of another lawyer. He is attracted to feisty Mace who sees solving the spectacular case as redemption. With her sister's support and a need to work in the shadows as another US Attorney wants to return her to jail, Mace investigates only to find roadblocks from the affluent who prefer the case go cold.

This is an action-packed fast-paced over the top of the Washington Monument investigative thriller that grips fans throughout as long as the reader ignores credibility. The sisters make the tale with their support of one another as they seek a killer and redemption for Mace. David Baldacci provides his fans with a very entertaining whodunit with hopefully more appearances from the TRUE BLUE blood siblings.

Harriet Klausner

There are too many things wrong with this book for me to be able to capture them all. The plot has too many holes yet also has too many extraneous side stories.

For example, what does the rich guy have to do with anything? Why mention the chef and security guard if you're not going to do anything with the characters? What did the escort have to do with the plot? Why wasn't the research project storyline linked to the main international intrigue plot? How stupid would a lawyer have to be to realize that he shouldn't defend a person accused of murder when the lawyer himself would be a witness to the crime as he discovered the dead body? What idiot police chief would allow a relative to go rogue to help solve a murder independently of the police force? Whatever happened to the law firm partner that was indicated to be culpable in knowledge of wrongdoings?

Some of the plot points were so ludicrous I was shaking my head in disbelief (for example, not only does our herione challenge the bad guys to a weapons fight and win, she does it TWICE, to two different adversaries. Both sets of bad guys unrealistically agree to this absurd suggestion instead killing her outright.)

This is the tip of the iceberg for examples of horrible writting in this book. Don't waste your money . . . don't buy this book.

Listened to this on audio CD and was very disappointed. I could put up with some of the incredulous incidents, and the reader is very good, but the ending was a major downer . Unresolved plot lines, which were ignored after the start of the book, and a Deus Ex Machina ending where the bad guys do not get any kind of real justice and the heroes do not get anything like what they deserve. Poor showing for Baldacci, who I have enjoyed before.

I agree with the prior reviews about relatively poor character development, unresolved central premise to the plot etc. Not Mr. Baldacci's best work in my opinion. Not bad, just not up to his usual standards.

Mace Perry (Perry Mason-get it?) is a disgraced Washington DC cop, lately out of the joint where she spent two years for some kind of meth crime. She sent there by a jealous queen bee-like US Attorney who really hates Mace's sister Beth, the Chief of Police in the District. Mace and Beth long to clear Mace's name so she can start chasing bad guys again, but if the US Attorney has her way that will never happen.

You are following this, right?

Well if you are, then there are a couple of dead lawyers to consider. One is a female lawyer in a firm that pays lots of bucks but has no minimum billing requirements (shades of The Firm: A Novel) The other is the killing of an Assistant U.S. Attorney. That investigation becomes a national security matter so secret even the US Attorney who was his boss can't even find out which agency is investigating the case. The firm lawyer's murder introduces Mace to a young member of the firm who has real possibilities as a significant other, Even better, he is willing to help Mace investigate things even though she's not a cop any more.

Still interested? I thought not. I wasn't.

One of the most detailed descriptors and wordshapers in my 65+ years of reading. The details of the (mostly hidden and unacknowledged) workings of the various government agencies leaves readers avidly seeking more. Having lived in Northern Virginia for over 50 years - 40+ working in the Federal Government or as a contractor - these stories are both familiar and disturbing, as they describe what can, and does happen in and around our Nation's Capital. FIVE STARS PLEASE!

I have read almost everything by David Balducci has written but was so disappointed with this one that I finally stopped reading it. It's full of clichés and unbelievable characters and situations. You've got your maverick cop who has a lousy relationship with her mother, drives a motorcycle, has a tattoo and her sister happens to be the MPD Police Chief. She hangs out in Anacostia and knows all the tough guys...etc, etc, etc. David - we know you can do better than this - what happened??

David Baldacci is one of my absolute favorite authors. I am surprised at the negative reviews. I can only conclude that they are written by people unwilling to accept the possibility that the events David writes about could truly happen - but they can. His stories are fascinating and always fresh. His writing is superb as is his character development. True Blue is about the Washington DC Chief of Police's sister - a former policewoman who was set up and ended up in prison - and of course, the requisite thriller murder mystery she gets embroiled in. I am waiting anxiously hoping that the next book Mr. Baldacci writes is a sequel involving these two smart women. Thanks for a great read - I couldn't put it down. For those who haven't read it - don't be put off by the negative reviews. This is a great read.

