It sounds like a movie pitch: "The story is like Tom Clancy crossed with John Grisham set in the Washington D.C. political world." But David Baldacci's Saving Faith successfully fuses elements from both of these chart-busters in this political thriller spiced with techno-wizardry.

The villain is a classic spy caricature: cold-war CIA super-patriot Robert Thornhill wants to reclaim the glory days of the Central Intelligence Agency--when money flowed like the Mississippi during a flood, and the FBI watched helplessly from the sidelines. Working from his secret underground bunker, he blackmails Danny Buchanan, one of the great Washington lobbyists, to front an enormous bribery scheme that will force Congress to bend to the CIA's whims. But Thornhill's plan springs a leak: Buchanan's assistant Faith Lockhart discovers her boss's dirty dealings, and she intends to expose the whole mess to Thornhill's nemesis, the FBI. Thornhill's associates attempt to assassinate Faith, but their bullet kills her FBI escort instead. Faith finds herself on the run with Lee Adams, a fit-and-trim PI who had been shadowing her at the behest of Buchanan.

If all this sounds a bit confusing, it is at times. Baldacci works hard to keep the tension steadily rising, but it is sometimes difficult to remember why Faith and Lee can't just stop running and go for help. Nevertheless, they are very likable heroes, and Baldacci's depiction of the world of lobbyists and the internecine warfare of the FBI and CIA (complete with state-of-the-art spy gadgets and transmission-proof chambers) elevates the novel with details that can come only from careful research. --Patrick O'Kelley


From Publishers Weekly
Baldacci's fifth high-concept premise in as many novels (The Simple Truth; Absolute Power; etc.) propels his hard-working new thriller: a renegade CIA faction attempts to reassert the agency's primacy over the FBI by manipulating members of Congress who fund both outfits. To do so, the CIA conspirators aim to take over a bribery scheme they've discovered. The scam was concocted by legendary lobbyist Danny Buchanan, who has been greasing the palms of lawmakers to gain their support of bills aiding the poor and hungry overseas. The spooks plan to assassinate Buchanan and his prot?g?, the lovely Faith Lockhart, and force the legislators, under threat of exposure, to support the CIA over the FBI. First, however, they'll have to kill the FBI person guarding Faith, for she has confessed everything to the bureau in hopes of working a deal for herself and Buchanan. But the CIA villains haven't reckoned on the resilience of the two lobbyists, nor on the grit of FBI agent Brooke Reynolds, nor on the skill of PI Lee Adams, who gets caught up in the attempted hit on Faith and her guardianA and who then goes on the run with the lobbyist. The novel evolves into a frantic, exciting chase, FBI after CIA after Lee/Faith, with a few nifty twists. Baldacci's characters continue to grow in complexityAthere's an exceptionally fine scene in which Lee, drunk, nearly rapes FaithAbut, alas, so does his plotting. This novel is overdone, with too many heroes and subplots and enough data withheld from readers to generate confusion. Baldacci's prose can still break the jaws of subvocalizers, too. The novel moves fast, though, and its players and suspense are strongAas should be sales. Main selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club; simultaneous audiobook. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
When lobbyist Danny Buchanan's bribery scheme gets him enmeshed with shady doings at the CIA, his partner, Faith, must run for her life. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Washington Post
"...the last quarter of the book...is so compelling it'll have you turning the pages long past your bedtime."


