Deliver Us from Evil

From the description I was anxious to become involved but there was nothing here to applaud.
I listened to this in line with Matterhorn, The Big Short, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Che Guevara, A Mighty Fortress and a couple of other's on a 3 week bicycling trip to Acadia. This was the only one of those I would give less than 3 stars.
Maybe it's just me but I can't recall anything about this story that is worth recall.

Baldacci is back with a taut thriller, a welcome return to his usual style, unlike his last book. The plot is tight, and you want to keep reading. Shaw is developed further as a character, as is his relationship with Frank. The narration is top notch.

Why, then, didn't I give it a five star rating?

Because there's too much graphic description of the gruesome torture Waller enjoys inflicting. There's a lot of it, and some of it is stomach turning. It felt more than just a bit unnecessary. Those who are sensitive to graphic descriptions of the horrors that can be inflicted on the human body and the instruments by which it is done, should perhaps think twice about purchasing this book. Or, fast forward past those sections; nothing will be lost.

Despite that, it's a terrific book and I recommend it with the caveat.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that "Deliver Us from Evil" may not quite rise to Baldacci's usual standard of excellence; but it still delivers plenty of thrills, excitement, and entertainment. If anybody else had written this novel, we would all probably be giving it high marks. We have just come to expect more from David Baldacci. All the same, he has come up with the intriguing plot device of having two highly secret black-ops organizations -- one American and one British -- closing in on the same bad guy, and, unknowingly, interfering with each other's operations. Ron McLarty -- one of my favorite readers -- has a wonderful voice -- or, rather, a wide range of wonderful voices -- and excellent acting chops. I recommend "Deliver Us from Evil" to all thriller lovers. Yes, it may sport slightly cartoonish characters -- especially the bad guys (ooh, so bad!) -- but it none-the-less also features Baldacci's good writing; and it will keep your attention and entertain you.

This is the most boring Baldacci book to date! Just seemed so over the top w/ characters that were unbelievable. I am half way through and wondering why I am still listening. I wonder who wrote it?

Not Baldacci's best by far. Went into it w/ very high hopes, but a let down. Shaw didn't win me as a fan, he's not a very likeable hero in the end.
Hope the next one is better.

I usually love Baldacci's audiobooks but this one for me was just ok. The story was kind of slow and I really didn't care for Ron McClarty's reading. He doesn't do a good British accent and he wasn't consistent with it. I know I have liked him before because he has read several other Baldacci books.

Disappointing. I like Baldacci, but not this one. Characters are flat and laughable--the villain revels in being gruesome, and the hero pulls off superhuman feats. No intricate plot either - it has only one direction to go: this uber evil man has to be killed. In each skirmish the outcome is predictable (bad guys will win this one, and this one, now good guys prevail). The narration didn't bother me as it did others, though his accents were inconsistent at times. Hope DB's next one is better.

This is the follow up to The Whole Truth featuring Shaw the mysterious man who works for a mysterious organization. In this sequel, you don't really learn much more about him - he and the organization he works for are still both mysteries.

This story starts (in my opinion) very slowly. The story doesn't really get going until you get 2-3 hours into the book. At that point, you get the excitement and interest that you expect from Baldacci. However, the details in the story are not very inspired. Shaw and the heroine Reggie work for two groups after the same man for different reasons. They combine forces to accomplish their goal. Much of the story suffers from the need of the heroes to kill their quarry in a certain way - rather than just shoot him...they miss numerous chances to just gun him down in favor of more complicated plots to lure him into underground chambers...

If you like Baldacci, you are likely to be entertained by this book but it is not as good as some of his other efforts.

Held my interest until the end -Author seemed to be in a hurry to get this book written and to print. As a reader, I want to be surprised by the outcome, but was rather disappointed in the ridiculous way in which a madman would kill his tormentors. My wife agreed with me, which did surprise me.

I always enjoy Baldacci books and this one doesn't disappoint. Shaw first showed up in the Whole Truth but this book is a better told story. But Ron McLarty (who often does Baldacci's books and does them well)really missed the mark this time. His attempts at accents were pitiful and he flipped back and forth with the same character having an accent and then 2 minutes later not having an accent. He would have been much better off just reading it straight. It took something away from the book but its still an exciting read nevertheless.