I really had to slog through this one. I've read every single Baldacci to date. I was hoping Baldacci wasn't going the way so many writers are which is to churn out a new book every few months. Believe it it shows. This book was silly and just not very good. For great early Baldacci go to Total Control or The Simple Truth or Saving Faith which are excellent. I'm finding it hard to believe that this book wasn't ghostwritten. Disappointed.

Baldacci's books have great character development, sub-plots and heroes "winning" at the end with just enough trial and tribulation to keep you interested. Mace "won" in this book but I would like to have seen her as a bigger "winner" - guess you can't have everything. Baldacci should consider a series with the main characters in this book.

I could barely finish this book and only did so hoping for a glimmer of redemption from the author. No such luck. I have been a Baldacci fan for years, but this one is quite the stink bomb. Improbable plots and subplots, thoroughly one-dimensional and dislikeable characters, hack dialogue that is preposterous and stiff. I agree with the other one-star raters -- don't waste your time or your money on this book.

Lots of characters to keep track of. Several different mini-dramas, some of debatable significance. But hey, it is David Baldacci with another solid DC based thriller. I enjoyed it though it stretched the imagination more than most of his thrillers.

I have been a huge David Baldacci fan for years and have thoroughly enjoyed all of his previous books. However this book was a big disappointment: implausible storyline, shallow, undeveloped characters, and sophomoric dialog. The constant use of "G-Town" for Georgetown (I have been to Washington many times and have never heard Georgetown referred to in that way.) and "bandits" for criminals was very annoying.

I could not finish the book - putting it down less than halfway through.

True Blue was so un-Baldaccci-like it was as if it was ghost-written. Might he be tryimg out authors in order to launch a Clancy-like series that his only contribution will be affixing his name to the end product?

To me, this one of his best books. I've listened to the King & Maxwell, Will Robie, and John Puller. I love Mace, Roy, and Beth. Action packed and easy to follow. My only disappointment is there isn't a follow up.

Disappointing, felt he had gone off the boil with this one. Annoying repetitive use of certain words in the book, which seemed uncharacteristic and almost like someone else had written it. eg repetitive use of the word "snag" which seemed out of context. "She snagged a book off the shelf," instances like that.

Another great tale by Baldacci! Would give it 5 stars if not for the ending, which is probably closer to a real-life ending than a more just ending - you'll have to read the book for your own opinion of the ending!

While the spy stories are typically intriguing, I thought one of the sub stories made little sense to the plot. Marx's job with Altman, while gave the con something to do but too much interest into a social phenomenon not aligned to this theme.

What rings true is our willingness to ignore what happens under our nose is what kept me glued to the book.

I purchased this audio book, hoping for a good story to listen too while doing chores and working out. Welp, I soon decided I'd much rather turn off my ipod than hear about Mace and her antics and I realized I was not finishing it, because it was boring.

What is odd, is normally I like female cops. But Mace (hate the name), is too much of a smarty-pants to be likeable. I felt sorry for her of course, no one should've endured what she did.. But she goes around with a chip on her shoulder the size of Nantucket, and then constantly does exactly what she's told not to do.

Her boyfriend just didn't interest me either. He's sort of a cipher- a rich attorney, who apparently has nothing better to do than tag around Mace while she goes into the ghetto to handle charity.

I can't say I liked this one. Its not as strong as his usual work and Mace was just like her name... An irritant.

I have read a few David Baldacci books and this is by far the weakest one. I just didn't care about any of the characters or the story. Baldacci is usually an amazing story teller, but this time nothing was working for me.

I am a huge fan of David Baldacci and this book was another great read. The story was fast, it did not drown you with pages of
nonsense that only adds pages to the book and zero story value. I was certainly expecting a different ending and would have liked one, but
not all books has to have the "lived happly ever after" type of ending.

From one harrowing crisis to another, barely escaping with your life. Give a more Grisham approach, something could really happen and is a good story. If you do like jumping from one death defying event to another by some last split secondi intervention to save our hero you'll really like this book.