From AudioFile
Faith Lockhart is a government witness on the run from both the FBI and shadowy assassins. She's helped by Private Investigator Lee Adams, a reluctant witness to an attempt on Faith's life. Chris Noth's reading gives the latest novel by the author of ABSOLUTE POWER a cinematic feel that matches David Baldacci's cliff-hanger storytelling. He's assisted by music that accompanies and underscores the action. Noth gives a slightly sarcastic, world-weary voice to Adams and a nervous, soft voice to the fugitive Faith. Less effective are the whiny voices given to Reynolds and Constantinople, the FBI agents trailing the pair. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Bad guy Robert Thornhill, a deputy director of the CIA, hates the FBI because they have more money and clout than his own agency. So he comes up with a scheme to blackmail various members of Congress into supporting bills that will increase the CIA's power and, not incidentally, give his already considerable ego a major boost. Thornhill has a cadre of supportive CIA colleagues (including some nasty robo killers) to help carry out the scheme. And he's blackmailed lobbyist Danny Buchanan (a good guy) into helping him. Danny's longtime partner Faith Lockhart (another good "guy") suspects Danny is in over his head, so she tries to cut a deal with the FBI to save his skin. Meantime, Danny has enlisted the aid of Lee Adams (good guy number three) to keep Faith from squealing. Then Faith and Lee witness the murder of an FBI agent and become targets themselves. Of course, the danger stimulates the inevitable mutual-attraction hormones between Faith and Lee. Also part of the plot are two dogged FBI agents who get involved in lots of knife fights, stakeouts, and shoot-'em-ups trying to save the trio of good guys. Yes, the plot is too busy and more than a little improbable, but Baldacci makes it work with solid suspense, pithy dialogue, and plenty of hot but tender sex scenes. A must for action fans and a guilty pleasure for everyone else. Emily Melton


From Kirkus Reviews
Wayward politicos, bickering alphabet agencies, conspiracies rampant, gore galoreit 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 dont help, but it's those tacky, comic-strip villains that really do in the suspense. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Saving Faith opens during a meeting of a top-secret cartel headed by Robert Thornhill, deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Pursuing his own agenda, Thornhill pushes the group into arranging the assassination of Faith Lockhart, a Washington lobbyist who, for reasons revealed later in the novel, threatens his plans. The group reluctantly agrees to implement Thornhill's plan, even though it means that an FBI bodyguard must also die.

Scheduled to take place at an FBI safe house, the hit goes wrong due to the timely intervention of private detective Adam Lee, hired to shadow Faith by persons unknown. Although the FBI agent is killed, Lee escapes with Faith, beginning a long, dangerous odyssey that starts in Maryland, moves to North Carolina, and ends in a Senate conference room in Washington. Adam and Faith become fugitives, forced to flee from the police, the FBI, and the CIA.

Okay, by now you probably have several questions, among them: Who is Robert Thornhill, and why does he want Faith Lockhart dead? Who are the members of the secret cartel, and what are their goals? What secrets does a lobbyist possess that could threaten the CIA? Why is her death important enough to sacrifice the life of an FBI agent? Why was Adam Lee at the cabin that fateful night?

Well, I'd be doing Baldacci and his readers a grave disservice by revealing the intricacies of his convoluted plot, so you'll get no answers from this reviewer. I will say, however, that the plot ofSaving Faith ultimately does hang together, making for a gripping read. Like Alfred Hitchcock, Baldacci loves coincidence. Like the famous director, he also takes his audience for a hell of a ride, building to a surprising, satisfying conclusion. (I suspect the Hitchcockian touches were deliberate, as many of the book's elements parallel the classic "North by Northwest"; witness the name Robert Thornhill, suspiciously close to that of Roger Thornhill, the unwilling hero of that movie thriller.) Baldacci remains in top form, showing that the success of his previous books (Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, and The Simple Truth) was no fluke.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Not far from Washington, D.C., in a wooded area of Northern Virginia, a small house at the end of a gravel road serves a secret purpose. With its sophisticated security apparatus and hidden miniaturized cameras, it is being used by the FBI to interview one of the most important witnesses the agency has ever had, a young woman with an incredible story to tell. But few people know about the secret meeting. And for them a ciolent drama is about to begin.

"One man - a local private investigator named Lee Adams - has come to the house on the orders of his client. Another man, a hired killer, stakes out the house on orders from his powerful paymasters. And the witness, Faith Lockhart, is coming to tell the FBI everything she knows about the powerful lobbyist with whom she has worked, a man who manipulates U.S. government policy and who, in the process, made some very dangerous enemies..

"Then, before Faith can tell her story, the hit man pulls the trigger and the wrong victim falls. Now Faith Lockhart is on the run - from the most dangerous people in America - with Lee Adams, a man she doesn't know, yet must trust..

