Nash Falls is an excellent start to another series from David Baldacci. It is a fast-paced and engaging thriller with a sympathetic lead character.
Walter Nash is a middle of the road business man; not very interesting in lots of ways. But he’s good at his job, does well financially as a result, and has a happy family life. He is essentially an office worker with few physical skills.
Then one day, the FBI comes knocking and tells him that the business he’s working for is actually a criminal organization. They pressure him into helping them gain the information they need to destroy the organization. But in so doing, Nash’s personal world is destroyed, and he turns into a man with a singular focus on revenge.
I’ve greatly enjoyed many of Baldacci’s earlier novels, including Simply Lies and A Minute to Midnight. He writes both multiple series and standalone books.
This novel does end abruptly – it’s not even a cliff hanger, really, it’s as if it just stops in the middle of the story. It was quite disconcerting. The following pages confirm that there’s at least one more novel coming. So be warned: nothing is resolved. You will definitely be left hanging.
Having said that, you’ll likely also be strongly engaged. Baldacci’s heroes are often very, very good at one or two things, and in this case, he’s given us a hero who is very good at something which initially seems useless for the task he’s set himself. Readers will appreciate seeing how he uses these skills to good effect as he goes after those who destroyed his life.
Readers will also empathise with him as he tries to change himself into someone better suited to achieve his new goals. Nash is initially someone you could easily see yourself in, and few could fail to sympathise with his destructive desires. This is a novel about a man pushing past his boundaries, and it retains a strong sense of credibility even as Nash changes beyond belief.
The plot is relatively simple, but remarkably compelling. Baldacci provides extra depth by narrating chapters from multiple viewpoints. I wouldn’t say I necessarily developed much sympathy for all of those characters, but I certainly understood them better. It also added some extra dimensions to a straightforward plot.
I enjoyed this a great deal, and I will definitely be looking out for the sequel. Readers who enjoy thrillers, fast-paced action, and strong characters are all likely to find things to enjoy here.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Nash Falls by David Baldacci. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, and I love sharing that joy.
I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, across all genres. There’s not much I won’t at least try. I’ve been an enthusiastic book reviewer for years. I particularly enjoy discovering writers new to me, and sharing good writing with others.
My career has included time spent writing and editing technical documents, but it’s fiction that really moves me. I’ve reviewed for a number of different outlets over the years, and have been a judge in literary competitions.
I’m now raising little bookworms of my own, which brings a whole new kind of joy to sharing books.
More of my reviews can be found on my review blog www.otherdreamsotherlives.home.blog .
Nash Falls by David Baldacci (Pan MacMillan Australia) is a gripping thriller, with well developed characters, lots of action and plenty of twists.
It is the story of Walter Nash, a mild-mannered, “Walter Mitty-type” family man whose talent for numbers has seen him become a successful senior acquisitions executive at an investment company.
Nash’s ordered life is turned completely upside down when the FBI persuade him to become an informant against his boss who (unbeknown to Nash) has been engaged in serious criminal activity – money laundering, blackmail, murder…
Nothing that Nash has believed in is what he thought. And suddenly, as everything he knows and cares about is stripped from him, Nash realises that to survive and make sense of what is happening, he must reinvent himself. He can no longer be a quiet, play by the rules kind of man. In the dangerous criminal world he now finds himself in, Nash must become a man of action and as ruthless and calculating as the dangerous people he is up against.
This is a captivating and suspenseful read and the abrupt ending, which leaves a lot unresolved, sets you up for the next book in the series… cant wait!
An absolutely ripper of a read! Thoroughly enjoyed the unique plot, the transformation as well as the blend of characters. Cannot wait for the next one!
WOW …. seriously David Baldacci has the most amazing mind.
Reading Nash Falls was amazing. I tried so hard to work out what might happen next but there was no way that I could match all the amazing twists and turns that occur in this brilliant story. It really would make the most awesome tv mini series and im sure people would become obsessed.
Walter Nash is living his life when without warning everything changes and his life is thrown into total craziness. Suddenly he is working with the FBI which puts not only his but his wife and daughters lives on the line.
There are so many twists that to explain them all would take an age.
Seriously if you love a good mystery then this is the book for you.
Want to give a book that a mystery lover will adore then purchase Nash Falls.
Seriously engrossing and totally amazing.
Another thing I liked was that this book is made up of 85 short chapters which is brilliant when you are super busy as you can always leave the story at the end of a chapter.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Panmcmillan for the opportunity To review ‘Nash Falls’ by David Baldacci.
In true Baldacci style this book will keep you entertained as it was as usual, a great read.
The book begins with Walter Nash attending the funeral of his father Ty (Tiberius).
Married to his wife Judith from a young age he has a daughter Maggie who has aspirations to be an influencer. Walter is an introvert and an excellent businessman, he has done well for himself but was no longer close to his father. The distance between them seemed to occur when his preference was tennis rather than football.
Approached by the FBI after his father’s funeral, Walter is very disturbed.
Apparently, the company where he is employed is a criminal organisation where violence and crime are commonplace, they want his help!
Can quiet unassuming Walter change and will his family fit in to his new life.
The first in the series, this book will have you eager to read the next one!