Baldacci is one of my all-time favorite authors. I have read every one of his books and usually rip through them in a day or two. This one took me several weeks. I only read it on flights I had to take for work. I just couldn't get into it. Weak characters, weak plot. Uncharacteristically bad writing. It has the feel of a book written to beat a deadline. Just not a lot of life to it. Overall very disappointed. It's obvious this is the start of a series. I sure hope the next in line is much better than this one.

This book started out fairly well, but went downhill quickly. I completely lost interest and didn't finish it. The plot is just stupid and unbelievable. The DC police chief should be a strong character with ethical limits, but she completely allows her sister to run wild instead of stopping her. So many flaws. Save your money.

It appears as if Mr. Baldacci just got tired of this book, stopped writing, shut down the computer and walked away without finishing it. The book publisher should be ashamed for allowing this book without an ending to be published.

Even though I loved Baldacci and have read every single book he has written, this one is truly disappointing... The "hero" of the novel is a female Superman caricature who is too tough to be real. Some parts were extremely silly and absurd. I seriously have my doubts if Baldacci really wrote this or some ghost writer did this for him... Its not the Baldacci we are accostumed to.

David Baldacci is my favorite author. I enjoy all his stories and characters. I like the way he builds and lets his charaters live and come alive on the pages. Even thou I'm glad I bought and read TRUE BLUE and I like the characters I thought some of it over the top a little too much. Macy is out of prison and less than 24 hours later is doing something that will get her back in for years with no hope. My impression is she was not as smart as I wanted her to be. And the scene where the drug pushers catch Macy and Roy and he plays basketball to get out of it. Reminded me of "ESCAPE from LA." And then the part of Macy escaping from the locked refrigerator, in minutes. But over all, David has again delivered a good read well worth the price. Maybe he will team Macy and Roy again in another case. This time instead of getting beat up, hurt, trapped, cornered, shot at (and missed) they can use their brains to out wit instead of out last the bad guys.

This is my last Baldacci book -- it's so bad that I am disappointed in myself for reading it to the end -- best just to take your loss and move on. The character of Mace Perry is a joke as is the silly plot. But worse is the lame dialogue. There are plenty of good books out there -- don't waste you money on this. I'd like to ask Mr. Baldacci, "Did you really write this?" Hard to believe anyone found this a FIVE STAR.

David has a unique talent that keeps his reader engaged and focus.This is one of his best. You get the feeling that while it is fiction story, if the truth be known it has really happen in our Country already.You will find it difficult to stop reading and don't think you know how it is going to end. David adds a twist in his last chapter that makes you stop and say "I didn't see that coming!" Enjoy!!!

I have now read almost all of The Camel Club books and two of the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell books, and now this one. I have liked and enjoyed all of them very much! I plan on reading all of David Baldacci's books. I think he is a great storyteller. :-)

The strong female characters in Mr. Baldacci's books are a welcome change from the helpless, dingy ones that are oftentimes the norm. Kudos for a well written story. I look forward to the next one with the Perry sisters.

Baldachi is a really fine story teller... read the Camel Club series for an example of his work. But not this time. He presented two characters with good potential but the story simply was not there. CANNOT RECOMMEND.

.

This was fast paced action with a man and a woman who didn't spend most of their time in bed! There was an attraction and you know that they end up together, but without all the sleazy sex scenes. Thank you for that!

I listened to this book on audio CD it kept me entertained on a long drive. I enjoyed this more than the last Baldacci I listened to, The Last Man Standing, but it was still just an ok "read". I appreciated the strong female main character, Mace, but the sister was a pushover and not really believable as a police chief of DC. I wasn't really satisfied with the ending as it felt like a major plot point was left unresolved. Not sure I would have finished it had I actually been reading it, but for a drive it was good.

The first 10chapters I was ready to give up on it because it was just dragging on with nothing exciting happening, But than I started to get excited by what I was reading than I couldn't put the book down. I chose a high 5 star rating because I love the way the story was intensifying my interest page by page! Another great book by David Baldacci.

Two Theories: This was a starting novelist without much promise of making it on his own, who penned something, Baldacci briefly edited it, and the publisher slapped his name on it and printed; or Baldacci took a bet that he could write a novel in 24 hours.

This was such a disappointment! David Baldacci, you owe me $9.99! Or at least a good novel! Are you really the same author who has written so many compelling reads, so many well developed characters, such as the Camel Club gang?

