A secret cabal meets in an underground bunker in downtown Washington D.C., to decide the fate of Faith Lockhart. This renegade cabal is led by Robert Thornhill, the deputy director of operations at the Central Intelligence Agency, and is made up of certain men within the intelligence gathering community. Faith is under federal protection by the FBI as a witness in an investigation of bribery of government officials. She was the assistant of a Washington lobbyist, Daniel Buchanan. When the CIA uncovered evidence of Buchanan's bribery tactics, rather than turn him over to the FBI for prosecution, they blackmailed him into acting for the CIA. Now with the FBI on the verge of discovering their schemes, the secret council meets to decide how to stop Lockhart from talking.

But the council's hired assassin takes out the FBI bodyguard and misses his true target, Faith Lockhart. Now Faith is on the run with a man who witnessed the assassination attempt at the remote safe house. A private investigator, Lee Adams, who was hired to follow her by an anonymous client, wounds the sniper and makes an escape with Faith. Lee and Faith become fugitives on the run from police, FBI and CIA.

Why is Faith Lockhart a threat to the Central Intelligence Agency? Who are the members of the secret cabal and what would make them willing to kill a federal witness and an FBI agent?

SAVING FAITH is a political potboiler with a slow take off. The first few chapters leave so many unanswered questions, and switches from one scene to another, until it takes almost one hundred pages to even begin tying things together. Beyond that, this tale becomes a thrill ride. The cast of characters is long and many are thinly portrayed. The romantic chemistry that develops between Faith and Lee is often hostile, and there is an incident of near rape.

SAVING FAITH hangs on the suspense and plot twists. This is not my favorite Baldacci novel –it's an overly ambitious tale that falls under the weight of too many characters and too much background narrative. However the premise, once it is clear, is suspenseful and convincing.

David Baldacci has a political science and law degree, and has worked as a trial lawyer in Washington D.C. He is the author of nine books and SAVING FAITH made number one on the New York Times Bestseller list after its release.

March 2004