SAVING FAITH

Wayward politicos, bickering alphabet agencies, conspiracies rampant, gore galore—it must be time for another of Baldacci’s ponderous potboilers (The Simple Truth, 1998, etc.). Beltway insiders know that as lobbyists go, Faith Lockhart is top of the line. Attractive, smart, energetic, she can charm with the best of them. It’s true, of course, that lobbyists, even winsome ones, are not universally adored. Even so, the position adopted by Bob Thornhill, the CIA’s “most distinguished cold war soldier” and current director of operations, seems extreme. He wants Faith killed. It seems she interferes with something he calls his grand plan, which apparently has to do with keeping America safe, though exactly how Faith qualifies as a threat isn’t all that easy to grasp. At any rate, Thornhill sets a nasty trap for her, which Faith escapes thanks to the derring-do of p.i. Lee Adams. At first an accidental savior, Lee gets more invested in his new assignment when he falls in love. The two go on the lam, with Thornhill’s spooks a hot breath behind them. The FBI is also on their trail, since one of its agents was gunned down in the trap meant to finish Faith, and the feebies can’t decide just where it is that Faith fits in. But quick-thinking Lee rises to all challenges to keep saving Faith. Though representatives of both agencies blanket the airport, he spirits her out of D.C., and they flee to the safe house provident Faith bought years ago against a rainy day. There they consummate their love. But it’s there too that the chase will end, setting the stage for a tableau of spooks vs. feebies blasting away in an updated version of the OK Corral. Graceless prose and shaky plotting don—t help, but it’s those tacky, comic-strip villains that really do in the suspense.