The Guilty

Daddy Issues

A conscience can stop the most ruthless professional killer in his tracks. In The Guilty, the fourth book of David Baldacci’s Will Robie series, the protagonist, a black ops CIA hitman, accidentally shoots a child while assassinating an evil leader on foreign soil. The sight of the child dying causes him such trauma that at his next mission, he imagines a child where there is none and freezes, unable to pull the trigger.

In the CIA’s murky world, a mentally disturbed sniper is no good. Robie’s handler, called Blue Man, gives him a chance to sort out his head before he can be sent out on the field again. It just so happens that Robie’s estranged father, Dan Robie, living in the small town of Cantrell, is arrested for a murder he did not commit.  Robie had left home after high school following a botched love story and never returned. Blue Man tells him kindly that the roots of his problem lie in the past and he must first sort out his Daddy issues before returning to work.

He has no idea what he will find when he reaches his old hometown. The townsfolk are not exactly welcoming of the prodigal son; his father does not even to talk to him, leave aside accepting the offered help.  Dan Robie, who used to be a struggling lawyer is now a judge, living in a grand mansion with a young wife and kid.

Sherman Clancy, the man Robie Sr. is accused of killing is a drunken lowlife, who was accused of murdering a girl, but got off because the judge’s wife provided him with an alibi. Dan Robie has a strong motive for shooting Clancy.

There are a lot of mysterious and unsavoury goings on the Cantrell, and the powerful people involved want to avoid exposure. Will Robie is rescued from an ambush by the timely arrival of his former partner Jessica Reel.  Together, they are capable of cleaning up the corrupt town and solving the mystery of the rising body count.

The climax is as shocking as it is contrived, but it doesn’t take away from the appeal of a fast-paced thriller, that has romance, emotion, action, friendship, family values and a character so badass that the worst serial killers in fiction would tip their hats.

The Guilty

By David Baldacci

Published by: Grand Central

Pages: 432