Overall, it's an extremely predictable story, with two-dimensional characters, doing, thinking, and saying things that will make the reader groan out loud at how lame they are.

Sorry--really wanted to like it...

--Disappointed Fan

If you can plow through the first half of this book...you'll probably be able to finish (maybe). The first half of the book establishes the characters in a ridiculous, painful, 'I cant' believe he just wrote that' manner. None of the main characters are even remotely believable.

In the second half of the book...which is not very good mind you...we are spared some of the terrible character development. Unfortunately 430 pages of building to the climax end in a whimper all in the turn of a few pages.

There is no way I would have finished this book if it was not a Christmas gift from my sister. I do not recommend it to anyone.

I tried the Camel Club series some time ago and just couldn't get into them. True Blue, with different characters, sounded like it might be better. But while I managed to finish it, it was just to unbelievable for my taste. It probably would be OK as a movie, where you haven't time for a reality check, Nd it wasn't engaging enough to read in one sitting. So I doubt I'd give Baldacci another try unless I was really desparate, something the Kindle has made a rare state for me as I always have 2 or 3 three things in my reading queue now.

I did not finish this book. I tried, but the dialogue was so annoying that I just put the book away. I have read all of Baldacci's books and enjoyed all of them. I'm going to wait a read the reviews before buying the next one.

I'm really surprised at some negative reviews. I've been a fan since his first book came out, liked some better than others, but I don't see any negatives in this one. It was well written, entertaining, full of twists and turns and interesting. I couldn't put it down. I loved the Camel Club series and was sad when it ended but this was just as much fun it its own way. I say give it a chance.

I was fortunate in that I downloaded this book off my local library's website - the time I spent reading it was enough of a waste, I'm glad it wasn't a financial waste as well. Most of the other the store reviews sum it up quite well - completely unbelievable plot, hugely annoying main character, absurd "action" scenes, etc, etc. I haven't read every David Baldacci book, but if this is how he writes his female leads he should stick to the men.

Wow!! What a horrible book.

I have been disappointed in the last few of David Baldacci books but he finally hits bottom with this garbage. Did he write this or was it ghost written by a sixth grader? The story is so ridiculous that I hated buying the book after thirty pages. It seems that that he has followed the example of other "Best Selling" authors and just started turning out trash for bucks.

Everything about this book is terrible. It is so bad, that in spots you actually bust out laughing it is so ridiculous. Mace Perry gets out of jail and gets a job paying six figures and races around D.C. on a motorcycle solving crime by night. All the while her sister, the D.C. Police Chief covers for her so she can get her job back. GEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ!!!

This will be my last Baldacci book

What a bomb. Inane plot carried out by equally inane characters. I listened to this as an audio and possibly it would have been more tolerable as a hard copy ~ far easier to skim over the pages of drivel and mindless space filling chatter. I even tried to appreciate it from a comedic, farcical perspective, to no avail. There is nothing to recommend in this one.

Is not the best from DB but also not the worst. Sometimes you'll be reading on the edge of your chair and sometimes you'll just drop the book to watch TV. So I'll give a try to the next of the series. There will be another book I'm positive.

I have liked some of this author's books in the past but he could have kept this one to himself. I didn't even finish it because I couldn't bring myself to care what happened to any of the characters and I got sick of all the wisecracking early on.

The plot was so silly that I couldn't justify wasting any more time with this story.

Fresh out of prison, wrongly accused ex-cop Mason "Mace" Perry, along with the help of her police chief sister, aids Roy Kingman, a lawyer trying to track down the killer of one of his law partners, all while a U.S. attorney looks for any reason to put Mace back behind bars.
Though this was an average novel by one of my favorite authors, it's still a good one by thriller standards. It moved at a constant pace and the plot kept me intrigued. Still a well put together thriller.

I am a regular Baldacci fan. He tells a story that moves along well with interesting characters. I agree that the story is not believable. I do not read his works because they are real. I enjoyed the people and expect more to develop in time.

Its purpose was to keep me up reading late into the evening and it succeeded.

Mason "Mace" Perry has been fighting for her mental and physical survival her entire life. She suffered through an emotionally stagnant mother and the devastation of her father's murder when she was 12 years old. Her older sister Beth provided a stellar role model and her star catapulted her all the way to rise through the ranks to top cop in Washington, DC. Mace followed in her sister's footsteps and became a police officer as well. Beth provided stability and it gave Mace guidance but even this was not enough when the walls came down upon her and she fell so far from grace she found herself looking through the bars in prison.

