BOOK GROUPIE: Take Baldacci and Coben along on the treadmill

World-renowned thriller author David Baldacci is helping me lose weight.

 No, Baldacci isn’t counting sit ups for me, though I’d probably do more if that was the case. Baldacci’s latest novel sat on my treadmill’s book rack for a few days. The result? I flew through pages as I exercised, and ran twice as many miles as normal.

I’ve previously recommended Baldacci in this column. His books are consistently sharp and fast paced. Still, Baldacci readers sometimes complain to me that the author uses too many characters.

It’s true Baldacci’s books almost always start with a rundown of numerous characters. But the character introductions only last a couple of short chapters. Then readers’ brains can take a backseat while their hearts start doing the work.

Baldacci’s latest novel, “True Blue” was released in October of this year. Already it’s hit all the important best-seller lists, and with good reason.

“True Blue” follows Mace Perry, a female D.C. cop who was framed for a crime and stripped of her badge. “True Blue” opens with Mace serving her last day in a two-year prison sentence.

Upon Mace’s release, not even her police chief sister, Beth Perry, can give Mace her badge back. Mace thinks her only hope of being reinstated is by solving a major crime. This opportunity falls into her lap when a high-powered D.C. attorney is murdered and stuffed into an office refrigerator. Beth allows Mace to accompany her to the crime scene. That’s where Mace meets the dead attorney’s colleague, Roy Kingman.

Mace and Roy quickly become friends, and work together solving the crime. The pair soon discovers the situation is bigger than one dead attorney. By the time the book ends, other characters die, political webs are untangled, and terrorist strategies are revealed.

Basketball is a recurring component of “True Blue.” Mace strengthened her skills on the prison’s court, and Roy was a college player. The basketball aspect reminds me of another good thriller I recently read, Harlan Coben’s latest novel, “Long Lost.”

My favorite Coben character, Myron Bolitar, is the star. Bolitar is an agent to athletes, and is a former basketball player himself. When a love from his past seeks Bolitar’s help, Bolitar uses his winner’s instincts to battle the worst of foes.

With Baldacci and Coben accompanying me on my workouts, I may be ready to battle just about anything, too.
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CONTACT THE WRITER: Anita Miller welcomes your book suggestions. Read her blog at bookgroupie.freedomblogging.com
 or e-mail anita.l.miller@worldnet.att.net.