The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci

Published by ‎ Grand Central Publishing on July 12, 2022

Travis Devine, former Army Ranger (because what thriller hero isn’t?), works in an entry-level finance job for the investment firm Cowl & Comely. Brad Cowl got a journalist fired for questioning his origin story. He claims to have built himself up from scratch after his parents squandered the family wealth, but he’s the squanderer. Yet he came into a boatload of money and became a Wall Street power player overnight. How did that happen?

Devine isn’t allowed on the 51st floor. Devine has little curiosity about the floor until Sara Ewes, a co-worker he once shagged (in violation of company shagging rules), is found dead in a company closet, having apparently hung herself. Of course, she was murdered. And of course, Devine is a suspect, in part because he stupidly evades disclosing his one-night stand with Sara. Nor does he tell the police about the mysterious, untraceable emails he receives that were sent by someone who had intimate knowledge of the crime. Why does Devine make these poor decisions? Only because the plot requires him to be kinda stupid.

In the time-honored tradition of thriller heroes, Devine decides to clear his name by finding the real killer. Not that he has much choice in the matter. A retired General recruits Devine to investigate his employer, assuring Devine’s compliance by threatening to expose a bad deed that he committed while he was still in the Army.

Devine’s investigation takes him to Sara’s parents (intolerant Christian missionaries from whom Sara was estranged); to co-worker Jenn Stamos, who seems particularly devastated by Sara’s death; and to Cowl’s live-in lover, Michelle, whose bikini-clad body he admires every morning when the 6:20 train passes Cowl’s swimming pool.

Devine lives outside of New York City in an apartment with three roommates. One is a Russian hacker. One is an entrepreneur who has started a dating site. One is a recent law school graduate. The reader will intuit that at least one of the roommates is not what he or she appears to be.

Much of the story — particularly a bizarre scheme to send messages with bikinis — is farfetched, but such is the way of the modern thriller. Still, some plot elements are clever and the story holds together. David Baldacci keeps surprises well hidden and plants enough false clues to prompt guesses whether characters are good guys or bad guys.

There is little depth to the characters, but tough guy protagonists aren’t known for their depth. Devine’s guilt about his military misconduct doesn’t suffice to make him interesting. Devine’s ability to outfight three attackers (he does that multiple times) substitutes for his absent personality, as is typical of tough guy thrillers. Yet gratuitous displays of toughness never dominate the plot. I consider that a plus; fans of gratuitous violence might disagree.

The story seems to set up Devine as the lead character in a new series, as if Baldacci isn’t juggling enough series protagonists without adding another tough guy to the mix. I recommend The 6:20 Man for the interesting story it tells, not because Devine stands out in the crowded world of thriller tough guy protagonists.

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