Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: July 12, 2022
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense
A cryptic murder pulls a former soldier turned financial analyst deep
into the corruption and menace that prowl beneath the opulent world of
finance, in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from David Baldacci.
Every
day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his
faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan,
where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious
investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the
lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In
the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already
preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance.
Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous
email: She is dead.
Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former
girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office
building—presumably a suicide, at least for now—prompting the NYPD to
come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, before the day is out,
Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to
dredge up grim secrets from his past in the army unless he participates
in a clandestine investigation into his firm. This treacherous role
will take him from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only
through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic
halls of power . . . where something rotten lurks. And apart from this
high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own
agenda, and Devine is the bull’s-eye.
The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci is being sold as a standalone, however, with the way this book ends, there are more than a few more new avenues to explore. I would not be shocked or surprised if the author wrote a sequel. Every
day without fail, 32-year-old Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his
faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan,
where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious
investment firm, Cowl and Comely. It's a cutthroat job where everyone is out for themselves.
In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance. Travis only got his MBA after leaving the military, and then only to punish himself for his own actions overseas. He choose to become an analyst because his father always wanted him to be ‘as successful’ as his older brother and sister. If he can make his father happy, it doesn't matter if he's happy.
Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead. Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker, was found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide, at least for now—prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. Rumor has it that Brad Cowl himself might have been involved romantically with Sara. If that wasn’t enough, before the day is out, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm.
Travis Devine is a curious character. He decided to go against his own fathers wishes by entering West Point. He later went on to Ranger School and was attached to the 75th Ranger Regiment. Devine is a highly decorated soldier who saw plenty of action in America's never ending wars. Until he was involved in something that forced him to abruptly leave the military. With cops hot on his heals, Devine is approached by retired General Emerson Campbell who now works for the Office of Special Projects for Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
Devine has a choice. Work for Campbell and uncover the curious nature of Cowl and Comely secretive Area 51, or spend the rest of his life at a maximum security prison for what he did to a fellow officer. The choice is pretty easy. This treacherous role will take him from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power . . . where something rotten lurks. Then another woman at his firm is murdered.
Then the parents of Sara are violently killed, and things seem to be pointing to an international conglomerate with trillions in wealth to spread around. Apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, as well Travis always looking over his shoulder, he has to deal with his fellow roommates Will Valentine (hacker), Helen Spears (lawyer) and Jill Tapshaw (Dating Company). There's a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine may be the next victim if he doesn't watch his back.
I once called David Baldacci a conspiracy theorist who seems to lean one way politically. In this book, Baldacci actually sets up a real world scenario that absolutely could happen thanks to our crooked political system where everyone has to make cash fast. Don't believe me? Check out the current news about politicians using insider trading to get rich while the rest of us suffer to pay our bills. Even with the stock act, politicians are still getting rich off the stock market.
So here's the idea: Imagine if the Taliban or Iran or North Korea or Russia were getting cash flow from investments in this country to fund their terrorist activities thanks to politicians looking the other way and lining their own pockets? Think about Kim Jong-un as a landlord in New York? How about an Iranian ayatollah owning thousands of acres of land in Kansas? Or Putin owning massive oil fields in Texas? Or, China owning streets, and villages, and shopping centers, and mobile parks, and businesses all across this country, and likely certain members of the House?
So, who is the crazy person? The author who actually real life scenarios at your fingertips, or the person who walks around saying Not My Monkey, Not My Circus! There is a slight romantic avenue that appeared in this book. That is why I said it would not be a surprise if the Devine and this other character managed to work together again in the future.
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