"A relentless chase novel that unfolds as both the FBI and a killer search for Faith and Lee, this is also a suspenseful tale of power gone mad in Washington, and of one woman's desperate attempt to break out of a web of corruption and terror that reaches much further than even she can know.

In the hands of master storyteller David Baldacci, Saving Faith elevates the thriller to a new level and poses stunning questions about the rules we live by, the rules we are governed by and what happens when some people make rules of their own...

SYNOPSIS

In the field of popular fiction David Baldacci is far ahead of the competition. Continuing his string of New York Times bestsellers, Baldacci presents his most electrifying story to date—a novel of nonstop action, vividly etched characters, and an astounding vision of the inner sanctums of our government. Not far from Washington, D.C., in a wooded area of Northern Virginia, a small house at the end of a gravel road serves a secret purpose. With its sophisticated security apparatus and hidden miniaturized cameras, it is being used by the FBI to interview one of the most important witnesses the agency has ever had, a young woman with an incredible story to tell. But a few people know about the secret meeting. And for them, a violent drama is about to begin. One man—a local private investigator named Lee Adams—has come to the house on the orders of his client. Another man, a hired killer, stakes out the house on orders from his powerful paymasters. And the witness, Faith Lockhart, is coming to tell the FBI everything she knows about the powerful lobbyist with whom she has worked, a man who manipulates U.S. government policy and who, in the process, made some very dangerous enemies. Then, before Faith can tell her story, the hit man pulls the trigger and the wrong victim falls. Now Faith Lockhart is on the run—from the most dangerous people in America—with Lee Adams, a man she doesn't know, yet must trust. A relentless chase novel that unfolds as both the FBI and a killer search for Faith and Lee, this is also a searing and utterly suspenseful tale of power gone mad in Washington, and of one woman's desperate attempt to break out of a web of corruption and terror that reaches much further than even she can know. In the hands of master storyteller David Baldacci, Saving Faith elevates the thriller to a new level and poses stunning questions about the rules we live by, the rules we are governed by-and what happens when some people make rules of their own.

FROM THE CRITICS

USA Today - On The Simple Truth

Compelling...finely drawn...a page-turner worth losing sleep over.

Houston Chronicle - On Absolute Power

A grabber...a superior thriller.

New York Times Book Review - On The Winner

Mr. Baldacci has come up with yet another winner...the excitement builds....The plot's many planted bombs explode unpredictably.

Publishers Weekly

Baldacci's fifth high-concept premise in as many novels (The Simple Truth; Absolute Power; etc.) propels his hard-working new thriller: a renegade CIA faction attempts to reassert the agency's primacy over the FBI by manipulating members of Congress who fund both outfits. To do so, the CIA conspirators aim to take over a bribery scheme they've discovered. The scam was concocted by legendary lobbyist Danny Buchanan, who has been greasing the palms of lawmakers to gain their support of bills aiding the poor and hungry overseas. The spooks plan to assassinate Buchanan and his protege, the lovely Faith Lockhart, and force the legislators, under threat of exposure, to support the CIA over the FBI. First, however, they'll have to kill the FBI person guarding Faith, for she has confessed everything to the bureau in hopes of working a deal for herself and Buchanan. But the CIA villains haven't reckoned on the resilience of the two lobbyists, nor on the grit of FBI agent Brooke Reynolds, nor on the skill of PI Lee Adams, who gets caught up in the attempted hit on Faith and her guardian-- and who then goes on the run with the lobbyist. The novel evolves into a frantic, exciting chase, FBI after CIA after Lee/Faith, with a few nifty twists. Baldacci's characters continue to grow in complexity--there's an exceptionally fine scene in which Lee, drunk, nearly rapes Faith--but, alas, so does his plotting. This novel is overdone, with too many heroes and subplots and enough data withheld from readers to generate confusion. Baldacci's prose can still break the jaws of subvocalizers, too. The novel moves fast, though, and its players and suspense are strong--as should be sales. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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