I’d already written off  David Baldacci as not nearly as good as Koryta, Rankin, Silva and Michael Connelly. 

So why bother?

He’s super popular but not all that good a writer.

For some reason I tried Baldacci’s 2019 book One Good Deed and was pleasantly impressed.

It’s surprisingly and refreshingly simple.  Slower.  Cleaner.

It’s 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do‘s and a much longer list of don’ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don’t go to bars, certainly don’t drink alcohol, do get a job — and don’t ever associate with loose women.

The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer’s years serving in the war or his time in jail. Within a single night, his search for gainful employment — and a stiff drink — leads him to a local bar, where he is hired for what seems like a simple job: to collect a debt owed to a powerful local businessman, Hank Pittleman.

Soon Archer discovers that recovering the debt won’t be so easy. …