The Simple Truth

At last a REAL Baldacci book.
If only some of his other novels worked as well as this
The Camel Club? What a joke! The equivalent of the Avengers in print!
PLEASE more books in the likeness of John Fiske and John Robie , a nice tight plot and a joy to read.
I will look forward to the new Robie book out soon. I hope it succeeds where others have disappointedly failed ie Bullseye

True Baldacci!! What more can I say! I was hooked from the very first page, and he can tell a story that makes one forget what time it is, what day it is....you just don't want to put the book down until the very last page.

As always Daviv Baldacchi writes extremely good novels with excellent mystery and twists and turns in the plot line everywhere. I have been reading his novels from the store on my Kindle in the order he wrote them so I get the continuation from novel to novel. It's a great way to do it!

I enjoyed the book, the characters were filled out well, the plot was very interesting. It had a little of everything in it, action, romance and intrigue. It was also interesting readying about the Supreme court justice system.
All in all, well done.

Slow to start but became much better as it went on when the Baldacci style started to shine. Generally a good read. I gave it 31/2 stars due to the slow start and in later good parts was sometimes hard to put down.

I am a true fan of David Baldacci works and have read every one of his novels. This is one of his best. It has a great plot with enough intrigue to keep you wanting to keep reading way into the night.

Well written, fast paced, showed his knowledge of the law, prison life, and politics in general.
Really enjoyed reading this. Kept your interest right up to the end.
I've read many of his books and they always have new and different insights into the law and politics.

The author starts withe same predictable plot same type of characters different names.I know i was dumb enough to read almost all his novels he`s a very shallow and very clever at rewriting the same novel over and over agian well disguised tho not much talent in that!

I really enjoyed this book. The story is interesting, suspenseful, has some surprises and gives us a glimpse behind the doors of the Supreme Court. I listened to the audio CD version - great production. The story was so interesting that I finished it in two days giving up on some chores that did not allow me to both do them and listen, it was just too interesting.

Ali Julia review

I enjoy Baldacci books and here is the list of all his books by series

John Puller
1. Zero Day (2011)
2. The Forgotten (2012)
3. The Escape (2014)
4. No Man's Land (2016)
John Puller Series 3 Book Set (omnibus) (2017)

Will Robie
1. The Innocent (2012)
2. The Hit (2013)
2.5. Bullseye (2014)
3. The Target (2014)
4. The Guilty (2015)
5. End Game (2017)

Vega Jane
1. The Finisher (2014)
2. The Keeper (2015)
3. The Width of the World (2017)
4. The Stars Below (2019)

Amos Decker
1. Memory Man (2015)
2. The Last Mile (2016)
3. The Fix (2017)
4. The Fallen (2018)

Atlee Pine
1. Long Road to Mercy (2018)

Other Novels
Absolute Power (1996)
Total Control (1996)
The Winner (1997)
The Simple Truth (1998)
Saving Faith (1999)
Wish You Well (2000)
Last Man Standing (2001)
The Christmas Train (2002)
True Blue (2009)
No Rest for the Dead (2011)
One Summer (2011)

While perusing the New York Times Review of Books this morning I noticed the column in which an author lists her/his favorite books. This June morning the author in question is former POTUS Bill Clinton! The author of a new thriller with co-author James Patterson lists David Baldacci as one of his favorite authors of modern day fast paced thrillers! I concur with Clinton! All of the six books I have read by Baldacci have been worthy of my attention. The Simple Truth is the best book by David Baldacci it has been my joy to read! A longtime prisoner in a dank Virginia military prison sends a letter to the Supreme Court about the case that sent him to prison for life. A young law clerk takes the letter into his possession before it is seen by any members of the high court. The clerk is murdered and his brother John Fisk is tasked with finding the killers and discovering why the letter of the African-American prisoner Rufus Harm is important! Many thrills follow as the case is pursued and dead bodies litter the novel. A fine work of imagination and fiction. Well recommended!

The Simple Truth is the story of Rufus Harms, who recovers his memory 25 years after being convicted of killing a young girl. That memory, however, proves his innocence, touching off a series of events involving smuggled documents and clandestine meetings, chases and gun battles, tense emotional drama, and yes, more murder.

Balducci does a good job, keeping the tension and suspense high. While those seeking to aid Harms in clearing his name are known, only gradually do we learn of the forces united against him…often at considerable cost to the heroes. Character development is good, as Rufus Harms comes to life. The characters of John Fiske, a former cop and current lawyer, and Sara Evans, US Supreme Court clerk, however, are a bit murkier, as their love story, in particular, seems strained in the context of the ongoing action. And the pacing is excellent, as the story flows from family arguments to murder to courtroom debates seamlessly and relentlessly.

To me, however, the most thought-provoking aspect of the novel was Balducci’s characterization of the US Supreme Court. Who knows how accurate it might be, but it rings of truth, where relatively young clerks yield considerable power, justices horse-trade for votes for their favored causes, and justice for the case takes a back seat to setting enduring precedent. The action kept me tense enough; this additional layer was gravy.

So, for fans of legal thrillers and murder mysteries, The Simple Truth will keep you on the edge of your seat to the final page…and maybe long after.

Eh, I read it twice. It was a relatively easy read, at about 500 pages. The plot is something interesting, but it goes places that don't really make much sense. There are two sorts of things going on, a supreme court case involving rape in the military, and the main story which loosely involves racism. The background narrative sounds like it will fall flat, and the foreground for some reason involves a huge conspiracy where people are just dropping like flies, high profile hits too. It kind of makes me wonder why people protected under such immunity and are so seemingly untouchable would resort to such lengths murdering Supreme Court clerks, lawyers, and so on.

And the motive seems so... Trite. The end had me feeling like "all of this over THAT and they can't even make THIS happen, what was all of this about?"

I'm being a bit vague, so I guess I'll give you my spoiler warning now.

Ok, it's the 60s. This dude Rufus Harms joined the Army after his brother was drafted. He's dyslexic, and it leads to problems that piss off some other dudes that think they can make him OD on PCP. For some reason, they REALLY don't like Rufus. I don't know if it's as simple as racism, but they just don't like him at all. They dose him, he goes nuts and kills a girl, and he's in prison. In fact, just go ahead and think of Michael Clark Duncan in the Green Mile, that's kind of what he reminds me of.

So it's 25 years later, and the second coming of Christ by the name of Michael Fiske is a supreme court clerk working on a rape case, something by the name of Chance v. Us Army or something. The whole thing is about how the Army has a particular immunity from the legal system and will see to it's own issues, the technicality being US soldiers, of whom are US citizens, can be denied a sort of due process because of said immunity. Michael Fiske is also too darned perfect for Sarah Evans and she don't want to marry him.

Ok, so Rufus's brother, Josh, received a letter about how they want Rufus to come in for evaluation for this program he was enrolled in (pcp) and sent Rufus the letter. That night comes back to Rufus like a PCP flashback and he contacts his old attorney Sam Ryder. Sam Ryder realizes there's something here, and creates a submission to the supreme court to hear Rufus's case.

So now we are back in DC and Michael Fiske is checking out submissions and he sees Rufus's case. He has an "OMG" moment and does something that's a no-no (taking a case without filing it) and goes to see Rufus in prison, without knowing that 2 people involved with this conspiracy are there. Needless to say, Michael Fiske was martyred and everyone has a sad.

So now they find out that Sam Ryder knows and you can kiss him goodbye (along with his wife) and then another clerk sees something he shouldn't have and HE'S killed. Oh, and Sarah Evans loves John Fiske at first sight and John learns that breasts are squishy and heat-filled.

Ok, so Rufus had an episode that gets him sent to a hospital and Josh helps him escape. They run into John and Sarah when they tried to find something in Sam Ryder's office and 2 people involved in the conspiracy are there. Those two were duped but eventually come to their senses and have a backwoods chase with Rufus and Josh that ends with them dying and Josh becoming mortally wounded.

Amidst all of this John is being implicated as the primary suspect in his brother's murder and Sarah is guilty by association. There's some drama with John's father and John admits he was acting like a jerk toward Michael because his mother with dementia calls John Mike and doesn't even remember Mike. He knows she doesn't remember Mike and acts like she doesn't know him, but screw him anyway, he's not Mike he's John.

But anyway, it comes to a head when you learn the supreme Court head of security and the chief of DC police also have this really shallow, trite, unsubstantiated hatred toward Rufus Harms and are involved in the conspiracy, and even a Senator. A showdown happens where one gets killed, and when the last runs to the Senator he gets killed. An FBI agent that was later like "TA-DA I WAS THE GUARD THAT NIGHT!" and can place the senator at the scene, I think the senator's name is Jordan Knight or something, and he even caught his confession on tape complete with the murder. Oh, and Rufus learns that Josh died.

Well either way, Jordan Knight is untouchable and gets to resign from congress and retire to his Arizona ranch and John goes to his brother's funeral and finally cries about it. Josh is buried in Arlington National Cemetary, and Rufus is a free man.

It just felt like the entire story was held together with dirty scotch tape that you eventually had to replace because the motive for the villains just doesn't seem to come from anywhere real, and if these people were beyond the scope of justice then what was it all about?

I guess it was a Michael Bay movie in book format. All flash and zero substance.

The beginning of the book was a bit confusing, especially the two brother's names. It was hard to figure out what was going on. But as I kept reading, it started to make some sense. Although the reader was kept in the dark as to what was in the brief that was supposed to be filed. There seemed to be a large cast of characters and I had a hard time keeping them straight. But I'd never read anything by David Baldacci before. But I did enjoy this book as I got more into it and will probably read more of his works.