Mace had been framed for a heinous crime she did not commit and after two years in prison she is now free and seeking retribution and reinstatement to the force two things that will most likely not happen but something she will fight for. Like rats in hiding those that set Mace up are going to be difficult to find even for a woman who not only defined her existence via the uniform and losing the badge took away everything. Beth is still taking care to watch over Mace and finds her gainful employment on the outside but before she can unpack her bag and get started Mace finds herself following Beth to a crime scene and getting involved in finding the killer against Beth's protests. There are a too few suspects but one great witness in Roy Kingman and he proves to be an invaluable resource for both sisters.

Roy is a fast-tracking lawyer who five years ago had been a great college player that didn't have the tools to take his career to the professional ranks. Becoming a lawyer had somehow made sense but did not define his soul - the chase on the court did and he will never forget being that close to having it all. But when he finds a co-worker and friend murdered in the officer refrigerator the last place he thought he would be is with a crazy woman chasing down leads and interrogating suspects. But Mace has him strapped behind her on the Ducati she treasures and Roy is literally playing the game of his life with thugs and trying to figure out what he has gotten himself into and stay alive and keep the one man he knows did not commit the crime from being convicted.

With too many people working against her Mace is fighting an uphill battle and one politically motivated woman is determined to take both sisters down in one fell swoop. Mace is not going to let that happen nor is she giving up on any of her goals no matter what sets itself in the path.

David Baldacci is the master of this genre and in this book he shows why. The twists and turns are enough to make you car sick but you can't stop reading long enough to lose your lunch you might miss something. The crime is heinous, the details intricate and everyone of these characters is strong and stands up to every conceivable test of strength. You are kept guessing, assuming and concluding who the bad person is and when the facts are revealed you are still scratching your head wondering - did I just read that right? Perfection! This book is recommended highly to anyone with a desire to see who really runs this country.

Mary Gramlich ("The Reading Reviewer") [...]

This is what I've come to expect from David Baldacci -- Fast paced, thrilling, great characters, intricate plot. The reader really gets pulled into the story and Mace Perry is a heroine you can cheer for.

Just awful!!! I read a lot of this type of fiction and have seen Baldacci's name for years but this is the first of his that I've read. Very likely will be my last. Poorly drawn cartoon characters, clunky and unimaginative dialogue and a far fetched plot. Totally unbelievable. How can this guy be so successful? Can't believe they could all be this bad.

I almost gave up after 100 pages but decided to stick it out. This is definitely not vintage Balducci. Loved the Camel Club and all previous books. As another reviewer pointed out, the heroine is not very likable nor do I think the circumstances throughout the plot are plausible. I will probably skip any future books in this series.

I am a big fan of this author and was a little disappointed in this particular book. It was a good read, but not up to the quality of many of his other works. Not saying do not read, just saying if you want to read something by David, you could do much better.

In _True Blue_ David Baldacci has a trio of characters that scream for a sequel. Mace has to get back to being a cop, and then we can have even more mysteries following these interesting characters. There is far more depth to the characterizations in this novel than in some of his earlier novels.

This was a quick read, but there were some flaws. I do feel as a reader I was waiting for a certain payoff that was never delivered. Didn't much enjoy the Sam/Diane type sexual tension literary tool that was used-much more effective in TV sitcoms. But I did find the book entertaining.

Mace is the younger of a pair of female career police officers and has just been released from a two year prison sentence
on a trumped up charge. Her older sister, Beth is now the
Chief of the Washington DC Police. Together they tackle a
mob of tough criminals in a whirlwind of action.
Five stars....

I cannot agree more with all the reviewers who said this was an unbelievably bad, poorly written book. I have read and loved all Baldacci's other books so maybe this one was actually written by someone other than Baldacci. If he did write it, I hope he takes a long vacation before writing another one. I was sorry to hear that this book will be the first in a series involving these characters. If that's the case, I won't be reading Baldacci any more. I had to force myself to finish this one, kept hoping it would get better -- it didn't.

