The Simple Truth

The Simple Truth is anything but simple – in the telling anyway

The Simple Truth is the story of Rufus Harms, who recovers his memory 25 years after being convicted of killing a young girl. That memory, however, proves his innocence, touching off a series of events involving smuggled documents and clandestine meetings, chases and gun battles, tense emotional drama, and yes, more murder.

Balducci does a good job, keeping the tension and suspense high. While those seeking to aid Harms in clearing his name are known, only gradually do we learn of the forces united against him…often at considerable cost to the heroes. Character development is good, as Rufus Harms comes to life. The characters of John Fiske, a former cop and current show more lawyer, and Sara Evans, US Supreme Court clerk, however, are a bit murkier, as their love story, in particular, seems strained in the context of the ongoing action. And the pacing is excellent, as the story flows from family arguments to murder to courtroom debates seamlessly and relentlessly.

To me, however, the most thought-provoking aspect of the novel was Balducci’s characterization of the US Supreme Court. Who knows how accurate it might be, but it rings of truth, where relatively young clerks yield considerable power, justices horse-trade for votes for their favored causes, and justice for the case takes a back seat to setting enduring precedent. The action kept me tense enough; this additional layer was gravy.

So, for fans of legal thrillers and murder mysteries, The Simple Truth will keep you on the edge of your seat to the final page…and maybe long after. show less

A Supreme Court clerk learns about a conspiracy through an appeal filed by a lifer and is murdered to cover it up. His brother and girlfriend are soon on the case to track the killer.

Baldacci's writing is frequently plodding, the characters are thoroughly stereotyped, and the plot is both predictable and ridiculous.

fast paced tale that goes back to the 1970s ... but the real killers embark on a deadly campaign to ensure that the case will remain closed, eliminating all who could reveal the truth. A Supreme Court Clerk weighs in, gets killed; his girlfriend falls for his brother and..... The story outdoes itself as all the government alphabets get involved. I kept rooting for the girl, but in the end, she was predictable. The herding instinct of some players was also off putting. good plot, though.

This book was on the exchange shelf at the local Y. I've read and enjoyed other books by this author, so I picked it up to read. I started out reading it while waiting for exercise classes to start. This book is different than most Baldacci books I've read in that the action doesn't start out from page 1. In fact, it takes about 75-100 pages before the meat of the story really starts.

Which also means that it took quite a while for me to care about the characters or what happened to them. I rated this a 3 because the last half of the book was compelling, but it took me months to get to that point (and normally I can read a book this length in a week or less).

In fact, the plot reminded me more of a John Grisham book than a David show more Baldacci book, but I am glad to see Baldacci branching out a bit from his action-hero main character type. show less

It seemed to me that the truth was fairly complicated. This is a fast paced tale that goes back to the 1970s when Rufus Harms killed a young girl in an army establishment. He was convicted for life for the crime but this was not the whole truth of the matter. When he remembers what happens he sets in motion a chain of events that result in a high body count and lots of driving in this dramatic and visual novel.

Rufus Harms has been in a military prison for 25 years of a life sentence for killing a young girl. But he's been having flashbacks, and remembers now what really happened. So he sends an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Michael Fiske, a Supreme Court clerk, finds the appeal, which doesn't follow the proper procedures and should be turned down, but something about it interests him, so he takes it with him to check it out. One of the calls he makes is to his semi-estranged brother John, who's an ex-cop turned defense lawyer.

Before John returns the call, though, Michael is killed, and Sarah Evans, the Supreme Court clerk Michael had proposed to shortly before his death, contacts him, and they begin an investigation that brings them closer show more together and deeper in danger.

I really enjoyed the conspiracy plot, but the backstory and the Supreme Court tutorial went on too long and interrupted the story too much. It was interesting, but it really wasn't part of the story.

The romance plot, too, bugged me in spots. I had a very hard time understanding why Michael would propose to Sarah, when they'd only dated casually and hadn't even slept together. I also had trouble believing that Sarah fell in love with John at first glance.

But overall, the complex conspiracy and John's complex character saved the story for me. show less

Quite a good story with interesting characters and a well-paced plot.

I did have a few nits with it, though. (Mainly because I’ve made the same mistakes in my own writing. ^_^) The main one was the constant subject-verb, subject-verb, subject-verb sentences. Quite a few times I noticed over half the sentences in any one paragraph beginning with “he,” “she,” and the like. And, of course, once I saw that, I couldn’t un-see it, so it bothered me for the remainder of the book. In general, the writing is good, but a little more variety in sentence structure would have been wonderful.

And I felt bad for John for losing his brother before being able to become friends with him again. There’s quite a gulf between me and my own show more brother that I doubt will ever be bridged, but seeing it from an outsider’s perspective is sad. show less