Michael Fiske is the current senior law clerk for Associate Justice Murphy of the U.S. Supreme Court. One day, in the mailroom, poring over new appeal submissions for his boss, he picks up a package that weighs far too little for an appeal and has no return address.

Opening it, he finds only two sheets of paper, a badly scrawled letter from a military prisoner by the name of Rufus Harms and a second sheet that is neatly typed, but unsigned. Glancing at the pages, he notices several names that are prominent in his professional arena and they are now being accused of being accessories to murder.

Regardless of its incompleteness, Michael knows the pages will be entered into the Court’s database, complete with those names. Once entered, everyone in the building – and Washington, D.C. – will know about the accusations. So Michael takes the pages from the mailroom without logging them in and starts his own investigation into the charges.

Rufus Harms has claimed in his filing that, 25 years ago, four military personnel entered his stockade cell with batons and guns. All four had brutally beaten him on multiple occasions previously, and on this occasion, one had put a gun to his head and ordered him to kneel.

Rufus claims that he saw a glint of metal to his other side, felt a prick in his arm and remembered nothing else until he regained consciousness with his hands around the throat of a nine-year-old girl. Never able to remember how he got out of the stockade, let alone remember why he attacked the child, Rufus is convicted of murder and sent to a series of maximum-security military prisons over the years.

An unexpected event in Rufus’ current confines triggers his memory of the needle prick and the entire event comes flooding back from where the chemical has stashed it in his subconscious. Now Rufus wants his case to be reconsidered.

Michael is a brilliant analyst, but he has spent his entire legal career in the rarefied, intellectual air of the Supreme Court, He has absolutely no practical experience with prisoners or prisons. So, when he visits Rufus in the military prison, he brings the appeal with him, not knowing that his briefcase will be searched or the visit monitored. After the meeting, which does not go well at all, Michael is allowed to leave the prison but barely makes it one mile past the gates before he takes a bullet point blank to his right temple.

Enter John Fiske, Michael’s older brother. John does have practical experience with both prisoners and prisons. He was a cop until he took two bullets to the gut, sustaining internal injuries so severe that his expected lifespan has been reduced drastically. John is now a lawyer, a criminal defense attorney rather than a prosecutor, and is struggling to survive.

Since his brother’s birth, John has had to live in the shadow of his brother’s brilliance and his parents’ constant bragging about Michael. Steady, reliable and dependable, John has always been the rock for his parents, physically and financially, while Michael has prowled Harvard and the Supreme Court.

However, John has always loved Michael. It was his parents and the neighbors and the teachers who always made him feel second-rate, not Michael. But when their mother developed Alzheimer’s and Michael left John to bear the burden without him, John pushed Michael out of his life. They have neither seen each other nor spoken to each other since.

Now, for the first time in two years, John and Michael are back together in the same room. Unfortunately, that room is the morgue. John has just identified his brother’s body and their estrangement is now permanent. John may not have liked his brother lately, but he never stopped loving him. And he is determined to use his cop skills and his lawyer skills to assist the police in finding Michael’s killer.

Unfortunately, as far as John is concerned, the FBI agent assigned to the case has another agenda entirely. From Agent Warren McKenna’s viewpoint, John has no alibi for the time of his brother’s death; he was estranged from his brother for several years; and he is the sole beneficiary of his brother’s sizeable life insurance policy. To add to it all, the bullet that killed Michael was a 9mm, and John’s 9mm has disappeared. For McKenna, John is now the prime suspect in the murder and McKenna is after his head.

Shortly after Michael Fiske’s death, we are introduced, sans name, to the mastermind of his murder and the entire 25-year cover-up. This mastermind is clearly high up and well protected, based on the fact that he is the only member of the cabal not listed in Harm’s document. And, if you have read several Baldacci novels previously, you know that the major cast has been set at this point and that this person has probably been introduced to you in some other form already.

With that in mind, the reader can run back through the cast of characters so far in play and identify the names of only two people who are high enough in stature and politics to be that mastermind. But lest we get complacent and lazily read to see if our conjectures are accurate, Baldacci twists and turns the events until we are rapidly turning the pages, losing sleep and reassessing our ideas as to just how many bad guys there really are.

Throughout, Baldacci uses plenty of space and words to discuss the priorities, practices and politics of the Supreme Court system. Whether these words are an expression of Baldacci’s own personal beliefs woven into a fictional novel or whether these words are written specifically to help weave the puzzle pieces together, I do not know. But, in either case, they are definitely bold and thought provoking.

For over 500 pages of small type and closely spaced sentences in the paperback version, we are taken on a stomach-clenching roller coaster ride. That the killers will be eventually identified is a sure thing in a Baldacci novel. Whether they will be punished is an entirely different concept altogether. And it is never a sure thing in a Baldacci novel that all the good guys will survive to the last page. But what Baldacci does make certain, using the characters of both John and Rufus, is that this is a story about brotherly love and that brotherly love will survive to the last page.

This was my first David Baldacci novel and it did not disappoint. It was not predictable and it was well written with well defined characters that you could care about. It is not a great classic but I could see it as a made for TV movie. It delivered just what I wanted, interesting twists and a concept I have found myself chewing on since I read this.

I will continue to follow this author.

Baliacci delivers again. This is a novel about the cover up of an experiment gone wrong causing the death of a little girl. The person who killed the girl was the victim of the experiment and is in prison. The attorney in the story gets involved with this case and we go down a long road of corruption and lies that placed Rufus in the situation he is in. A situation he didn't recall until recently. The people involved want him dead, but Rufus manages to get help from his brother and the brother of the attorney who began to look into the situation - who, by the way, was murdered.

I came across this book by chance recently while traveling in Europe. The writing, characterizations, dialogue, plot and story line are all pretty shallow. On the positive side, it does not require a great deal of thinking or a large vocabulary to read, just time and a certain commitment. The book reads like a very derivative, very long, made-for-TV cop/lawyer movie from the '80s.

The most amazing things to me about Balducci's book are: 1) there are apparently a lot of readers who like this sort of thing; 2) but it's not my cup of tea [full disclosure: I'm an English major]; 3) it is over 500 pages long(!) and could easily have been edited to a manageable 300 – or less – without losing what for a lack of a better word I'll call its "essence"; and 4) there is an entire page of acknowledgements at the end, thanking those who contributed legal and military expertise to the writing of what is, in the end, a very insignificant book. That's the sort of thing you would expect in a book with more intellectual or artistic heft.

When I picked up this novel (used), I also picked up a couple others which I would heartily recommend, including one in a very similar genre (struggling young lawyer and a mysterious murder), Black Water Rising by Attica Locke, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010.

And for anyone who has read this far, let me recommend an amazing novel, Things We Didn't See Coming, by Steven Armstrong. This one falls more into the science fiction genre, and very much follows the writer's credo "Show, don't tell," something Balducci definitely does not do. Put your thinking cap on.

Nothing David Baldacci writes is bad. It's just a question of how good. This is a great yarn about a person who has suffered an intolerable injustice and the people who discover this and attempt to right the wrong thereby putting their lives in jeopardy either knowingly or unknowingly. The truly scary thing for me is that this story is a long way from fiction. It has happened in the past and will continue to happen as we continue to lose our personal identities to the government and allow both the government and armed forces to run roughshod over personal liberty. Please, do not, from this review interpret that I am a right wing ideologue. I have much good to say about government responsibility and how it is used properly in many instances to help many citizens who cannot help themselves. Baldacci is always aware of what is happening around him and tells it like it is. Enjoy this book. I did.

In Simple Truth, Baldacci gives us another of his action-oriented mysteries in which innocent people are unknowingly caught up in events over which they have no control. When Michael Fisk, a Supreme Court clerk opens and reads a new filing, he finds himself in the midst of events which actually started 25 years earlier when a young girl was brutally murdered by Rufus Harms, now a prisoner at Fort Jackson in Virginia. Although Harms confessed, and in the beginning of the story we are told how repentant he is, the crime is not as simple as it seems at first.
The story begins when Harms receives a letter from the Army, smuggled to him by his brother Josh. Rufus contacts the lawyer who defended him 25 years ago and through him files an appeal with the Supreme Court, based on the facts in the letter, which is the filing Micheal Fisk sees. He takes the papers to Ft. Jackson prison to ask Rufus about it. Soon after he leaves the prison, Michael is found dead.
When Michael's brother John learns of his brother's death, he goes to Washington to identify the body and try to tie up his brother's affairs. He immediately gets the sense that the crime was not a random robbery at all, a feeling shared by Detective Chandler who is investigating the crime. Within a short time, John meets, among others, an FBI agent named McKenna, several of the justices on the Supreme Court, the chief of police for the court -- and Sara, another court clerk and friend of Michael's. Before any progress can be made in the investigation, another clerk is found murdered.
More complications occur and questions are raised. Did John kills his brother for the half a million dollar insurance policy? What does Justice Knight have to do with it all? Is McKenna out to railroad John Fisk? And what is the secret information in the letter sent to Rufus Harms? The questions are all answered in the exciting end and Baldacci has wrapped it all up once again.