A good book with many twists and turns. The reason for the three stars was my dislike of the main character, Mace. There was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. I thought her speech pattern was totally unrealistic. First less than stellar review I've ever given a Baldacci book.

True Blue was a fast and fun read. Sometimes a little contrived but nonetheless a story line that keeps propelling you through fast paced and interesting twists and turns. Mr. Baldacci knows how to develop characters and make you feel like you know them. Action, humor, technical sophistication, and a viable contemporary story line all combine to make this an excellent read.

OK so, there's this guy at work who has been after me for years to read David Baldacci. He swears by him and I would call him a `groupie' if it wasn't for the fact that he's 70-years old! He told me that I needed to start with `The Camel Club', but I wasn't in the mood to start a series. So when I heard that Mr. Baldacci had a new book coming out that was NOT part of a series, I figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out this book gave ME a shot!

I immensely enjoyed this read! Like I said, this was my first book by David but if this is how he normally writes, I can see why my friend at work was so persistent. To grab AND keep my attention a book must have blistering fast action, loathsome, captivating, notorious characters, a driving non-cheesy storyline, and a hint of bravado. `True Blue' has that times ten.

Mace, a former cop, just got out of jail after spending two years for a crime she did not commit. She's hell bent on proving her innocence and will do pretty much anything to clear her name. These "anything's" include severely ticking off her Chief-of-Police sister, getting on the wrong side of a brutal street thug, and getting into a cat-fight with the battle-axe Mona. Speaking of Mona, the cast of evil-bad characters in this book was phenomenal. I got a real thrill reading about Psycho, Mary Bard scares me, and Mona... Mona, Mona, Mona. If I called her a snobby, arrogant, bitchy, hellcat it wouldn't come close to describing to you what she really is. That being said, her parts in this book were very entertaining.

I don't know if this will become a series, but I hope it does because I sincerely enjoyed this book. Nothing would make me happier than to be a voyeur into the lives of Mace, Beth, Roy, Psycho, and Mona once more. If this was a one shot deal, then what a romp it was!

Baldacci is not my favorite author but I find his books easy to read. He has a racy style that makes this book easy to get into and out of. This story is far fetched with the main characters performing exceptional tasks. But it keeps your attention though by the end I forgot the details. Good for a rainy day.

I hardly ever do reviews, but I can't believe the low rating this book has. I couldn't put this down; finished it in two days & I'm a pretty slow reader. I loved the characters; not too many people, guys in particular, that write about such strong females. People that say the story line is unbelievable really must not have any clue what really goes on in our world because this stuff is pretty damn realistic. Do yourself a favor & ignore the poor reviews & give this one a shot.

I really liked the characters in this book. It was fun as well as suspenseful. I wish he would develop the characters and the story line like he did for the Camel Club which I intend to go back and read again from the beginning book. I'd also like to see more King and Maxwell books - they were fun as well as being suspenseful and adventure filled.

Mason used to be cop. He teams up with a lawyer named Roy and together they try to uncover secrets that someone is trying to protect and will do whatever it takes to keep these secrets private.

This was a fun read that made me want to be a detective.

I spend a lot of time traveling in my car, and I enjoy audiobooks. This was one of the worst books I've ever purchased. It was a complete waste of my time and money. The characters were weak, the plot so unbelievable. I wanted to give up on the book half way through, but kept going in the hopes that it would be worth it for a great ending. Unfortunately, the ending was the TERRIBLE! Do not waste your time with this one.

This book is entertaining; I would not say it is typical. This is my take on the book: Baldacci may have a teen/preteen daughter, who wanted him to write about a feisty female heroine. That would certainly fit the tone of the book.

If you are a Baldacci lover, like I am, you will be sorely disappointed with this book. I keep looking to see if it was written by David Baldacci with someone else because it's not like any of his other books. The writing is corny, cheesy and I keep cringing at the prose...It's just bad...If it wasn't David Baldacci, I don't even think I would have finished it.

I am a big fan of David Baldacci. His latest effort, True Blue, is quite average in every way. The characters are plastic, almost comic-book like. The plot is predictable. Basically, this book was a huge disappointment.

True Blue could have seen a great read,but wasn't. The story started out too slow.Parts of the story was unrealistic. Baldacci's portrayal of the dark side of homeland security was a scary possibility. Dancing with the devil.

