A Minute to Midnight (Attlee Pine #) by David Baldacci

From Goodreads:

FBI Agent Atlee Pine returns to her Georgia hometown to reopen the investigation of her twin sister’s abduction, only to encounter a serial killer beginning a reign of terror, in this page-turning thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

FBI Agent Atlee Pine’s life was never the same after her twin sister Mercy was kidnapped–and likely killed–thirty years ago. After a lifetime of torturous uncertainty, Atlee’s unresolved anger finally gets the better of her on the job, and she finds she has to deal with the demons of her past if she wants to remain with the FBI.

Atlee and her assistant Carol Blum head back to Atlee’s rural hometown in Georgia to see what they can uncover about the traumatic night Mercy was taken and Pine was almost killed. But soon after Atlee begins her investigation, a local woman is found ritualistically murdered, her face covered with a wedding veil–and the first killing is quickly followed by a second bizarre murder.

Atlee is determined to continue her search for answers, but now she must also set her sights on finding a potential serial killer before another victim is claimed. But in a small town full of secrets–some of which could answer the questions that have plagued Atlee her entire life–digging deeper into the past could be more dangerous than she realizes . . .

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Having read a few very detailed and involved books recently I needed something a lot easier to read and this fit the bill nicely. Baldacci is pretty much in auto mode with this series. The writing is good, but not great and many of the structures and characters are very familiar to anyone that reads this genre on a regular basis.

I do like to see a strong female character as the lead, in fact there are a number of strong female characters in this one. I’m also glad to see no evidence of man bashing that often accompanies this kind of character. Mrs Blum’s character also felt better this time. In the first story her two personas were just jarring and too disconnected to be believable. This depiction suits her much better.

Overall an easy to read story, with a few little twists and some interesting detail on Atlee’s back story. I definitely like how he’s developing this as we progress through the books. If you can deal with the Scooby Doo style ending then you should enjoy it too.

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