Clumsy, unbelievable dialogue. Poor character development. Convoluted ending. Characters do things that make no sense: e.g. veteran FBI agent with his gun pointed at a suspect who has not threatened him nor has committed any crime, hits the suspect and knocks him down because he sees a shotgun in the back of the man's car - a shotgun the man couldn't possibly reach before the agent would shoot him. Suspect is a lawyer and doesn't sue the agent for assault and doesn't even report him to his superiors. Are you kidding me?

"Truth" was our first novel by Baldacci, and a pleasant surprise indeed. From first learning that a long-imprisoned military convict is probably innocent of a young girl's murder, to the series of deaths the investigation into these old events precipitates, we can hardly wait to see what will happen next, not to mention "whodunit"! Supreme Court law clerk Michael Fiske gets in over his head when he begins to pursue the truth in the prisoner's claims (fearing the celebrities that might get involved) before officially filing the appeal with the Court. He soon pays for that mistake with his life; and we know then a real conspiracy is on. Mike's brother John, an ex-cop and young lawyer himself, together with Mike's ex-girlfriend Sara, another law clerk, who takes an immediate romantic interest in John, pursue the bad guys with a vengeance. Whether much of that pursuit is realistic or not, being mostly outside the scope of the official police investigation of the murder(s) is about our only quibble with the tale.
The story not only weaves an entertaining, complex plot but also provides illuminating glimpses into the machinations and incredible internal politics of the Supreme Court. That weighty issues might appear or disappear due to personal influence, or even just the judgment of twenty-year-old "clerks" (really, young lawyers), gave us more than a few moments pause. Baldacci reveals that he also knows how to drop just the right number of clues, along with a few red herrings, to keep us beguiled until nearly the final page. This book not only goes up on the shelf right next to "Pelican Brief", but leaves us anxious to try some more novels by this fine author!

David Baldacci mixes several lines of interest and plot very convincingly. Very convincing is the military plot of some people who performed experiments on privates without their knowing and agreeing with various drugs like LSD or PCP. The result is an interesting case, approached both through its sexual dimension (raped women in the armed forces) and the experimental dimension at the level of the Supreme Court whose functioning and even function are explored in details, particularly how a decision is built and agreed upon. Here the interest is to know if the armed forces are above the law and if personnel can suit them for compensations and damages when something wrong has taken place. Very convincing too is the career of a defense attorney who started as a cop and resigned after a shoot-out with young drug dealers. He wants the truth in the case that led to the death of his brother, a Supreme Court clerk. His procedure and the plot that builds the novel is very precise and credible. Convincing too is the love affair that develops between this defense attorney and another clerk of the Supreme Court. Both want the truth and are ready to fight and even endanger their position to get it. At this level the book is a perfect example of the rights of a citizen and the dangers and perils for being one to the end, to the dire and bitter finish. To be a citizen is to refuse any compromission with evil and evil elements in society, even if your livelyhood or welfare may be endangered by this action. It is this that is the real dimension of democracy and freedom, and those two values of ours are not untouchable in our societies. They always are the result of a fight within the society for them to be respected by everyone, including the institutions who should uphold them from the very start and by principle. An excellent book because it goes beyond a simple action plot.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

I can always rely on a satisfying read whenever I pick up a book by this author. Cunning characters, unpredictable story twists and suspense to the last page. Never disappoints! Right from the front page of your big city newspapers.

On my recent trip to a user group meeting, I threw this book into my suitcase... The Simple Truth by David Baldacci. It ended up being better than I expected...

John Fiske is pretty much estranged from his brother Michael, who is a clerk for the Supreme Court. But when Michael is murdered, John decides to take a break from his defense attorney life and revisit his cop days to help out in the investigation. The key piece of evidence is a missing appeal that Michael took from the mail room but never logged into the system. It was filed by one Rufus Harms, a black soldier who has been in prison for a quarter century for murdering a little girl. The appeal must have something that others wish to have buried, because everyone who touches the appeal or someone close to it becomes a target... even John Fiske.

The book is structured such that you know the appeal must be personally damaging to many high-powered individuals, but you really don't know the what or why until close to the end. For a 500+ page novel, I was surprised he could keep the plotline moving enough to prevent me from wanting to put the book down. It probably could have been condensed a bit, and the love interest aspect seemed a little awkward. But still, an enjoyable summer/airplane read when there's some down time...

I enjoyed reading this book, and would suggest it to others looking for a good romantic novel . . .If you want to read a book that goes straight to your heart, read Stolen Moments by Barbara Jeanne Fisher. . .It is a beautiful story of unrequited love. . .for certain the love story of the nineties. I intended to give the book a quick read, but I got so caught up in the story that I couldn't put the book down. From the very beginning, I was fully caught up in the heart-wrenching account of Julie Hunter's battle with lupus and her growing love for Don Lipton. This love, in the face of Julie's impending death, makes for a story that covers the range of human emotions. The touches of humor are great, too, they add some nice contrast and lighten things a bit when emotions are running high. I've never read a book more deserving of being published. It has rare depth. Julie's story will remind your readers that life and love are precious and not to be taken for granted. It has had an impact on me, and for that I'm grateful. Stolen Moments is written with so much sensitivity that it made me want to cry. It is a spellbinder. What terrific writing. Barbara does have an exceptional gift! This book was edited by Lupus specialist Dr. Matt Morrow too, and has the latest information on that disease. ..A perfect gift for someone who started college late in life, fell in love too late in life, is living with any illness, or trying to understand a loved one who is. . .A gift to be cherished forever

I was given this book by my friend as one of three that he thought were better than The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I don't know what bone my friend had to pick with that book - I didn't think it was perfect either, but I enjoyed it immensely anyway - but it must be pretty serious if he thinks this book is better than Stieg Larsson's book.

David Carlucci is a very talented writer, the author of the book Absolute Power, which I haven't read, but admire the movie that Clint Eastwood made of it. Carlucci is adapt at describing people and events and knows how to turn a phrase, how to mould characters, and how to set up a plot. I wasn't so sure at the beginning of "The Simple Truth", when I came across some pretty clunky dialogue; I was less sure when his plot called for one of the main characters from the first half of the book, who was described as intelligent, making one of the dumbest moves in the book: a Supreme House clerk breaks rules and takes evidence on that nearly nobody knows about, drives out into a dangerous spot in the middle of nowhere just to get an answer to something that had been bothering him... yeah, right. Dumb, dumb, dumb; and of course he gets himself killed; and of course that launches the whole book. As you read the book you get a sense of certain Hollywood types who had been pegged to play the lead roles: Bill Pullman as John Fiske, Pete Gallagher as Michael Fiske, Rebecca De Mornay as Sara Evans, Gene Hackman as John Marshall, etc. There's a fun/preposterous series of events, and plenty of carnage. And about five bad guys.

Unfortunately, when the crime is solved it hardly seems like a crime at all. And it brings down the Supreme Court. And the sky cracks in two. How dramatic. Barf.

I have read a lot of Mr.Baldacci's book and this one although it was written 20 some years back has to be the number one on my list of well written books. It describe how the Supreme Court might work as they are nominated by the majority of the party in power and go along with that so call party.

I was in the mood for a book that would hold my attention and keep me turning page after page, and this one filled the bill. It is a story of deception and intrigue among two of the most highly respected and revered institutions of our country, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Army. It is the story of Rufus Harms, a gentle giant of a man, who has spent 25 years of his life in an army stockade for a crime that he DID commit...but should not have been held responsible for. It is the story of a young Supreme Court clerk who learns a very small piece of Harms' story and loses his life seeking more of it. And, it is the story of this young man's brother, a cynical and hardened cop-turned-lawyer who seeks, and ultimately finds, the not-so-simple truth. Along the way are enough twists, turns, and suspense to make you stay up far too late reading it, only to make you late for work the next morning because you just HAD to pick it up for "one more chapter." The character development was superb, and the hints dropped here and there are just enough to be tantalizing. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an engrossing read that will leave you hunting for another Baldacci novel.

An excellent, complex, interwoven story with themes and characters causing strong emotional reactions.
John Fiske, an ex-cop turned defense attorney begins to investigate his younger brother Michael's murder and unravels an injustice that occured 25 years earlier in an Army prison. Michael, a clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court sought answers to an appeal by Rufus Harms, a huge Afro- American soldier imprisoned for killing a 10 y.o. white girl. Michael paid the price and John seeks the simple truth.
The relationships, past and present, and the mystery of what really happened and by whom 25 years ago keeps the pages turning. I couldn't put it down. It had several surprises and was so tightly constructed that it kept me thinking. I truly liked some of the characters, Josh and Rufus Harms especially; and Judge Knight's discourse about the unfairness of the Army's exemption from being sued by its employees was excellent. I loved this story and highly recommend it.

Rufus Harms has been in a military prison for 25 years of a life sentence for killing a young girl. But he's been having flashbacks, and remembers now what really happened. So he sends an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Michael Fiske, a Supreme Court clerk, finds the appeal, which doesn't follow the proper procedures and should be turned down, but something about it interests him, so he takes it with him to check it out. One of the calls he makes is to his semi-estranged brother John, who's an ex-cop turned defense lawyer.

Before John returns the call, though, Michael is killed, and Sarah Evans, the Supreme Court clerk Michael had proposed to shortly before his death, contacts him, and they begin an investigation that brings them closer together and deeper in danger.

I really enjoyed the conspiracy plot, but the backstory and the Supreme Court tutorial went on too long and interrupted the story too much. It was interesting, but it really wasn't part of the story.

