One Good Deed Paperback – Import, 21 January 2020

Was exactly as stated & what I wanted.Love this author. Exciting, can not put down read.

C'est un roman de Harlan Coben qui se lit d'un trait. Passionnant;

Enjoyable. Half way through the second one now.

> WHO? (is the author) -- ONE GOOD DEED certainly feels "different", but Baldacci is very versatile--many of this novels do not resemble one another. So, a new character, in a new time frame, in a new setting, is typical Baldacci. Although it seems that most of my favorite authors have "franchised out" to ghost writers, and I've become cautious about Baldacci, Berry, Grisham, Clancy, this novel is of Baldacci quality, and having read the whole novel, it is very Baldacci-esqe, in terms of structure and development.> WHAT? -- At first the stilted Raymond Chandler-esque (Philip Marlow) dialog seriously put me off and annoyed me. But Baldacci apparently used the style as just "dressing the stage". It is well done for that purpose. Baldacci quickly abandoned the Chandleler-esque dialog (thank heaven) as the novel progressed, albeit, the dialog remains authentically period (that is, as people spoke at the time).> QUALITY Unfortunately the Archer novels are not as clever and crisp as the best Baldacci novels. It's a 5 star for an average author. Three or four stars for Baldacci.> Some reviewers classify the novel as a "noir" (a la Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, et al). But most poorly informed reviewers describe ANY detective novel set in the late-1930s to early 1950s as "noir". ONE GOOD DEED is NOT noir. Noir (meaning "black") is much grittier, colder, pessimistic, and depressing. None of those adjectives apply to ONE GOOD DEED.> WHEN? -- The novel is set in 1949. However, Baldacci refers to Dictaphone removable cassette tape recordings which Dictaphone did not produce until the late 1970s.> WHERE? -- The novel is set somewhere outside Texas but within a day's drive of Amarillo, Texas, in the fictional Poca City. That narrows the location to New Mexico, Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado, or southwestern Kansas. As it happens, there is a Ponca City, Oklahoma. Several "Folsom" place names and/or business names are mentioned. There is a Folsom, Oklahoma (albeit not near Ponca City). So, I think that it is a good bet that the intended general setting is Oklahoma.> WHY? -- ONE GOOD DEED is light engaging satisfying reading in the Baldacci style. Meticulously crafted. Full of twists, turns and surprises, but logical and easy to follow. Consistent with the time frame and setting, there are no f-bombs, and very little other profanity. It's a murder mystery, that will keep you guessing, but you will not be surprised nor disappointed with the resolution --- definitely not Jeffery Deaver-esque. The good guy wins, almost gets the girl and life goes on.> P.S. According to Wikipedia, the small community of Folsom, Oklahoma was named after David Folsom, "a Chickasaw". Actually, David Folsom (my great uncle) was the first elected Choctaw chief, and was the chieftain who led the Choctaw Nation on the "Trail of Tears" from Mississippi to Oklahoma in 1831. Choctaws and Chickasaws are closely related, and share adjacent reservations in Oklahoma. Probably all Chickasaw Folsoms are also descendants of David Folsom. Some of his descendants may also have been named "David". But the town is almost certainly named after the original.

The book is essentially a detective story set in 1949. As one who grew up then, the ambianceseems about right. If you like detective fiction from that era, I think you would enjoy thisbook. Archer is a great character, but he's not a Will Robie, so if that's what you want, probably not the best choice.