Review of "No Man's Land: A John Puller Thriller" by David Baldacci

In this 4th book in the John Puller series, the army investigator looks into a cold case that involves his family. The novel works fine as a standalone.

*****

The Puller men are all in the military. General John Puller Sr. has devoted his life to the service......



and his two sons are Air Force Major Robert Puller;



and Chief Warrant Officer John Puller Jr., an investigator with the army's Criminal Investigation Division (CID).



General John Puller Sr. has dementia and is residing in a care facility, where he should live out his golden years in peace. Unfortunately, this may not happen. It seems new information has surfaced about the disappearance of John Sr.'s wife Jackie (John Jr. and Robert's mother) thirty years ago.



Three decades ago, when the Puller family was living Fort Monroe, Virginia, Jackie engaged a sitter for Robert (10) and John Jr. (8), left the house, and never returned. An investigation turned up no suspects, and John Sr. was immediately cleared because he was out of the country on the fateful day.

Now the army has received a letter from an old friend of Jackie's - a terminally ill woman who wants to clear her conscience. The writer claims Jackie was afraid of her husband John; that John was in Fort Monroe on the day Jackie vanished; and that John killed Jackie.



When army investigators look into the allegations they discover that John Sr. WAS in Fort Monroe on the critical day, and - as a courtesy - they inform army cop John Jr. that they're looking into the accusations against his father.

John Jr. is sternly warned not to interfere with the army's inquiries, but the investigator is determined to learn the truth about his mother. So John Jr. proceeds to look into the matter with help from his brother Robert and an investigator named Veronica Knox, who's a personal friend.



Meanwhile, a fiftyish convict called Paul Rogers is getting out on parole after ten years in prison. Rogers is freakishly strong; fights like a demon; usually feels no pain; and has no conscience. All this is connected to an implant in Rogers head, which sometimes causes horrible debilitating agony. It turns out Rogers was the subject of a secret experiment thirty years ago, and he plans to get revenge on the people who did this to him.



The story alternates back and forth between John Jr. looking into his mother's disappearance and Paul Rogers' quest for retribution. The two storylines eventually converge in Virginia, after much fighting, shooting, stabbing, killing, etc.

This is an action packed take with an exciting climax, recommended to fans of thrillers.

Rating: 3.5 stars