The romance plot, too, bugged me in spots. I had a very hard time understanding why Michael would propose to Sarah, when they'd only dated casually and hadn't even slept together. I also had trouble believing that Sarah fell in love with John at first glance.

But overall, the complex conspiracy and John's complex character saved the story for me.

The story is about a black military con who is seeking justice after serving 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. After receiving a letter he discovers that he is innocent and files and appeal with the US Supreme Court because he is well aware that he was a victim of a conspiracy of a group that will do the impossible to cover it up, this appeal is found by a clerk who gets so astounded that begins an investigation on his own bending the standard procedures of the US Supreme Court and so putting his brilliant life and career at risk
Regardless of the mystery (who is behind the cover up and why), the best feature of the plot, is the trickery subtly outlined behind the scenes, how Mr Baldacci deceives the reader in terms of characters' behavior and attitudes throughout the whole book from beginning to end and how he also flawlessly solve the puzzle without to rely on the last of the minute non sense sudden turn of the events, a subterfuge very usually employed by many well known mystery writers. For this reason this book stands out from the pack.

David Baldacci is a good author, but having said that he basically writes the same book over and over again. As earlier as this, his fourth book, we start to see a pattern in all of his works. We have the evil big organization with a secret to cover up and operatives that are seemingly everywhere. We have the average joe who gets caught in the mix and is basically running around here and there looking for clue while being chased by unknown enemies.

Having said that, this still holds interest rather well. Some twists to basic plot include the military and supreme court perspective, and the characters of Rufus and Josh Harms, one who is a super religious optimistic gentle giant man convicted in military prison for a crime he was not responsible for, and the other who is a Vietnam vet B.A. who basically hates everyone. Other than these two most of the characters are very typical, one dimensional, and that creates corny situations like the sub-par love side story that Baldacci is desperately clinging onto.

There are twists and turns throughout, but some of them, seem like they were just thrown in there because, like m night shyamalan, baldacci has become known for unexpected twists. That's not a fair comparison because unlike m night shyamalan, baldacci didn't hit rock bottom with this one, it is still interesting in fact. All I'm saying is that there have been better thriller novels written by both this and other authors.

David Baldacci has a knack for writing fiction that sucks you in and holds you no matter what the story. Part of the talent is to introduce interesting characters. This book is no exception. Sara Evans is a clerk working for a Supreme Court justice. She is quite close to another clerk (Michael Fiske) who works for a different judge. Michael asks Sara to marry him but Sara really loves Michael's brother John, who Sara has only seen once and never officially met.

Michael comes across an appeal that intrigues him (to say exactly why would be a spoiler and it is only revealed very late in the book as to exactly what intrigued him) so much that he pulls it out before it is filed and goes to visit the requestor. That happens to be a Rufus Harms who is serving a life sentence in an Army prison for murdering a girl.

When Michael goes to see Harms, practically all Hell breaks loose and Harms realizes he is in danger himself and some mysterious evil guys from the prison murder Michael. Apparently there was some secrets in Harms appeal that some powerful unknown men do not want known.

Michael's murder is investigated by his brother John (an ex-cop who is now a defense lawyer for the lowest of the low criminals) and he enlists the aid of Sara who was close to Michael and knows some things about Michael. Sara is instantly in love with John and the more they start investigating the more they put their lives at risk from the unknown powerful men. Additionally, the police start to suspect John of the murder of his brother especially when he is named as the sole beneficiary of Michael's life insurance.

Meanwhile Rufus Harms has escaped prison from some of those men that tried to kill him.

So we have tension throughout to see if Rufus will survive as well as John and Sara before the evil guys get them.

There is a lot of good information about what goes on behind the scenes at the Supreme Court. A good read

This is my third Baldacci book and none have been as good as I'd hope. The Simple Truth is like no other book I've read. The plot kept my interest all the way to the end, and all of the characters were well defined with distict personalities. Yet this novel had many deficiencies. Baldacci failed to combine the plot and characters into an exciting story.
Rufus Harms files an appeal with the Supreme Court stating his innocence. Brother of slain court clerk John Fiske and clerk Sara Evans race to find out what really happened to Harms while being pursued by several people, some friend, some foe.
The action scenes were horribly done, I often skipped over them. During the final shootout, characters appeared out of nowhere just to advance the plot. The flow of the story was non existant. Baldacci did a horrible job of putting a time frame into the story. I just finished reading and I have no idea of the action in the book lasted two days or two weeks. It seems like the events just ran together with no time of day ever given as reference.
All of Baldacci's books sound good based on the plot, but The Simple Truth fails to deliver an exciting story.

"The Simple Truth" is the second book I read of David Baldacci's. Previously I'd read "The Winner" and recently I've finished "Saving Faith". All three books have much in common: the beautiful heroines, the evil masterminds who try their very best to kill those innocent angels and, of course, the big, muscular overachievers unexpectedly taking the role of the women's saviors. Whether they succeed, that's left to the author's imagination, Baldacci's novels are suspense thrillers after all.
Having said this, I preserve to myself the right to object.Even considered Baldacci's simple formula, it's still pretty clear that Baldacci writes great books.The women of his books are not only good-looking, they're all beautiful persons in their own right. The other characters are not less compelling, which makes for a tense read.
From all of Baldacci's books, this one particularly stands out. With all its heart, "The Simple Truth" fights against prejudice in the reader's mind and offers a fresh sense of humanity. You can easily identify with all characters, each of them resembles a part of yourself. "The Simple Truth" is by far not a timeless book, but it's a contemporary's view on our time worth reading and arguing.
Enjoy this delicious food for your mind!

David Baldacci attended law school at the University of Virginia, and went on to work as a trial lawyer, and later as a corporate lawyer, in Washington, D.C. He is now a full-time writer whose best selling novels include Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner and Saving Faith. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

First published in 1998 this is yet another winner for the author, whose books are consistently good and have well thought out plots and believable and well-rounded characters. Baldacci has established himself as one of the best suspense thriller writers around at the moment.

Rufus Harms is an old hand at prison, he should be, he has been rotting there for the last 25 years for the brutal killing of a young girl. The he receives a letter smuggled into the jail by his brother. It reveals that a possible massive miscarriage of justice has occurred, something that threatens to blow the justice of the Supreme Court wide open . . .

Initially, I thought "how in the world am I going to keep up with all of these characters! " However, as the story progressed I found that Baldacci did an excellent job of 'helping' the reader keep track and become very familiar with all characters. I enjoy mysteries, particularly those set in the legal genre, therefore, this book was a natural choice for me. It is real page turner. I found myself reading it at every opportunity. It is not perdictable. Just when I thought I knew the bad guys, Baldacci threw in some unexpected, yet nice, surprises. This book made me think more indepth about our judical system and who truly cares out justice and who receives justice in our country. I highly recommend this book.

I have read several of his books and have not been disappointed in any of them yet and this is no exception. A few years ago I may have thought it was a little far fetched, but I have been reading too many political books lately (trying to figure out what is going on in this country) and find that it is very believable. There are a lot of twists and turns and thrills and suspense, and romance (some have said they could leave it out, but I kinda liked it) to keep you interested.
Rufus Harms has been in military prison for 25 years for killing a little girl. He knows he did it but he didn't know why until he receives a letter and then it comes back to him. He gets an appeal sent to the supreme court, but important people find out and anyone who has any knowledge about the case is murdered. Rufus knows he is in trouble and his days are numbered if stays in prison. Buy the book and find out what happens. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I'm glad that I endured the boring parts - i.e. the first 200 pages - of this slow starter, because it does start to get interesting on about page 205. Then I started getting into it. The plot is actually very well crafted with an exciting ending, but in the first 200 pages of a 500-and-something page book there needs to be more than just introducing the characters and their particular neuroses. The protaganist, legal eagle and boy-wonder Michael Fiske, is such a goody-two-shoes that I was practically HAPPY when he's bumped off by the bad guys early on (not a spoiler - it's on the book's back cover.)
Anyway, I found Baldacci's dialogue throughout the book between the characters fairly wooden and contrived - I had just finished reading John Sandford's "Easy Prey" and going from that book to this one was kind of like eating a steak at Morton's of Chicago and then eating a steak at the Red Robin - filling, nutritious, and yet: a disappointment. If I could have given this 2 and a half stars I would have.

I love to read David Baldacci. There are always so many different twists in his novels you can never guess how they will end. I read all The Camel Club, now The Simple Truth, can’t wait for the next one. How do I choose?

Where to begin? How about a checklist:
1) Unbelievable plot with holes a-plenty........check
2) Uninteresting, uninspired characters..........check
3) Amateurish dialogue..........check
4) Unintentionally comedic action scenes..........check
5) Overstuffed and unedited.......check

Easily the worst book I've read in 5 years

I found myself shaking my head and laughing out loud more than once, but I was laughing at it, not with it!

Imagine, if you will, speeding down a dried river bed in a pick-up truck with killers in close pursuit! To evade the bad guys one of our protagonists, the driver, says "take the wheel" and proceeds to lean out the driver window and shoot down, with a handgun, a large tree limb in front of them which barely misses their truck but manages to block the bad guys!

That's the good stuff! I can't imagine the kind of crap that the people that gave this 5 stars are used to reading!

l enjoy a book in which I truly like the main character. I did in this one. Some of the turns of the plot seemed a bit contrived but, as usual, Mr. Baldacci pulled it off and kept one reading. I had previously only thought of Supreme Court justices as the black-clad figures seriously going about their work. In this story they became real people with some pettiness and personal agendas. The ending surprised me.

