A Minute to Midnight (An Atlee Pine Thriller, 2)
In this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller, FBI Agent Atlee Pine returns to her Georgia hometown to investigate her twin sister's abduction, only to encounter a serial killer.
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 -- and digging deeper into the past could be more dangerous than she realizes . . .
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 -- and digging deeper into the past could be more dangerous than she realizes . . .
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Community Reviews
Author David Baldacci delivers another riveting chapter in Atlee Pine's journey to learn what really happened to her twin sister so many years ago. As the story opens, stress causes Atlee to explode, resulting in a mandatory vacation away from her official duties as an FBI agent.
She heads to her hometown in Georgia, accompanied by her dedicated assistant, Carol, determined to investigate and, hopefully, solve the mystery of Mercy's disappearance. She finds her family home even more dilapidated than she remembers it, and inhabited by a squatter, Cyrus Tanner, who permits them to look around. Revisiting the bedroom from which Mercy was abducted causes memories to flood back to Atlee, but not necessarily in the way she expected. In fact, every aspect of her visit is surprising, as she meets people who knew her parents and were on the scene of the crime on that horrid night. She learns their perspectives and hears details that her parents never shared with her. For instance, from local citizens she learns that her parents abruptly left town in the middle of the night, but not why they were in such a hurry to leave. She also discovers that her father was the prime suspect in her sister's disappearance.
Quickly, Atlee realizes that before embarking on her trip, she was "not prepared well for what this trip might do to her emotionally, when preparation had been key for everything she had done in her life." Baldacci compellingly and authentically draws readers further into Atlee's inner turmoil and guilt -- the guilt of having survived without ever knowing what happened to Mercy after she was dragged from that bedroom so long ago.
Of course, Atlee can't help but be drawn into the search for a killer, even though she is not in the area in an official capacity. Serial killers don't tend to operate in small American towns, causing Carol to wonder if it's a coincidence that dead body turns up the day after she and Atlee arrived. Her concern causes Atlee to ponder whether her arrival triggered the killing because the two crimes are somehow connected. But it is far from apparent how the murder of a woman whose body is staged wearing a bridal veil, followed by the murder of a man dressed in a tuxedo with a top hat on his stomach and a corsage on his jacket could possibly be tied to Mercy's kidnapping.
The action never slows as Baldacci injects numerous complications into Atlee's investigations while exploring her deepening understanding of the myriad ways in which the events that transpired early in her life have shaped her personality and the ways in which she interacts with others. As she uncovers the truth about her parents' backgrounds, she laments that she went to Georgia to find out what happened to her sister. But in addition, "I have to try to figure out who my parents really were." Atlee appreciates at a deeper, visceral level that she has been alone ever since the night Mercy disappeared, and that she has "never felt that comfort of reassurance again. That sort of connection perhaps came only once in a lifetime. And maybe that's why I find it so hard to connect with anyone else."
Baldacci incorporates another intriguing cast of supporting characters, as well as shocking plot twists, making A Minute to Midnight a clever mystery, as he simultaneously relates Atlee's personal story with compassion and tenderness.
But he also reveals a huge surprise at the end, complete with a cliffhanger that leads to the third volume. Hopefully, soon.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
She heads to her hometown in Georgia, accompanied by her dedicated assistant, Carol, determined to investigate and, hopefully, solve the mystery of Mercy's disappearance. She finds her family home even more dilapidated than she remembers it, and inhabited by a squatter, Cyrus Tanner, who permits them to look around. Revisiting the bedroom from which Mercy was abducted causes memories to flood back to Atlee, but not necessarily in the way she expected. In fact, every aspect of her visit is surprising, as she meets people who knew her parents and were on the scene of the crime on that horrid night. She learns their perspectives and hears details that her parents never shared with her. For instance, from local citizens she learns that her parents abruptly left town in the middle of the night, but not why they were in such a hurry to leave. She also discovers that her father was the prime suspect in her sister's disappearance.
Quickly, Atlee realizes that before embarking on her trip, she was "not prepared well for what this trip might do to her emotionally, when preparation had been key for everything she had done in her life." Baldacci compellingly and authentically draws readers further into Atlee's inner turmoil and guilt -- the guilt of having survived without ever knowing what happened to Mercy after she was dragged from that bedroom so long ago.
Of course, Atlee can't help but be drawn into the search for a killer, even though she is not in the area in an official capacity. Serial killers don't tend to operate in small American towns, causing Carol to wonder if it's a coincidence that dead body turns up the day after she and Atlee arrived. Her concern causes Atlee to ponder whether her arrival triggered the killing because the two crimes are somehow connected. But it is far from apparent how the murder of a woman whose body is staged wearing a bridal veil, followed by the murder of a man dressed in a tuxedo with a top hat on his stomach and a corsage on his jacket could possibly be tied to Mercy's kidnapping.
The action never slows as Baldacci injects numerous complications into Atlee's investigations while exploring her deepening understanding of the myriad ways in which the events that transpired early in her life have shaped her personality and the ways in which she interacts with others. As she uncovers the truth about her parents' backgrounds, she laments that she went to Georgia to find out what happened to her sister. But in addition, "I have to try to figure out who my parents really were." Atlee appreciates at a deeper, visceral level that she has been alone ever since the night Mercy disappeared, and that she has "never felt that comfort of reassurance again. That sort of connection perhaps came only once in a lifetime. And maybe that's why I find it so hard to connect with anyone else."
Baldacci incorporates another intriguing cast of supporting characters, as well as shocking plot twists, making A Minute to Midnight a clever mystery, as he simultaneously relates Atlee's personal story with compassion and tenderness.
But he also reveals a huge surprise at the end, complete with a cliffhanger that leads to the third volume. Hopefully, soon.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
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