If this is the first book in a series I am hoping for improvement in the Atlee Pine character and a better story.

Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan X Long Road to Mercy is David Baldacci at his best, introducing an engrossing new heroine, FBI Agent Atlee Pine. If you're wondering why David Baldacci is considered the best, look no further than LONG ROAD TO MERCY. You may have to suspend disbelief at times but overall the plot was compelling and the characters well fleshed out and believable.The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Of course, Atlee dealt them her brand of "you-know-what", leaving them all cuffed together, each suffering his own brand of pain.

Obviously he’s written other female characters but Atlee is the standalone lead and he comments that she’s one of the most unique characters he’s created. The central protagonist here, Atlee Pine, is a heavyweight as a character, you get a real sense of her as a rounded character, vulnerable but spectacularly good at her job, unafraid of doing what has to be done even when her life and those of others is on the line.