Let me make a general remark first. Contemporary American writers lack the subtlety of writing a good piece of prose with a strong control over the storyline. They can be labelled as good story-tellers but not good novelists. (No, I'm not British and yes, Stephen King is an exception).
Now, this was my first Baldacci and he holds true to my above remark. Very poor character configuration, no scene-settings at all, and above all, a very predictable ending. As for the storyline, well, it was all too bald. My first impression about Baldacci? Another storyteller in wake of so many getting advantage of a huge readership which is not introduced to intricacies of a novel yet.

The Simple Truth is about an ex-con serving a life sentence in a military prison for a murder that he did not commit. As is typical, but completely acceptable, in this type of book there is the expected coverup and mix of unexpected bad guys. I won't go into more details about the book, as it would simply be reiterating what so many other reviewers have already done.
I found this book to be a very entertaining read, with pretty good characters depth, and enough plot twists to keep things interesting and not too shallow. In fact, I read it over the course of one day (I was sick and had nothing else to do). The only problem that I had with this book was the manner in which the author chose to construct the "love story". It was so far outside the realm of likely that I just found it laughable. Indeed, I wish that many authors who write these types of books would simply get over the need to construct elaborate and unlikely love stories. Even with the two main characters being male and female, it would have been perfectly okay, even somewhat refreshing, if there was no romantic relationship between them at all.
Otherwise this was a highly entertaining read that I would recommend to anyone looking to kill a day or two.

After reading all of his books, I have become one of his biggest fans. I simply cannot put his books down, but the thing I really liked about 'The Simple Truth' is that there isn't as much minute detail as the others. They're all great, and I think he's the most promising author to come along in a while (I read every night and read all kinds of books by lots of different authors). I can only HOPE he can write a little faster than he has to this point. His books are SO believable, you can see everything going on, and can feel what the characters are feeling. Yep, I think this book's great as well as the author. Keep it up David--you're on a roll!!!!!

While I found the setting in the Supreme Court fascinating along with the technical explanations of how appeals are reviewed, the story is hinged upon implausible memory recovery and characters that do anything but what is appropriate at every turn. I was disappointed with the way the characters acted unrealistically from the beginning of the book, but the ending takes the cake with the most embarrassing to read uncovering of facts along with surprise (gee whiz!) bad guys and good guys since Scooby and Shaggy were on the case. The writing style is fast-paced (my first experience with this author), but the plotting went well beyond ruining my suspension of disbelief and in the end I really didn't care what happened to the characters because I couldn't identify with any of them. I can't recommend this book and doubt I will try the author again.

Quite a good story with interesting characters and a well-paced plot.

I did have a few nits with it, though. (Mainly because I've made the same mistakes in my own writing. ^_^) The main one was the constant subject-verb, subject-verb, subject-verb sentences. Quite a few times I noticed over half the sentences in any one paragraph beginning with "he," "she," and the like. And, of course, once I saw that, I couldn't un-see it, so it bothered me for the remainder of the book. In general, the writing is good, but a little more variety in sentence structure would have been wonderful.

And I felt bad for John for losing his brother before being able to become friends with him again. There's quite a gulf between me and my own brother that I doubt will ever be bridged, but seeing it from an outsider's perspective is sad.

I would definitely read this author again.

This was the first Baldacci book I have ever read and I can't wait to read his others. From the get go I was just takin in by Rufus Harms and his unfortunate predicament. You are rooting for him the entire story because you see all the misfortune happening all around. Baldacci will grab you from the beginning and leave you guessing and wondering who is behind this man's eternal incarceration. I really love how Baldacci also takes us, the reader, into the Supreme Court and show us how the justices use current issues to either change or make precidence. This book is a gripper and one could only hope for more. Bravo Mr. Balddacci!

All I can say is pass me some aspirin. This is a dozy of a bad novel. As it says on the dust jacket, a Supreme Court law clerk grabs a petition and ends up becoming deceased. Its up to the brother to uncover the truth by finding the real killer who had let a poor black man rot away for a crime he did not commit. At the same time the brother contends with mysterious bad guys out to get him and stop the unearthing of the evidence. Not only does he deal with his family, but his brothers friend, a sexy young law clerk herself and the duplicity on the bench she works for.

And that's only the start of the plot.

Its really pretty bad, it descends into mired pretensions and goofy resolutions. The characters are so shallow that you are left with little notion of who they are except for a faint nasty after taste over their conceded ways. Baldacci is along with James Patterson and Dean Koontz one of America's worst authors. If you want an author who writes on a similar vein to this, try one of Harlan Coben's last four or so stand alone thrillers with out the character Myron Bolitar in it. Or for a more sophisticated read, look for Denis Lehane, he wrote the amazing Mystic River, but his PI series located in Boston is pretty good as well.

After reading my first Baldacci book and being pleased with the pacing, the characters, and the unexpected plot twists, I anxiously awaited the arrival of "The Simple Truth" to add to my summer fun reading. Whatever adeptness I saw in the Baldacci's earlier attempt was absent from this bit of story-telling. First, he kills off a fresh faced, promising character early in the story. I realize the attempt was to shock the reader and have the flawed older brother come in for a proper since of vengeance and self-vindication. As far as I was concerned, it didn't work. Also, I had guessed the big secret that the title refers to as the "simple truth" well before the book was half finished, but Baldacci leads up to the revelation likes its going to make you drop the book in disbelief. Come on -- John Rebus, Harry Bosch, Elvis Cole, Miss Marple, or the Hardy Boys would have figured this one out so soon they wouldn't have even written a book about it!
Even if you lower your standards for summer fare, I wouldn't think this book would be worth the effort.

This may prove to be one of Baldacci's best books. The story, with its sub-plots, seemed to grow as I read the book and he did an excellent job of bringing the story together as he closed the tale. I think David Baldacci also gave us some insight into his personal beliefs and philosophy. Highly recommend this book.

The Simple Truth by David Baldacci, is one of my new favortie books. Although I have just gotten into mysteries and such, I've already read 3 other of this books. His books always hold such a plot, or some complicated twist that can throw u off balance. In this book a man Rufus Harms is in jail, now supposively he's an innocent man. It starts out as one of these kind of typical" innocent man framed" stories, but as I got into the book, it shows a totally new view. I can't really explain this book well, because I'm afraid of giving away something. But honestly if you want a good read, and need a challenge this is a book. I spent half the time guessing what's going on.

I was a huge Baldacci fan until I read The Simple Truth. It was "preachy" and obviously attempting to be politically correct; his characters were caricatures of conservatives, liberals, southerners and blacks. Baldacci's women always seem to me to be the weakest part of his novels, and this one was especially bad in that department. For some reason I find his women very hard to like. His old or out-of-the-ordinary characters seem to be his best. I hope Mr. Baldacci finds his feet again because his other novels were very enjoyable to me.

I loved Absolute Power and I enjoyed Total Control, but this was a disapointment. When I read the inside flap, I expected a good story, espicaly with the US Supreme Court involved. However, I felt the author was never able to set the scene or give the characters any depth. This isn't the worst book I have read, but it is close because it is all so mindless. The storyline was OK if the author had just been able to give some depth to the characters it could have been better. Overall, the wrost book by the author I have read so far.

Like all books by David Baldacci, I finished this one in just a couple of days time (and I'm a slow reader!). Also, like all his previous books, it provides for great reading, even though the subject matter is at times a bit farfetched (but we shouldn't really complain about that; otherwise we wouldn't have these kind of thrillers). Although I still think that his first book is his best, reading this one proved to me again that Baldacci is a very capable and reliable author and I definitely prefer his books to the latest Grisham!

As a prolific reader, I was rewarded with an advance copy of Baldacci's newest thriller, The Simple Truth. In order to create the perfect atmosphere, I hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on my beach chair and spent a glorious day devouring this book. In my opinion, this novel should serve as a "how to" for authors who need help in connecting characters and multiple mini-plots. Also, The Simple Truth will appeal to action fans, courtroom junkies, and even Oprah devotees. It has been quite a while since I re-read sentences because I felt the message was profound. In summary, The Simple Truth will establish David Baldacci as the most versatile author of the '90's.

David Baldacci gives us Rufus Harms, a man unjustly imprisioned for 25 years, and an ex-cop, John Fiske, turned lawyer turned investigator again when his brother, Michael Fiske, a Supreme Court clerk, is murdered after inquiring into an appeal that came to the Supreme Court from Rufus. Sara Evans, another SC clerk, who was good friends with Michael Fiske becomes emotionally involved with John Fiske and they team up to try to solve the mystery of who would murder Michael Fiske. Along the way they are searching out the truth about Rufus. There are twists and turns and surprises. David Baldacci gives an a behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court and the surprising power the clerks actually have. You will have a hard time putting this book down once you open it.

If anyone has read Jack Olsen's book, THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF GERONIMO (ELMER)PRATT, you'll see the parallels in this fiction book to Jack Olsen's true crime story of Mr. Pratt. This was a fabulous book and should receive 5 stars from everyone that reads it. Spending 25 years in a prison for a crime you didn't commit is horrific. Can you imagine losing that many years of your life. Geronimo Pratt lost those many years, 26 to be exact. He is the only man that sued the FBI and the police and won and it was a long battle. "They" tried to kill him in prison to shut him up. You must read the book after you've read this fiction novel. I really have to wonder if David Baldacci read Jack Olsen's book before writing this novel. Excellent...superb!

