HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Zero Day (John Puller, Book 1) (John Puller…
Loading...

Zero Day (John Puller, Book 1) (John Puller Series) (original 2011; edition 2012)

by David Baldacci (Author)

Series: John Puller (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,831984,986 (3.74)67
Combat veteran and U. S. Army investigator John Puller is on the hunt for justice with the help of a homicide detective--but as they face deceptions and dead ends, a powerful force threatens to stop them forever in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller. John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth. Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.… (more)
Member:eileen33441
Title:Zero Day (John Puller, Book 1) (John Puller Series)
Authors:David Baldacci (Author)
Info:Grand Central Publishing (2012), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Collections:Your library, Read but unowned
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Zero Day by David Baldacci (2011)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 67 mentions

English (94)  Spanish (3)  Dutch (1)  All languages (98)
Showing 1-5 of 94 (next | show all)
(2011)Derivative thriller about a small W Virginia mining town with a secret; a nuclear weapons stash that's knowledge of has brought on several deaths. John Puller of the Army is brought in to investigate the death of an officer and his family that leads to the secret. Much like a Jack Reacher novel only not as well done. KIRKUS REVIEWIn his 22nd, Baldacci (The Sixth Man, 2011, etc.) introduces a soldier/sleuth who fights like Rambo and thinks like Holmes.Mountain-sized and ?ber-brainy, John Puller is about as unconquerable as mere mortals get to be. An ex-warrior„Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else his country's enemies happened to be entrenched„he's served with unvarying distinction. As a consequence, the fruit salad (Army slang for medals) he pins to his dress uniform tells a glory story already the stuff of legend. These days, however, Warrant Officer Puller fights a somewhat different kind of war„quieter perhaps, but only marginally less dangerous. Employed by the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigations Division, he battles military crime, and he is„it's universally acknowledged„terrific at it. Still, his latest assignment has him scratching his head a bit. In tiny Drake, W.Va., a colonel, his wife and two teenage kids have been murdered, and Puller's been ordered to find out the why and catch the who. A pitiless, carefully staged bloodbath, it's the kind of headline-grabber that ordinarily would have had teams of special agents pell-melling into Drake, yet here's Puller flying solo, offered not much more in terms of guidance than, ?play nice with the locals.? On the upside, one of the locals turns out to be a smart, remarkably attractive police sergeant named Samantha Cole. Born and Bred in Drake, she's in a position to provide needed insights into her town's power structure and usual suspects list. Four dead bodies on Puller's arrival, a total that almost at once zooms to seven with no real reason to suppose it's reached its limit. What's going on in this small, coal belt community to suddenly transform it into a charnel-house? Another poser for Puller: how to keep from personally adding to the count?Relentlessly formulaic, but Puller is a strong enough protagonist to keep the pages turning.
  derailer | Jan 25, 2024 |
An absolutely great beginning book for the Puller series. I had read another Puller series book, not realizing it was later in the series - so when I found that out, I went back and read this one. Really superb action and characters. ( )
  highlander6022 | Nov 12, 2023 |
E Book. New series to me. And another WOW! ( )
  MustangGuy | Oct 23, 2023 |
Pretty good mystery/thriller with some last minute plot twists. Army investigator sent to W. Virginia town to investigate brutal murders of Colonel and his family. Partners with local police chief. Unclear as to why no support team was sent with him, Puller uncovers more killings and probes for a motive. I will note that Puller and the situation he uncovers is somewhat reminiscent of retired Army MP Jack Reacher.
  ritaer | Aug 15, 2023 |
Synopsis: 'John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.
Now Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong lawman with personal demons of her won joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen is what it seems. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.' From book jacket.
Review: In these days of distrust of everyone in the government, and by extension, the military, the deception in this book is far too 'current events' to seem less than real. Another good read by this author.
  DrLed | May 28, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 94 (next | show all)
The book, which debuted earlier this month, is now number one on the New York Times best sellers list.

It introduces former Army Ranger John Puller, now the “best military investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division,” who is assigned to solve the particularly brutal murder of Army Colonel Matthew Reynolds and his family in a small West Virginia mining town.

Baldacci said he based his hero on CID agents he’s known – agents who are called in when a crime involving the military happens in a civilian environment.

“These guys tend to be very tenacious,” the author said. “I became interested in how the military would work in the civilian justice sector. The American people see a lot about the military soldiers and the Pentagon and the war. I wanted to take a soldier who had seen all that war and bring him back to work on domestic ground.”

Puller is a haunted man. A career Army veteran, he’s lost men in Afghanisitan, driving him close to the edge.

“As horrific as the murders of the Army officer and his family were, they couldn’t come close to what Puller’s seen in battle,” Baldacci explained. “He’s got a laser beam focus. When he misses something, people die. He can’t accept that. If he becomes unfocused, the edges would start to swallow him. He can’t allow that to happen. He’s like a machine in some ways, but right now, that’s the only way he can survive.”

Creating a new character has its own challenges.

“I really tried to focus on making John Puller the kind of guy who’s going to lead you through a story,” he said. “He doesn’t care about upsetting superiors or getting local cops mad at him. He needs to find out who killed these people.”

Puller’s father is a military hero. His brother, also an officer, is locked up for treason.

“For a military person, that’s an extraordinary amount of baggage – a legend on one side, a traitor on the other,” Baldacci said. “Having a father who was a major general is not always a good thing.”

Puller, however, decided to build a career in the Army. He didn’t attend West Point like his father and brother. He’s made his own way, on his own terms.

There are more John Puller books planned.

“This was the first book I’ve written where I sat down and knew this was going to be a series,” said Baldacci, whose book sales have reached over 110 million. “We’re sending it [‘Zero Day’] out to Hollywood this week. We’ll see what happens.”
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
David Baldacciprimary authorall editionscalculated
McLarty, RonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
To the memory of my mother
And to Charles "Chuck" Betack, my friend
First words
The cloud of coal dust driven deeply into his lungs nearly caused Howard Reed to pull his mail truck off the road and throw up onto the stunted, burnt grass.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Combat veteran and U. S. Army investigator John Puller is on the hunt for justice with the help of a homicide detective--but as they face deceptions and dead ends, a powerful force threatens to stop them forever in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller. John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth. Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he's seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.74)
0.5
1 8
1.5 1
2 21
2.5 5
3 151
3.5 51
4 225
4.5 21
5 92

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,189,394 books! | Top bar: Always visible