One Good Deed (An Archer Novel, 1) Hardcover – July 23, 2019

David Baldacci is not only a skilled writer, he is excellent at coming up with new ideas. The books in the Archer series are completely different from his other series, which is very difficult to accomplish. One Good Deed goes several decades back in time. The protagonist, Archer, a former soldier, was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. In this book, he has just gotten out of prison and is trying to make a new life for himself. He desperately needs money, so he agrees to do some investigative work that ends up being very problematic. When people get murdered, the police automatically look at Archer, the ex con. Archer has to find the real murderer to avoid the death sentence. Throughout the book, Baldacci gives the reader the feel of being back around the WWII era. He obviously did extensive research to make sure he knew the types of cars, clothing, cigarettes, etc., that people used in that time period. He also tries to use expressions of the day and incorporates people and events of the time. Baldacci’s writing flows, so the reader can get caught up in the story rather than focusing on the writing style. This is a tightly-knit story, with interesting characters. The reader feels like they are caught up in Bacall-Bogey or Dashiell Hammett movies.

Although I have read and/or listened to a couple of Baldacci novels in the past, I am not a devotee of his writing. I enjoy it, to be sure, but I am just not a huge follower of him. Well, I haven’t been, but I can see where, after reading “One Good Deed,” I might just make his writing a more common purchase. The writing is good, and the plot for this new character reminds me of the Rockford Files. In fact, I would say that, with a little wry humor, and the introduction of a couple more characters, this could fill that niche.POV: Written in third person, some aspects of intimacy are weak, despite some touches by the author in developing the primary characters. What I mean is, we don’t get that personal feeling of the main character. Also, with first person POV we could be fooled, now and then, in the same way the hero would be while he conducts his investigation and learns of the errors of his previous mistaken observations. That’s why I ordinarily opt for private eyes who tell us what they see and do as they proceed through their narrative. Still, Baldacci does a good job taking us through the daily routine of a WWII vet after he is released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit.BLUSH FACTOR: Although there is plenty of the rough language, there is not a single eff-word in “One Good Deed.” For those interested in sordid details, there is reference to, uh, extracurricular affairs but not in any way graphic. Be certain that the author is NOT a kiss-and-tell type writer. Look to other writers if graphic stimulation is your reason for reading anything of a romantic nature.Excerpt: Fans of Baldacci, even of this new character, probably already have good reason to read the book, even without glancing at an excerpt. Newbies, though, might appreciate this very short piece taken from about 12 percent into the book.‘…His spending spree had cost him all of fifty cents, with the twin Jacksons lying in the depths of his pocket undiminished. He managed to scrounge a cigarette off a passing stranger, and he sat on a bench near the town square taking his time whittling it down and watching all who passed by in front of him. There was prosperity in the air, comingling with those clearly in economic despair. But those on that woeful side of the equation would no doubt work hard to get to the “other side” with all due speed, rising to the mountaintop to look down on others scrambling madly for their piece of the pie. And that, to Archer, was the fledgling American dream in a nutshell, particularly after a war that had knocked the stuffing out of just about everyone.Archer had good reason to soak in as much of Poca City as he possibly could. This would be his home, at least for the foreseeable future, and he had made friendly with as many folks as he could on his walking tour, at the same time foraging for information to the extent he could without raising their suspicions. He had learned that some had short fuses, and he was not looking to make enemies of any sort.Like Dill, many had heard of Mr. Hank Pittleman, though the opinions of these folks varied greatly. He was either a devil or a benefactor, with not one commentator occupying the middle ground. Archer took in all this with a grain of salt and let it marinate as he smoked. Many had also heard of Lucas Tuttle. He was described as a farmer of fierce devotion to the soil and a provocateur of skilled debate. He was also a seasoned hunter, as comfortable with firearms as he was skewering, with his impressive vocabulary and agile wits, those who did not align with his points of view on myriad subjects. These ranged from local crop rotation theories to the efficacy of the Marshall Plan to the question of the gold standard versus all other benchmarks.A curious combination and perhaps the earmarks of a formidable person from whom to…’Baldacci, David. One Good Deed (pp. 42-43). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.BOTTOM LINE:Kept me guessing and, the further I got into the story, the more I had to read it. Definitely, I recommend this to readers looking for a clean action-adventure suspense novel. It’s not a great tale, but it certainly is a story worth your time. I intend to purchase the Audible Edition and will listen to it during my next journey across country.Four stars out of five.

Good does win over evil. The ending was a surprise and who did it was not expected. Would read the next book in this series.

I have always been fascinated by people who can write a mystery novel. This novel was particularly good because it was a real page turner.. The characters were well fleshed out and believable. The author Did an exemplary job of creating A world and characters in it That were believable And relatable. If you are looking for a good book to read this is that book.

> WHO? (is the author) -- ONE GOOD DEED certainly feels "different", but Baldacci is very versatile--many of this novels do not resemble one another. So, a new character, in a new time frame, in a new setting, is typical Baldacci. Although it seems that most of my favorite authors have "franchised out" to ghost writers, and I've become cautious about Baldacci, Berry, Grisham, Clancy, this novel is of Baldacci quality, and having read the whole novel, it is very Baldacci-esqe, in terms of structure and development.> WHAT? -- At first the stilted Raymond Chandler-esque (Philip Marlow) dialog seriously put me off and annoyed me. But Baldacci apparently used the style as just "dressing the stage". It is well done for that purpose. Baldacci quickly abandoned the Chandleler-esque dialog (thank heaven) as the novel progressed, albeit, the dialog remains authentically period (that is, as people spoke at the time).> QUALITY Unfortunately the Archer novels are not as clever and crisp as the best Baldacci novels. It's a 5 star for an average author. Three or four stars for Baldacci.> Some reviewers classify the novel as a "noir" (a la Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, et al). But most poorly informed reviewers describe ANY detective novel set in the late-1930s to early 1950s as "noir". ONE GOOD DEED is NOT noir. Noir (meaning "black") is much grittier, colder, pessimistic, and depressing. None of those adjectives apply to ONE GOOD DEED.> WHEN? -- The novel is set in 1949. However, Baldacci refers to Dictaphone removable cassette tape recordings which Dictaphone did not produce until the late 1970s.> WHERE? -- The novel is set somewhere outside Texas but within a day's drive of Amarillo, Texas, in the fictional Poca City. That narrows the location to New Mexico, Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado, or southwestern Kansas. As it happens, there is a Ponca City, Oklahoma. Several "Folsom" place names and/or business names are mentioned. There is a Folsom, Oklahoma (albeit not near Ponca City). So, I think that it is a good bet that the intended general setting is Oklahoma.> WHY? -- ONE GOOD DEED is light engaging satisfying reading in the Baldacci style. Meticulously crafted. Full of twists, turns and surprises, but logical and easy to follow. Consistent with the time frame and setting, there are no f-bombs, and very little other profanity. It's a murder mystery, that will keep you guessing, but you will not be surprised nor disappointed with the resolution --- definitely not Jeffery Deaver-esque. The good guy wins, almost gets the girl and life goes on.> P.S. According to Wikipedia, the small community of Folsom, Oklahoma was named after David Folsom, "a Chickasaw". Actually, David Folsom (my great uncle) was the first elected Choctaw chief, and was the chieftain who led the Choctaw Nation on the "Trail of Tears" from Mississippi to Oklahoma in 1831. Choctaws and Chickasaws are closely related, and share adjacent reservations in Oklahoma. Probably all Chickasaw Folsoms are also descendants of David Folsom. Some of his descendants may also have been named "David". But the town is almost certainly named after the original.