True to its name "The Simple Truth" is too simple a thriller. There are no sudden plot developments, and the main mystery of the novel is reveald close to the middle of the book.It's not boring, just not exciting enough for my taste.I have read Baldacci before,so I know he can do better.If this was my first Baldacci novel, I think it could have been my last,also.Hope the next one will be better. Bottomline:a book to read on a rainy day,when you can't go to the bookshop and buy something else.

In this Book, Baldacci dives into the workings of the Supreme Court. The book deals with an appeal sent to the Supreme Court by a prisoner named Rufus. A young clerk looks at the appeal and decide to take it from the mail room. Little did he know that this would set in motion a chain of events that would take on some of the most powerful people in the Governemnt.
Filled with great information about the Supereme Court and the way things get done in our country Baldacci, a lawyer form Virginia, take you on a ride to unravel an old conspiracy in our government's history. One of Baldacci's finest.

*The Simple Truth*, while not my favorite of David Baldacci's novels, was certainly a fun and enjoyable book to read. While I found *Absolute Power* to be entertaining because of the implications of the story and the imagining of it, *The Simple Truth* was enjoyable not because of the idea of the story necessarily, but because of how Baldacci twisted it.

Baldacci's tying together of the story's different parts was very well done. However, the villainous mastermind in the book became apparent oto me I believe around 100 pages in (I'm just guessing here, to be honest, but it was very soon) because of an offhand comment. If you're perceptive you should pick it up too, which ruined my enjoyment a little (the entire passage was so inane and useless to the story if taken at face value that there had to be a reason to include it in the book - oh yeah, because that character's plans are based off the fulfillment of an evil plot!).

The main characters in *The Simple Truth* are more or less typical Baldacci stereotypes - gorgeous woman and ex-cop. A lot of Baldacci's novels, it seems, are the same recycled two characters, which I think illustrates just how well Baldacci can create an interesting story. (It's certainly not Baldacci's writing style which sells his books; it's not bad or anything, just not great, either.) The side characters are done much better. The motivations of one side character in particular, though, are not quite as beleivable.

If you enjoy thrillers, *The Simple Truth* is well worth a read, as most of Baldacci's novels are.

I have read all the Baldacci books and this one is his worst. There is little action or suspense. The cast of characters range from a long term military prisoner to Supreme Court Justices and their underlings. We also have as the main characters an ex-cop turned lawyer and an idealistic Supreme Court Clerk. Needless to say we also have shadowy military figures, a U.S. Senator and of course the usual hardworking detective and perhaps a good or maybe evil FBI Agent. The book lacks a great villain and the suspense is never there.

An appeal received by the Supreme Court from Rufus Harms, a convicted murderer from 25 years in a military prison revealing names cause an unchain reaction from those people who want the prisoner Harm silence forever to cover a mind control experiment with drugs that the US Army experimented with the prisoner and its terrible consequences for him and many more soldiers used as human guinea pigs without their knowledge or consent. An interesting thriller that give us a lot of details about the role of the Supreme Court and the gaps and failures of the criminal justice of USA.

This is an interesting book and is worth to read it, but many parts of the book are unreal, or at least is very difficult to believe, for example, at the end of the book the FBI agent knew everything and didn't do anything to solve the case until the end of the book. John Fisk hated his brother and he really didn't know why, and other things that if I write them here you will know the story before you read it.
On the other hand the book will keep you reading almost all the time but is not the best of Baldacci.

One more score for Baldacci, another book I couldn't put down. I like intricate stories and I hate being able to figure out the plot. Well, you can always depend on Baldacci for intricacy and you might be able to figure out where he is going, but you are never going to be able to figure out how he is going to get there. This story features sibling rivalry, love, passion, treachery and redemption. The Army, the U.S. Senate and the Supreme Court are all involved. If those participants don't pique your interest then you probably are not a reader anyway. I highly recommend it.

This is my first foray into David Baldacci's legal thriller world and it probably won't be my last. Baldacci crafts a decent, if unspectacular, book about Rufus Harms, a black man locked away in prison for the brutal murder of a little girl. Harms, however, has a piece of paper from the United States Army that will exonerate him and he demands an appeal from his lawyer.

This piece of paper quickly sets the plot in motion as a Supreme Court clerk finds it and later is murdered. John Fiske, the clerk's brother and Sara Evans, a clerk for one of the Supreme Court justices, start investigating. The romance is piddling and somewhat unecessary but the plot twists and turns nicely. You'll be able to pick out the other villains before the end, but it's a decent read.

"The Simple Truth" has a lot of Baldacci's trademark derring-do and excitement. Alas, what it lacks is a believable plot and three-dimensional characters. The thriller genre requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, of course, but there is little that is believable here. Baldacci's first book, "Absolute Power" was outstanding but nothing he has done since has come close to its quality. Because of its utter preposterousness, I almost stopped reading "The Simple Truth about two-thirds of the way through but I finished it. I should have trusted my instincts.

This story had me confused much of the time with so many characters, but I would never have thought the end would be as it was. It's a really good mystery with very good characters. I'm reading the back books by Baldacci, as I've read the 4 newest first. The tension really built well toward the end which was satisfyingly sad.

The first book that i read that was written by David Baldacci is The Absolute Truth, although I like the book I never though of buying any of his book later, because I find the starting of The Absolute Truth quite boring. But when I read The Simple Truth I just can't put the book down. The book really gets me excited. One will never think of putting it down. If you don't like this book, then you don't have the right to read any book at all.

This was such a great story. It kept me up until all hours of the night. It was a real page turner. The characters were interesting and I really cared about what happened to them, especially Rufus. I have recommended all of David Baldacci's books to my friends. The Winner was passed around from family member to friend until I got it back nearly six months later! I'm definitely looking forward to more books from one of my favorite authors.

In typical David Baldacci fashion, The Simple Truth is a story that holds your interest from beginning to end. While Baldacci's books are not great literature, they always are interesting, exciting and fun to read. The Simple Truth is Baldacci's best book since Absolute Power. If you're looking for a book that will provide you with true "escape reading", you won't be disappointed in The Simple Truth... and that's the simple truth!

I'm annoyed that I have to give this book one star. It is perhaps the worst piece of fiction I have ever read. I'm just as willing as the next person to suspend disbelief when reading for entertainment's sake. However, this book goes way beyond that. As a licensed attorney, it's embarassing that Baldacci was once one as well and churns out an incredibly inaccurate, sensationalized, unrealistic depiction of the law and the Supreme Court in particular.
Even aside from that, his writing is terrible. The characters have no depth, parts of the story are simply not believable, and the overall plot is tired and predictable. Baldacci utilizes so many of the cliches of the suspense genre, both cinematic and literary, that I found myself laughing at every flip of the page. I finished the book only out of morbid curiosity to see what he would try to pull next. Without giving anything away, all I can say is that 95 percent of the events and dialogue in the book would never happen, except maybe on Mars.
Those unfamiliar with the law may find this book enjoyable. I urge you not to take it too literally, though.

I like all Baldacci books. He always grabs one's attention quickly and holds it to the end. The big plus is that he's basically "clean" in his writing, both in content and language. A little language escapes now and then, but it's not in your face as it is with other writers.

Best book I've read in months. This story really sizzles from page one. The characters are complex, as are the relationships--very little is predictable. I especially enjoyed the way the story slowly unfolded. Layer by layer, and the suspense was real. If you tell me you could predict the ending, I'll call you a liar. I thought "The Winner" was great, but this was even better. Can't wait for the next Baldacci novel!

The book is a nice reader, but I think Baldacci has made it himself too easy by throwing in the same ingredients as the first books. I liked the first 3 books a lot but this..... As my title says: it's too much hanging on routine, you can clearly notice that ( that is for the readers of the other books of B.) further the plot was to simple. I hope Baldacci does better with his next one

I have to disagree with most of the recent reviews for this book - I thought it was excellent. I have read books by both Grisham and Baldacci, and I would have to say that Baldacci is better! In 'The Simple Truth' he not only weaves a fantastic tale, his style is sophisticated and intelligent. I find Grisham's books to be directed towards a mass audience, whilst Baldacci is for the more intelligent reader. (I only gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because of the last line of the book - apart from that, it's great!)

I enjoyed this book and didn't want to put out down, other than to rest my eyes and think about what was going on. Made it hard to do things like taking care of my home, like cooking, etc... It sure was a long story!

I listened to The Simple Truth on a long drive from Albuquerque to Los Angeles. Baldacci creates superb suspense surrounding the real reason for prisoner Rufus Harms's appeal to the supreme court. Following that revelation, however, there is an attempt to wrap up both plot and characters too tidily. We can count on a movie for the novel sounds like a scenario.

I recently starting reading leisurely and this is the third DB book I've read. It was not quite as good as the Winner but better than Absolute Power. I thought it moved slow in the beginning but picked up a third way through. At that point, only two days to finish it. I look forward to reading Total Control (my wife is reading that now). DB keep up the good work!

I'm not sure why I haven't read this book by Baldacci before, but it somehow escaped me. Baldacci is one of my favorite authors and I read all of his books and anxiously await his new ones. This book was one that I found hard to put down. The last few pages were particularly emotional for me as I recalled the loss of my two younger brothers two years ago and it brought back wishes that I could have done more with them. This is a book a will keep and re-read in a few years down the line.

