Predictably Saving Faith
Saving Faith by David Baldacci
Although not a contrarian by nature, I have to admit that Saving Faith is one best selling novel that I just would not recommend. That's a pity because author David Baldacci is fast becoming one of my favorite suspense authors, to say nothing of the fact that he seems like a genuinely nice guy and good writer. But Saving Faith isn't even his best work, much less the best that was available when the book was published a year or so ago.
The Plot In Exactly 100 Words
Faith Lockhart, lobbyist and reluctant government witness, is caught in a mess of interagency rivalries and shadow governments. Circumstances compel her to join forces with Lee Adams, an everyman PI with the right mix of skills and motivation to help. The story travels from Washington to North Carolina's Outer Banks as Faith and Lee avoid being captured by the bad (good) guys and killed by the bad (bad) guys. Complicating matters is super lobbyist Danny Buchanan, Faith's boss and mentor, who is cutting his own deals while watching out for Faith. Will FBI agent Brooke Reynolds believe them? Do you?
Why This Should Work
The story is perfectly serviceable albeit a bit crowded with one too many protagonists littering the landscape. Should the reader's sympathies lie with Lee, the PI who is the classically misunderstood hero? Or with Faith, the talented woman who got in over her head? What about FBI agent Reynolds (saddled with the romance-novelish name Brooke) who is framed and under suspicion?
Ludlum and others have written shadow government stories before, but Baldacci is a Virginia lawyer who perhaps has a keener eye for the machinations of business wooing government. Too many others have written PI outwitting FBI stories, but Baldacci writes wonderful plots filled with twists and unexpected outcomes. And plenty of novels are set in Washington, but only someone who knows the area well gets the details right. Heaven save me from one more description of spies speeding through the non-existent town of Langley, Virginia. Baldacci, a local author, makes none of these elementary errors.
Why This Didn't Work
Although his other novels were chock full of characters plotting misdirection upon each other, this one never seems to click. The evil head of the shadow government is simply too much of a caricature and some readers will see early that he will end up outwitted, disgraced or dead. I also thought several plot elements were weak, particularly the fact that Washington's most powerful lobbyist, with friends in every government office, waits for so long before taking advantage of his connections. And finally, the bad guys never seem to swarm Lee and Faith. Instead, like a bad martial arts movie, they approach single file, waiting to be dispatched with a little derring-do and a lot of luck.
At 450 pages in hardcover there is an awful lot of filler. I am not suggesting that Baldacci should ever strive to be a minimalist, and indeed, find some of his longer novels fun to wallow within for several days at a time. There is simply no compelling reason to stick with Saving Faith for that long. The disgraced agent will be reinstated, Faith and Lee will fall in love, beat the bad guys, and so on. Even if you have not read this particular version of the story, you know the tale well.
The Bottom Line
I do encourage those unfamiliar with Baldacci's work to read some of his earlier work. Absolute Power, since made into a movie, and The Winner are both terrific novels that will keep you turning pages late at night. After you first read the man, you might also want to give Saving Faith a spin, but the book hardly stands as his best work. A paperback for this one is fine and a library copy may even be better.
