Several plot lines run parallel before they intersect into an explosion of energy. Rufus Harms has been in a military prison for more than twenty-five years, convicted of strangling a young girl. There were witnesses to his crime, yet we're told early on that he's innocent of the crime. Receiving a letter from the Army, a letter that will change the course of many lives, Rufus asks his original lawyer to visit the prison. After Rufus explains his new information to his lawyer, the lawyer agrees to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, circumventing the lower courts.

When the appeal reaches the Supreme Court, law clerk Michael Fisk reads it and is appalled at the horrific information. He steals the appeal before it even begins to make its rounds and travels to Virginia to visit Harms, with Harms' appeal in his brief case. He's just sealed his own death warrant. When Rufus discovers what Fisk has done, he realizes that the men named in his appeal now know that their ugly secret may be revealed. Who will be killed in order to cover up the names of these men? And what is it that they've done that's so heinous?

Plenty, as we discover in this taut story. We're taken on a journey that travels through the military justice system, the Supreme Court, the Washington, D.C. police, just to name a few. Anybody who knows Harms or knows about the appeal begins to die. When Michael Fisk's brother, ex-cop John, and Supreme Court law clerk Sara Evans join forces, they uncover a multilayered conspiracy that keeps surprising the reader until the very end.

There are also strong leads and supporting characters. One of Baldacci's strengths is his ability to make his characters realistic, thus making us care for them or fear them. The Simple Truth is no exception. Baldacci's characters are richly detailed, compelling and complex. The same can be said of the plot. It never slows down until the end.

Finally, I did begin to weary of the lucky escapes, near misses, false leads and coincidences which really weren't. In one scene when we realize that three different sets of characters are going to converge at the same spot, I wasn't as unnerved as I was interested in how Baldacci would pull this off without resorting to buffoonery. He does it, with some fast-thinking by the leads that had me admiring his writing skill and his audacity.

Bottom line: The Simple Truth is anything but simple. Strong characters, a complex plot, but too many improbabilities for me to be in awe of the plotting.

--Linda Mowery