In Virginia a "wrongly" accused military prisoner finally comes out after 25 years of hiding. Rufus Harms initial lwyer is reluctant to help him but subbmited his apeal to the supreme court anyway. A young court clerk bends the system to help Rufus escape the law, but he knows too much! After the mysterious murder of the young clerk Micael Fiske, The plot thickens when his brother John Fiske steps in to find the killer. This novel by David Baldacci is extremley exciting and sucpencful. Every corner that is turned new evidence is is found in this twisted battle to find the "Simple Truth". Left and right people are being framed, fired and killed because they know too much. If you want to know if Rufus will get away or if John Fiske will find who killed his brother, read this absoluttley amazing novel and seek the "Simple Truth" for yourself!

Baldacci is slipping badly, after a very impressive start in the writing life. This book's plot is so thin and contrived that it was a chore for me to finish it. I hate to give a bad review, because I've enjoyed his other stories, but this one gets a thumbs down. Back to the basics, David. Above all else, you must have a plausible story!

This is the first book I read by this author and, I must say, I am impressed. The characters were well designed and easily related to. The subject was one that I could identify with and it was nice the way the story developed. Often times stories are rushed and a lot of things left unclear. I saw Absolute Power and now I would like to read it.

I read 'Total Control' first, which I feel is a lot better than 'The Simple Truth' but that's only because 'Total Control' was one of the best books I ever read. Simple Truth is a very good book. It deals with relationships between brothers, family and lovers. TST involves action, suspense and a couple plot twists along the way. Balacci is great.

David's book is captivating! He does NOT run on, but keeps you hopping. If you, like I, have gotten tired of that other authors' [whom David is compared to],run-on, boring contract books, read Baldacci! This book makes you believe that good and truth coupled with faith in God can triumph over evil! Keep it up Mr. Baldacci!

Had it not been for the over exposure to topics pertaining to law by Grisham, I may have been more swayed for a higher rating. This book was good and enjoyable, but it is very similar to the vast array of suspense books out there. I'm finding that too many writers are going for the entertainment value over great writing. That's just my opinion. If you like Grisham, Stuart Woods, etc...you'll like this book. But, you will be familiar with the style. It's a fast read and good for airplane, train, etc..trips.

this is a very exciting story. The segments with Harms vs. his military foes, Harms and his brother vs. the military foes were great. As were the whole scenario with the Supreme Court and the clerks. The story of John Fiske, his relationship with his father and brother, got even better with Sara Evans. I also liked Total Control by Balducci

What a great story and very difficult to put this book down. David Baldacci is a truly great author. The ending was much better than I could have imagined. I can't wait to read another book by this author.

I would most definitely recommend The Simple Truth by David Baldacci to any reader. This book is full of suspense, drama, and everything else one might want out of a book. It is an entertaining read that is full of cliff hangers, and twists of plot that read you at the edge of your seat and make you want to read more. This legal thriller is entertaining and it is different from any other on the shelf today. It is the story of Rufus Harms, a convicted murderer and his quest to clear his name. But how can he when he did actually convict the murder? This story tells of corruption, deceit, murder in the Supreme Court, and the United States Army. It breaks the mold set by the typical thriller today in a powerful way. A real page-turner, this book thrusts you to the edge of your seat from page one and keeps you there until the very end. David Baldacci illustrates the horrors of life in a military prison, and how treachery can overrun even the most powerful military force in the world in an outstanding and terrifying fashion. This story is definitely a worthwhile read. The plot of this story is full of twists and turns that can only be fully understood if you read this book. I personally enjoyed reading this book. It was entertaining and fun to read. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone because it holds some of the best qualities in a book. I personally enjoyed everything about this book, and I sincerely believe that anyone who loves a good book will too.

Grisham Light. While this book is a page turner it is one of the more poorly written books I have ever read. It is difficult to believe that an editor reviewed the text and "passed" on the product. The plot has potential and it will keep your interest, but some Superman comics can keep your interest as well.

Somebody dies at the Supreme Court and it takes the brother of the victim, a police officer, to find the killer.
I thought this book to be very entertaining. The plot is very interesting and keeps you wanting to read on.
David Baldacci has the ability to write in a very simple and real manner. His characters are very real and they blend very well with the plot.
For a fiction book it is a good read.

Baldacci's suspensful story revolves around the Supreme Court, a Virginia military prison and John Fiske, an ex-cop turned lawyer, who is desperately trying to solve the murder of his brother. The author breathes life into the his characters, as the suspense builds until the final pages and a surprising ending.

Baldacci promissed during the whole book that the simple truth will be one that can not be imagined. Yet I found the simple truth very simple. However, after reading all Baldacci's work (Absolute Power & Total Control are GRATE!) I can never give a low mark, and I will forever be aspecting his next book.

Okay, you know the plot by now and there's nothing I like better than a good ole' page-turner, but c'mon, this book is one big tease. It sets you up with a promising start and basically, unravels with a truck load of cliches that leave you wondering if it's too late to get your twenty bucks back from the store.

This book was great. Mr Baldacci has done it again. I've read all his books and this one along with "Total Control" are my favorites. I'd recommend this latest book and this author to anyone. "The Simple Truth" will keep you turning the pages, and you will be satisfied at the end.

The Simple Truth is an unbelievable, lifeless thriller involving a cast of forgettable characters centered around a United States Supreme Court setting. The plot is vanilla and the political soapbox ideology is excruciating. The Winner was a winner but this farce is a snoozer and a loser.

"The Simple Truth" is an engaging book, good for vacation reading, but not his best. I read it in two days, so that says a lot! But it was not a "can't put down" bestseler. Balducci is still my favorite writer. He seems to have lost some of the edge, though.

The "simple truth" is that this book is absolutely ridiculous. To use one coincidence so that readers can be surprised by the "whodunit" can be a bit of a stretch. To use several of them is too absurd for me to even waste more words on this horrible book.

In keeping with the trend that his odd number releases are superb, while the even number releases are solidly average, this book is an average read at best. It never grabbed you from the start like Absolute Power or the Winner, and developed as a fairly predictable story. Being an avid Baldacci fan, I was disappointed by this showing.

Its what I expected of David Baldacci, I did guess basically all of the bad guys. His first 2 books are much better. It was a definite page turner. Well worth the money. I would recommend this to anyone. I work in a bookstore and let people know how good it is.

Baldacci has created a great plot about a death row inmate who is actually innocent who escapes from jail and is aided by a Supreme Court clerk and her dead boyfriend's brother. All of the main characters are interesting and have great depth.
Yet the background characters are confusing and the action scenes are boring. Baldacci was unable to combine the characters and plot into a good story.

I was disappointed. I loved Absolute Power, and really liked Total Control, but this one never seemed to get off the ground. I knew what they did to Rufus, and I knew who the "bad guy" was - no suprises there. It was a quick, easy read, but that's about it.

Book was recommended to me--I'm glad I borrowed it from the library. Like Mr. Grisham, Baldacci takes a superb plot and gums up the works with fifth-grade prose.
I guess some would consider this stuff excellent beach reading, but the writer, aside from poor sentence structure, flat bad usage ("he placed the letter in the envelope"--are there any editors out there?), makes it sooo tough to align oneself with any character.
A lawyer is portrayed as a crusader, then a bumbler. A Supreme Court justice waffles, then becomes a hero. Cheese, at least most of the bad guys stay bad.
Perhaps a better title would have been "The Yellow Mile," if only our prisoner had been on death row.

This is probably the worst book I've ever read.
A patent plot (when not obvious, merely outrageous) and so over-written I often had to stop and laugh. The characters are unbelievable, their actions incredible, and the dialogue often ridiculous. Then Baldacci must have run the manuscript through some runaway Thesaurus program to find some of the descriptive phrases: "water" for "tears" is one example that comes to my mind, but there were hundreds of them.
If I had been reading the book instead of listening to an unabridged tape version that I had rented I wouldn't have gotten half-way through. On the other hand I would have missed a lot. None if it good, but a lot of it.
What ever happened to editors? If Baldacci thinks he's so good that he doesn't need one, he's wrong.

David Baldacci has written some fine thrillers. Unfortunately, The Simple Truth is not among them. Its plot line is formulaic and characters are not developed. But the biggest issue I have with the book is how it ends through dependence on Deus ex Machina rather than plot.

This was an early Baldacci novel - he gets much better in the later ones.

I know this book word by word... Well, actually, I translated it into Polish. It was my first encounter with Mr. Baldacci's work, and as an introduction it was rather disappointing. The book itself is at least very predictable. Several twists of action is based on pure bit of luck, and sugar-sweet Rufus Harms looks like a character from another story. Moreover, before one-third of the book I knew pretty well who is the Big Bad Guy. Two stars: one for the real surprise (McKenna), and one for fast-paced action. That's all.

I now have read three of his books and haven,t been disappointed yet. I usually don,t like to read court scene but I read this one because of the arthor and I know from his previous books I enjoy them, so wasn't disappointed. It has alot of action which I like. I hope his next book won't be to long I like his writing.

I had never even heard of Baldacci until a few weeks before I read it. David out did himself though, he could have left out a few things but I still really liked it. The characters were really good, and the suspence made it a page turner.

well, this book was really exciting, i rode first absolute power(amazing book) and i wanted to read more books you wrote, because you have the same style as john grisham, and i like that, so keep going and don`t let me down, a right?

