To Die For

October 15, 2024
In the third Travis Devine thriller (after The 6:20 Man, 2022 and The Edge, 2023), the former army ranger is assigned by his government handlers at the Office of Special Projects to babysit a 12-year-old girl. Okay, it's a bit more complicated than that: Betsy Odom's parents died suddenly, and her uncle, who's facing RICO charges and is generally thought to be a criminal, is trying to get custody. Travis served with the uncle years earlier, and is tasked with making sure the girl is safe when she meets her uncle for the first time. Travis soon begins to suspect there's more to the death of Betsy's parents than he's been told, and that this is much more than a simple protection assignment. Fans of the first two novels in the series will probably enjoy this one, even though, of the three novels, its story is the weakest, and the verbal interplay between Travis and the precocious, world-wise Betsy feels uncomfortably close to that in Gregg Hurwitz's work. To Die For feels formulaic and serviceable, but undistinguished.

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Starred review from October 15, 2024
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl. Maybe you've met him before as protagonist ofThe 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who'd had the dubious fortune to tangle with "the girl on the train," is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He "was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator," and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other's only living relative--her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she's not yet 13, she's 28 in "life-shit years." The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who's full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead. Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.

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October 28, 2024
Baldacci seamlessly blends a twisty whodunit and a propulsive action plot in his enjoyable third thriller featuring Homeland Security fixer Travis Devine (after The Edge). Devine’s work with the U.S. Office of Special Projects has put him in the crosshairs of an assassin who manages, undetected, to slip a threatening note into his coat pocket, signed simply “The Girl On the Train.” Worried about his safety, Devine’s handlers give him a new assignment: tracking down affluent businessman Danny Glass, who’s been charged with racketeering, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. Glass’s sister and brother-in-law recently overdosed on fentanyl, leaving behind their 12-year-old daughter, Betsy. Glass has applied to become the girl’s legal guardian, a step possibly meant to keep her from sharing incriminating information about him. Devine sets out to befriend Betsy in hopes she’ll disclose what she knows, only to learn that she believes her parents, whom she insists were not addicts, may have been murdered. Baldacci nimbly balances the detective story with Devine’s anxieties about his potential assassination, and the precocious, intrepid Betsy is a hugely memorable supporting character. This keeps the series going strong. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary.