Title:	Simply Lies
	Author:	David Baldacci
	Published:	April 18, 2023, Grand Central Publishing
	No. of Pages:	432
	Cover Price:	$14.99 Kindle

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Every book by a favorite writer can’t be a masterpiece; sometimes a not-so-good book makes one wonder if that favorite author even really wrote the book. So it is with David Baldacci’s Simply Lies. Mickey Gibson, former cop and detective, is now working for ProEye, a company that chases assets of mega-rich deadbeats. As a single mother of 2 toddlers, she happily works from home to be with them. That is, until she receives a call to check out a mansion without checking with her boss, and becomes involved in finding the murderer of a former mob accountant who turned state’s witness and is going by an assumed name. The race is on to find the money left behind.

While Baldacci is usually an excellent storyteller, this story is convoluted, long-winded, and frankly a bit boring. The characters are quite well developed, but they are not exciting, and there were several times that it got mundane to the point of putting the book down for good. There are several sub-plots that aren’t really necessary. Baldacci fans are used to his ability to tie the sub-plots together; that doesn’t happen in this novel. In fact, after the dénouement, the book seems to be like an Energizer bunny and keeps on going, and going, and going ad nauseum with a sappy conclusion.

Reading this book is actually painful; possibly Baldacci’s worst, and it is not recommended. Fans of Baldacci will be disappointed and will look forward to the next novel he actually writes. Baldacci novels usually get five stars; this one deserves no more than two.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.