The Guilty

Will Robie, Book 4

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Kyf Brewer

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Will Robie escaped his small Gulf Coast hometown of Cantrell, Mississippi, after high school, severing all personal ties, and never looked back. Not once. Not until the unimaginable occurs. His father, Dan Robie, has been arrested and charged with murder.

Father and son haven't spoken or seen each other since the day Robie left town. In that time, Dan Robie - a local attorney and pillar of the community - has been elected town judge. Despite this, most of Cantrell is aligned against Dan. His guilt is assumed.

To make matters worse, Dan has refused to do anything to defend himself. When Robie tries to help, his father responds only with anger and defiance. Could Dan really be guilty?

With the equally formidable Jessica Reel at his side, Robie ignores his father's wishes and begins his own desperate investigation into the case. But Robie is now a stranger to his hometown, an outsider, a man who has forsaken his past and his family. His attempts to save his father are met with distrust and skepticism...and violence.

Unlike the missions Robie undertook in the service of his country, where his target was clearly defined, digging into his father's case only reveals more questions. Robie is drawn into the hidden underside of Cantrell, where he must face the unexpected and possibly deadly consequences of the long-ago choices made by father and son. And this time there may be no escape for either of them.

©2015 David Baldacci (P)2015 Hachette Audio

A fabulous next installment, Robbie &Reel are back

It's been a while since the last installment in one of my favorite series. In this novel, Robbie has performed a hit that has unintended consequences which setup his ability to execute on the story-line of interest. A storyline that includes his father. I really like the that we are getting more information and background on Robbie and Jessica in this book. Baldacci continues to deepen our understanding of the characters. In the last novel,circumstance was a touch contrived, not in this novel. The fiction was very believable.

Kyf Brewer is a new reader, a departure from the last four novels. I am alright with the performance. Perhaps I gave it one star lower because I object to this change. The judicious use of music to heighten the moment I find interesting and I appreciate.

This novel is less about the CIA than about Robbie and his background. Anyone enjoying thrillers will find this book interested. Will Robbie get his ju-ju back? What will Reel and he do? I give this a big thumbs up, it is worth the twelve hours of listening.

Who in the hell is rating this book 5 stars?

What did you like best about The Guilty? What did you like least?

Robie and Reel are now completely indistinguishable from King and Maxwell and I don't mean that comment to be flattering.

Would you ever listen to anything by David Baldacci again?

Doubtful.

Which character – as performed by Kyf Brewer – was your favorite?

All the stereotypical Mississippians that say things like "yo herah 'cause of yo daddy?"

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If you think Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a good actor then you will probably think this is a well written story with interesting characters.

Any additional comments?

The first few books in this series were pretty good. This is garbage. Robie has completely lost his edge and I find it absurd that the finest black-ops operators that the CIA employees are running around the deep south barely escaping encounters with everyday citizens. It's a cliche story with cliche characters. I was aggravated and couldn't wait till the book was over.

Cannot believe I listened to the end.....

Best summary; stupid plot, stupid story, will hesitate to listen to future Roby books.Am still amazed at how ridiculous this book was.

Twist at the end I did not see coming!

In The Guilty Will Robie loses his ability to serve as an FBI assassin when he, acting as a sniper, killed not only his target but also a little girl when his bullet goes through his target striking her. Trying to get hiss head straight his boss, the Blue Man, allows Robie to got to the coastal Mississippi town where he grew up. There he finds his ex-Marine and lawyer father from whom he as been estranged and has not seen since graduating from high school is now a wealthy judge who is in jail charged with murder. He also finds his father has remarried and has an almost 3 year old son, Robie's half brother. His father's murder case turns out to be much bigger than it first appears. As bodies pile up Jessica Reel shows up to help him with the case. Will Robie is hoping to find his high school girlfriend who he last saw 22 years ago when they planned to run away together.

The prior paragraph merely sets up the plot. I've long though the Will Robie series should be called the Robie and Reel series. Jessica Reels central part n this book only makes that thought stronger.

The Will Robie series is not my favorite of the Baldacci series. King and Maxwell is better as is the Camel Club and the John Puller series is just as good. However, this novel is as good as any other by Baldacci; it is superb. I continue to be amazed at how David Baldaccci continues to release excellent new novels far more frequently than any of the other major authors of thriller series.

Narration is by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy. I have no idea why Brewer was selected instead of Ron McLarty because McLarty is Baldacci's usual narrator. But Brewer, a Celtic musician with very little prior experience narrating audiobooks, does a great job. Orlagh Cassidy is simply the best female narrator, and one of the best overall narrators, of audiobooks. There are quite a few female characters in the novel and as only Orlagh Cassidy can do she gives each their own voice.

At the time I am writing this review there are no other reviews of this audiobook posted at Audible but there are 18 ratings with a 3.5 star average. The Guilty earns and clearly deserves 5 stars.

I highly recommend The Guilty, but those who have read the 4 prior books (3 novels and one novella) in the Will Robie series will enjoy it most.

Surreal

I used to be a huge Baldacci fan and I keep hoping he will write stories like the early books but each time I try his latest release I am disappointed. The first 1/3 to 1/2 of this book is pretty good then it starts to get weird and the ending is just plane bizarre. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but really? it is just too weird who the enemy turns out to be. And tying all the ends together feels forced.or contrived. I recommend skipping this book because I think you will be disappointed with the ending, I was.

Another great read!!

Will Robie goes home, after a 20+ year estrangement from his father, when his father is arrested for murder. A different kind of Will Robie tale, with many twists and turns, and in which NOTHING is as it seems. As the story unwinds, I became suspicious of the who and was proved correct. However, the twist to the who was a total shocker and left me speechless, jaw dropped to the floor. Another excellent read from Baldacci! 5+ stars.

Don't waste your money

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

It's hard to know. Vapid characters, absurd plot, and uninteresting filler

Would you ever listen to anything by David Baldacci again?

NO

What does Kyf Brewer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Was OK

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

NO!

Any additional comments?

I think Baldacci has run out of gas.

not "step-brother" but "half-brother".

What would have made The Guilty better?

Different female narration. A more plausible story.

What was most disappointing about David Baldacci’s story?

So many leaps. So implausible.

What three words best describe Kyf Brewer’s voice?

solid, adequate, acceptable

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

the underlying father son premise.

Any additional comments?

Just disappointing from an author that I normally enjoy.

So convoluted!

Will Robey returns to Mississippi after a disastrous mission to be with his father, who he hadn't seen in 20 years, when he is arrested for murder. Sounds like a great plot right? And it is - until the story becomes almost laughably convoluted. Worse still is the plot is shockingly apparent. Of course the bodies pile up (not less than 18 by my count). Add incest, the FBI, obvious "family secrets" and, well, you get the idea.
So sad that a novel that starts off so intriguing ends up so bad.

The guilty is guilty of bad story telling

I have enjoyed all of David Baldacci's books but found this poorly written and the narrator monotone. I figured out who did it before the book was even half complete. Although I didn't know why she did it, I was so bored that I deleted the book off of my audible list. Don't bother with this book.