I was looking forward to reading another David Balducci book after being introduced to "The Winner" and enjoying it immensely. However, Mr Balducci has sorely disappointed me. This book was slow, boring and hardly worth the effort. I found that the concept of the storyline was intriguing but the story just didn't evolve and pull you in... Also there were too many characters floating around and the story just dragged right until the very end. Sorry, I would give this book the big thumbs down!

The plot is good but there are about 200 pages too many. Why a full chapter to tell us what the protagonists are thinking about the attaché case, when we already know it was not in the car and we could tell them where it is? We know where the precious document is : another useless quest. People are murdered by the half dozen, the characters are outrageous, most of the time improbable, and I felt the semi-erotic swimming episode totally stupid, not to mention the girl apologizing constantly about it.

I have read much better books than that. Sorry...

If you're like me, you will continue reading a book out of sheer grit or because one glimmer of interest in plot resolution still remains. That is why I read "The Simple Truth" to the bitter end, although I came to resent the investment of time in following this hackneyed, predictable and ho-hum story. This Baldacci "thriller" is not thrilling, believable, or the kind of good read you expect from a purported blockbuster.

This book is a must-read for all you suspense fans. I couldn't put the book down for wanting to know "who dunnit". Baldacci really gets in-depth with his characterization of the main character, John Fiske, although I wish he had gone into more depth with the other characters. Once again, Baldacci delves into realism with his behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court and brings just the right amount of action and suspense into the story. Another great story from Baldacci!

With The Simple Truth, David Baldacci has written another book well worth reading. I just finished my galley copy. The story left me guessing until nearly the end. Throw together dead Supreme Court clerks, justices with axes to grind, and a military cover-up, and you get an explosive combination. Definitely a must read book.

The plot has potential and starts off well. The characters seem quite interesting and Balducci gets you interested in them - however the relationships grow quite wane - the suspense lags - the plot becomes illogical, especially the description and aftermath of one of the major character's escape from prison. The book doesn't hold onto your interest simply because you begin to lose interest in the characters due to the lack of plot suspense and cohesion.

I have enjoyed all of Baldacci's books. While I still think that Total Control was his best this was a close second. Knowing how our government can work to cover up anything the theme of this book is plausable.

Let's be honest, Baldacci has been going downhill since the Winner. That book was a disappointment and The Simple Truth was a continuation of his spiral in to the abyss of the cookie cutter, money making rush to turn out something - no matter how poor the product.
I could not finish this book. I put it down and returned to it two weeks later and found that it had not improved with time.
Please, David, go back to the style that produced Absolute Power and Total Control. Put some thought into your plot, add a few twist and turns and dazzle us again.

Baldacci knows how to write about family. The two sets of brothers appealed to me greatly. Their inability to fully understand each other was understandable and the way he had the various characters working with each other made the story one that you will never forget.

The Simple Truth is simply an impressive novel without a doubt. Not only is the plot believable and exciting, but the characters are extremely well developed--their inhibitons are well documented. Its one of those books that you can lose sleep over--I never wanted to put it down. What kind of crack were the people who rated this book negatively on? I sure wonder, because it is a book that is definitely comparable to some of Grisham's works. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a good story.

I loved this book. It had some historical references, which tends to bring a story to life as one can relate them to familiar or current events. It didn't have typical hollywood ending, but it was a good ending nonetheless. The main-character was a bit underdeveloped, mentally and emotionally; thus I couldn't really feel sorry or bad for him.

I enjoy reading Badacci books for his research, interesting plots, and knack of captivating his readers from the onset. This books is no different. He keeps you guessing throughout the book and he deals with deep relationship issues that many families face. In the book he tries to put life in perspective and leaves the reader to ponder what is important in life. Greed, money, politics, revenge, relationships, love, religious conviction are but a few topics he touches on. All and all it is an enjoyable read with a focus on mystery.

I enjoyed the book but I thought the plot was was a little too obvious.. It's not that much fun when you figure out who the bad guy is before the ending! Very well written though, I would certainly recommend it.

Baldacci's novel is slower than his other books. Once involved though, you cannot put the book down until it is completed.
I believe that Badacci hit on a crime that the government has been guility of committing for several years on innocent soldiers. God forbid they never experiment on my son!
I read to escape. In this book, I "escaped" by living in a prison, running from the law, killing a human being, dying and finally being exonorated.
I can't wait for the next novel.

WHY IS IT WHEN MEN CANT WRITE IT IS CALLED MYSTERY. WHEN WOMEN CANT WRITE IT IS CALLED ROMANCE. IT WOULD BE HARD TO COMMENT ON CONTENT HERE AS THERE IS NONE! MAYBE MR. BALDACCI SHOULD TAKE A SABATICAL AND READ SOME BOOKS BY PEOPLE WHO REALLY CAN WRITE. I.E. TOM WOLF, T.FINDLEY, ETC.ETC.

I really liked the supporting characters; especially the Harms brothers. The investigation was very intriguing. But the love story felt very forced. It really didn't provide anything to the story, either.

SPOILER:
I'm not sure why Michael proposed to Sara. It didn't sound like they were anything more than friends. And it didn't make sense for Sara and John to hook up so soon after Michael's death.

END SPOILER

With some simple editing, this would make an excellent film. Terry Crews as Josh and Michael Clark Duncan as Rufus.

This book keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. As good writers do there are twists and turns, which makes it all the more exciting. It has it all: innocent man in prison for 25 yrs, behind the scenes of the Supreme court, inner workings of an ex-cop's mind, they are all there plus more. This is a book you will not be able to put down.

This is a good book by Baldacci but not quite as strong as Total Control or Absolute Power.It tends to have way too much sappy seriousness that is repeated throughout.It just seems that many of the thoughts of the main character have been used in other books.But the story was good.Strangely similar to Green Mile.Would probably make a good movie.I read this and Personal Injuries by Turow over my holiday vacation.The latter was far superior.

Yawn... this "thriller" was one of the most boring books I've read. The only reason I finished it was due to being in a hospital bed with nothing else to read. The actions and characters are ridiculous and so poorly drawn the reader cares nothing for any of them. All emotions and personality traits of the characters felt forced and phony, as if the author pulled them out of a bad B grade movie cast. I'd never read Baldacci before and seriously doubt I will again.

I've read all of Mr Baldacci's books: this one was really disappointing. As always, his build up to the climax when all is revealed (as in all his other 3 books) was suspensful, but this time round, the ending was very superficial. I felt rather cheated at the end with the simplistic ending. The main characters John and Sarah, seemed self-absorbed and highly unendearing, particularly so for the desperate Sarah. A disappointing read.

It takes about 100 pages to get into the plot and there are more than a few characters to learn. The relationship between Sara and John is a little cheesy. With that said, the action (and sex) sequences are classic, and the complex plot development makes you wonder how even Mr. Baldacci keeps it straight when writing it. A good book if you can borrow it from a friend, but don't buy it. If anything, go to the library :-)

Baldacci's novel grabbed from the first pages. I just couldn't stop reading. He teases you with hints about who might of 'done it' and just when you are sure you know the answer Baldacci blind sides you with stronger clues directing your attention to another potential villain. The Supreme Court system, as presented, was an interesting view into an establishment I have never really understood.

My first Baldacci book and I enjoyed it. It is a fast paced and easy read. Good for the beach, airplane or bedtime. The truncated chapters and simple sentences are appropriate for the impatient attention span of the Internet generation! I hope his marriage is better than the cold, calculating interaction between the sexes, though! I will try other Baldacci "brainbusters".

This is the first Baldacci book I've read and I look forward to reading his other ones. I too figured out whodunnit and noted similarities to The Green Mile; but found this book to be fun and fast-paced from the beginning -- a definite page-turner. Readers who like plenty of action will find this book particularly enjoyable.

I have enjoyed Baldacci's work before but this book was simply awful. I couldn't believe any of the characters and the storyline was terrible. I was very surprised to get such stilted writing from Baldacci. You can miss this one in my opinion.

I threw this book across the room in disgust, leaving the last 40 or so pages unread. A stupid plot with totally unbelieveable characters, motives, dialogue, and situations. A real disappointment. Is the author becoming just another hack looking to make a fast buck by living off the success achieved with Absolute Power? This book doesn't deserve to be on the same shelf.

I'm not much of a reviewer, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Bought it at airport for travel reading and couldn't put it down. I was afraid it was going to be anti-climatic because all the info given up front. The book did not dissapoint, I enjoyed it to the last page.

This was the first book of Mr. Baldacci. After having read all of Cornwell's books, I was looking for a new author. Mr. Baldacci got me hook, line and sinker with "The Simple Truth." I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense and scandal.

The first 100 pages were a little too slow for my taste in character development. But after that I couldn't put the book down. A little mystery and some surprises in the end made this book well worth reading.

I had enjoyed this novel especially after middle of the story although the plot is relatively simple and some characters are bit stereotyped. First 1/3 part is too slow for character building but easy reading. Again, I did enjoy reading this novel.

I have read all of David's books. This one is one of his best. A great story with lots of twists. I felt Baldacci did a great deal of homework to make this book so real. I can't wait for his next book Dark Lady.

This was my first experience reading David Baldacci's work. I must say, an avid Grisham reader has just found another author to enjoy. I could visualize the enitre book which is a sign of great work.

I ordered a "large print"edition of a book; the font size was larger than a normal book, but not so large as what I believe to be "standard" large print; i.e., the type the recipient is accostomed to getting from his local library, and what I had expected from you. He can read the book, but only a page or so at a time....hence, I'm rather disappointed with my purchase.