True Blue by David Baldacci is just awful.
The dialog is bad, the plot unbelievable and the characters unlikeable cartoons.
I could not finish reading it.
I always look forward to Baldacci books but this is the last I will ever buy.

This story is based in Washington, DC; need I say more, yes and I will. There are very strong female characters, one being Mace Perry, once a Cop now an ex-con and her Sister Beth who is Washington, DC's Chief Of Police. Along with lawyer, Roy Kingman, they try to solve a series of murders. Little did they know that they would get mixed up in national security.

I hope for a series because the characters are strong , have good charisma, and fight evil effectively and realisticly. This was a fast, smooth, and enjoyable read.

very good story line. Kept me interested where I could not put it down. Liked the short chapters where scenes changed and thus kept my interest. However, did not like the ending. I recommend this book and this author.

Prior books by Baldacci have been a "must read" - this was a dissapointment from the start but I read it anyway because I had waited so long to get it from local library. Ridiculous main characters - both excon, cop and lawyer. As the book prgresses it's clear that the potential for a thriller is there but author needs to find his way back.

Wow I am surprised by the bad reviews. I loved this book and I read it in less than a week. This book starts out suspenseful and does not let up until the end which I have to admit leaves us hanging a bit. This book is more in the vane of one of his old novels Saving Faith and it does not resemble his last 3 or 4 books very much so maybe the bad reviews are from people who have not read his early works. If you liked the early novels from Baldacci you should like this one as well.

I loved the characters; it's more believable when two people don't jump into bed at the least provocation. My only problem is that this is a stand alone book-I'd love to see it developed into a series.

Pretty lame writing by Balducci. Nothing believeable in the plot, characters or dialogue. The action is contrived and comic-book-like. Balducci doesn't even get some basic facts right; apparently he is confused by the difference between the clutch and transmission shifter on a motorcycle. I think Balducci must have been in a great hurry when he wrote this book.

I actually did this volume on CD. Good, compelling story line that kept me interested. Well written from that aspect, but the climax was anything but. I'm not sorry I listened to it, but I really wish it had delivered the ending is was building for. Instead, it just kinda fizzled.

This whole story is not typical of Baldacci's. I was excited to receive this book from my daughter for my birthday. I swear the story was written by a Baldacci wanabe. I will question anything new in the future from this author. I have read all of his books and if you liked this, I am not sure what you were reading!

This wasn't bad although after just reading Ken Follet's "Night Over Water", it came across more as an eighth graders's effort. The plot is SO slow to develop. I don't know whether to applaud the main character or slap her face. She seems to have testosterone flowing out of every pore of her body. And Mr. Baldacci, the dialogue: I hate it. The pithy quips and witty rejoinders, the jargon-filled, snappy repartee. No one talks like that. Not even policemen or women. It's doesn't add realism and it's annoying. Not a book I would recommend unless you are into motorcycle riding women who can kick any man's ass and have absolutely no other side to their personality.

Ridiculous plot, cardboard characters, unsatisfying ending, even dialogue that is written so it's hard to tell who is speaking. I have bought every Baldacci book since Total Control (which was well-written and at least featured characters with some nuances), but this is it. He is clearly just cranking out pages of interminable dreck.

I can't imagine how some body can give more than one star to this book, Baldacci was very good in his previous writing, and I was one of his fan, that was why I paid for this book in the first place and went to the end waiting for his signature, that never happened, this book is a disaster from the Page 1 to the end...

First - I am a Baldacci fan - having read all of his previous novels. I looked forwarding to reading "True Blue" when I became aware of the book

While True Blue is a reasonably enjoyable read, the story - from both a pace and content perspective - is disappointing. I may not want to read a book that is completely plausible, but I also don't want the story to include so many unrealistic components so as to question the intelligence of the reader.

If True Blue was the first Baldacci book I ever read, I doubt that I would have become a fan. We have sufficient alternatives to enjoy. Mr. Baldacci - Bring back the Camel Club!

OMG! What an amazing story! I purchased the unabridged audio version as a Christmas present for my boyfriend. We started listening to it on a short road trip and we were both hooked. I immediately uploaded all 12 cd's onto my ipod so that I could keep listening to it.

I truly hope that this is a first in a long series for the Perry sisters and Kingman, what an amazing and thrilling ride. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a story that will grab your attention and keep you wanting to know more.