The Escape

Oh well! I write reviews for all books I read, so I won’t skip this one. “Failure is not an option.” So believes John Puller, Chiief Warrant Officer at the CID, Criminal Investigation Division at Quantico. His older brother, Robert Fuller, was court marshaled for treason and put in Leavenworth for the rest of his life. When Robert manages to escape during a storm and suspicious power outage, the you-know-what hits the fan!

This story is very complex, filled with military jargon, lots of suspense, twists, great characters, and a fascinating storyline. Typical Baldacci writing! This Author really is a gift to readers who love a good story!

From John’s cat named “AWOL” to the mystery of how Robert managed to escape Leavenworth, you will not be bored! A great read!!

I have really liked the John Puller series from the beginning and really wanted to know more about Robert Puller. Well, this book delivers. Robert is John’s older brother, who had worked in the intelligence field and who resided at Fort Leavenworth prison during the previous two books after being convicted of espionage. The escape in the title of the book refers to the escape of Robert from prison. The book is exciting with many twists. So much happens; the action is really non-stop. And that is a little bit of a problem. There is so much action that the narrative of what the bad guys are doing and how the good guys learn all of the story and what the full story is gets lost. Although John Puller learns of various events that have taken place throughout the book, we never really learn how it all started or why the central villain did everything that was alleged. We don’t really ever understand how events occurred to lead up to the big crisis. Finally, certain occurrences are never adequately explained – what happened with Susan’s husband and why, where did John’s kidnappers disappear to, what exactly happened with Schindler, etc. These things are not critical to enjoying the thrill ride, but the ending is a little less satisfying due to this lack of understanding. The last few chapters are also somewhat abrupt, denying us full closure (and one scene is a bit manipulative), but I am hoping that the want of complete resolution means there will be at least one more John Puller book dealing with the story of John and Robert’s mother. There is still a very real mystery extant. I look forward to the telling of that story very much. While this book stands alone, one is more invested in the story and more familiar with some of the characters, if one has read the prior two novels, Zero Day in particular. All in all, I enjoyed The Escape greatly and recommend it.

The Kindle version is listed at 689 pages, so it’s indeed lengthy. Nonetheless, after reading at least one of the preceding John Puller books in this series, I was anxious to jump in with both feet. John’s older brother, Robert, has been in prison at Leavenworth for allegedly committing treason as brought out in the previous books in the series, so with the title of this book, The Escape, I was hopeful that we might get some additional information into the alleged treason, etc. IMO, this book does answer that question.

The story involves a number of characters and lots of acronyms pertaining to military and intelligence agencies in the US, so one needs to be prepared for this. I think the rationale for the main villain doing what she/he (I won’t divulge which here) did and how she/he got to the point she/he did could be explained a bit better. And if one puts the book down for a while, one might need a refresher on just “who is who” given the number of characters.

As for me, I liked the book and kept reading it as much as possible over a 5 day period.

What an exemplary novel! David Balducci writes a thriller filled with action, adventure, high tension and intrigue with heart. In his 3rd book with the main character John Puller the author pulls out all the tops in leading the readers down a road in search for the truth of Robert Pullers innocence or guilt in regards to treason. I think to fully appreciate and relish the book one does need to start at the beginning of the series to fully appreciate the Puller family characters with their family issues, careers, health and experiences.
All that goes into building each book with a story that wont let up and leaves the reader wanting more! While each book can be a story unto itself it is the revelations about each of the Puller family men that enhance each tale. There is emotion in each book not in the forefront but definitely in background in regards to John Puller Sr. and his battle with Dementia.
In The Rescue there is one section of the story that really pulled at my heart as the author paints with words a very touching scene between a father and son. Not only is it with the knowledge that slowly these two brothers are losing their parent to a disease that knows no bounds. Having personally gone through in my life I can say that the author does a great job giving his audience a peek at what some people deal with and its affect on a person.
I do recommend reading and enjoying the series even with its rare use of foul language. Why? There are many people who love to read all types of books and want to read stories that have grit to them. Yes you can have that without the language, I am just glad he doesnt liberally dose his stories with the words unlike other novelists. There is patriotism is the book, heart and soul in the characters and a rich plot fraught with a plethora of trails that keep readers like me up till the wee hours of a morning to get to the end!
The next book in the series is titled No Mans Land and I cannot wait to see where the author takes John Puller next!

Baldacci has equivalent franchises to other authors and his hero John Puller seems to be almost the same as Jack Reacher, a military super cop, hero.

That said, I have enjoyed the previous John Puller books, but the same can’t be said of this one, which I found predictable, and shallow and at 460 plus pages, at least 200 pages too long. I found it hard to care about the heroes, male and female, the villains are almost mustachio twirling but cliched, the action is poorly realised and the plot twists can be seen coming a mile off.

The female hero gets blown up, so does the male, but at different times, and I mean, can he be so short of ideas? the female hero gets shot, but lives (really?), and the hero doesn’t get the girl.

In the best chick flick tradition, the father with dementia comes back from his vagueness, if he ever had it, and we are set up for the next book, a quest for a missing mother.

I had difficulty from the start, but persevered, only because unfinished books annoy me intensely.

So I can’t recommend this one at all, it’s been done elsewhere and so much better.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member