The Innocent: A Novel

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Ron McLarty, Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

America has enemies - ruthless people that the police, the FBI, even the military can't stop. That's when the U.S. government calls on Will Robie, a stone-cold hitman who never questions orders and always nails his target.

But Will Robie may have just made the first - and last - mistake of his career....

It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable: He refuses to kill. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and must escape from his own people.

Fleeing the scene, Robie crosses paths with a wayward teenage girl, a 14-year-old runaway from a foster home. But she isn't an ordinary runaway - her parents were murdered, and her own life is in danger. Against all of his professional habits, Robie rescues her and finds he can't walk away. He needs to help her.

Even worse, the more Robie learns about the girl, the more he's convinced she is at the center of a vast cover-up, one that may explain her parents' deaths and stretch to unimaginable levels of power. Now, Robie may have to step out of the shadows in order to save this girl's life... and perhaps his own.

©2012 Hachette Audio; 2012 David Baldacci

Warning! Extreme Attention Alterations Will Occur

I'm on the Interstate when I notice I passed by my exit---TWICE, while I was listening to this book. Of course I hate having to turn my big rig around to head it back into the right direction but, the story was worth it. Thus, if you have to pay attention to where you are going then this may not be the book for you. As for me, I enjoyed every lost moment it caused on this trip. Well written. And well performed by Ron McLarty with Orlagh Cassidy.

So, I guess I'm now officially addicted to the rest of the David Baldacci series.

Innocent

What made the experience of listening to The Innocent: A Novel the most enjoyable?

I loved the story line and the special affect.

Which character – as performed by Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy – was your favorite?

I enjoyed all the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Baldacci at his best

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is not one of his series books and the freshness of new characters make it a great listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is a hard one as I liked both of the main characters.

What does Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

When you "read" a book you have to imagine what the characters sound like. Having Ron and Orlagh's voices brings the book to life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Assassin with a heart of gold

Baldacci does it again.

I love this series, and the narrators are great. Sound effects are well placed and add to the storyline.

Fairly good story

It takes a little while to get exciting I think it could have been a bit more creative Also it could have been shorter than it was

interesting story

love the plot - always moving - this the third David B. story for me

Good but lacking research

The reading, split between Ron and Orlagh, avoids the common errors of men who can't do women and women who can't do men. The music and sound effects don't really add to the experience, especially when they don't match the action.

This isn't a book that provides you the clues and allows you to get ahead of the reveal. On the other hand it suffers from Chekhov's gun, and the items are placed too obviously. I suppose you can't casually reveal Chekhov's gun. The characters are believable, but the world comes across as bare and derelict and I don't know how that impression is formed, I suppose that's the skill of the writer.

This is a good story, but there are errors that show a lack of research or at least a lack of good sources for research. You can't pop the back off an iPod, even with tools it is difficult to separate the cover halves. Policing brass means picking up the shell casings that are ejected from a semi automatic. No assassin waits around the crime scene to retrieve his brass, if he's that bothered he would use a revolver or something to catch the brass, which is incredibly unlikely. Nobody retrieves bullets after a shooting, not from the body, and not having passed through the body. It would take hours to find a bullet and dig it out even if you knew where it had gone. Dum Dum Armory no longer produces ammunition with a cross cut in the tip, that is a very poor alternative to a modern hollow point. Most ammunition that you might buy for 'self defense' would be hollow point. A headshot with a pistol round will usually result in... well it's not fair to say it here, but you won't be recovering a bullet from what's left. You don't need to shoot someone in both sides of the head, the temporary wound cavity from anything professionals might use to kill would include both sides. A rifle shot is even worse, a rifle bullet will penetrate feet of pine, a head is hardly noticeable. The difference between what people normally call high power rifle rounds is not nearly so significant as many would like you to think, so anything from a 30-30 to a 338 Lapua will have similar effects. No professional carries a pistol with an empty chamber, it takes too long to rack the slide after drawing, time that should be spent getting on target and shooting. Nobody shot in the head with even a moderately powerful handgun round has any final thoughts or exclamations, it's all over for them. An armored full sized SUV does not catch any BMW on anything other than a completely straight road, even then not if the BMW sees them coming, and certainly not any sporty BMW. The difference in performance between a fast road car and an armored SUV... well you'd have to never have experienced one or other to find that credible.

Does he get better?

WOW

If you could sum up The Innocent: A Novel in three words, what would they be?

Nonstop. Exciting, Unpredictable.

Any additional comments?

I had read this book and I enjoyed it even more in the audible version.

Driving story

storyline kept me listening abd intrigued while on a driving trip. it was great!

Superb

Baldacci is one of my all time favorite authors. Will Robie is a cool character with a mix of steel and heart. I recommend this audiobook because the narrators make the book come alive.