No Man’s Land By David Baldacci (John Puller #4)

No Man’s Land is the fourth book in the John Puller thriller series by David Baldacci and I have to admit that somehow I missed this series entirely because reading the David Baldacci books in order includes so much more than just John Puller

What do you do when there is no new information about your mom, who went missing almost 30 years ago, and it involves your decorated dad who is now in a VA nursing home with dementia?

You start investigating, that’s what you do. And that’s exactly what John Puller decides to do, even when there are forces at work which don’t want him anywhere near the old case, going as far as threatening him with court-martial if he touches the investigation in any shape or form.

When John was merely a child, one night his mother Jackie Puller disappeared from Fort Monroe, the military base they were at the time living on. She was never seen again, despite a very extensive search of the surrounding area. John never gave up on finding her, but there was literally nothing to go on in the investigation, so he had to move on.

Now 30 years later a letter from an old family friend finally seems to shed some light on the ancient happenings. And that’s the good news. The bad news is that the letter’s finger points at John’s dad, now a retired 3 star General suffering from dementia, as having been the one who killed her.

John Puller, a CID investigator can’t leave the case alone, not only because it’s about his family, but also because he knows that his dad can’t defend himself, not with his advanced stage of dementia.

Much to his surprise he is pulled off from the case and told to let the past be.
While John is musing on the happenings, meet Veronica Knox, an old friend who comes to his aid with some information and a willingness to help him solve his mom’s murder.

The more the two investigate, the weirder the case gets, and this where we realize that the two seemingly separate storylines in the book are in fact intersecting through particular Paul Rogers, involving something that took place 30 years ago when John’s mom disappeared without a trace.

Can the two cases be truly connected? And are the stories about the Beauty and the Beast TV series actually true? And what does all this have to do with Building Q?

The story is a fast-paced military thriller involving a defunct secret government project which seems to be still well alive, superhumans, serial killers and a son’s thirst for knowledge, justice, and revenge.

While I have read almost every book by David Baldacci, somehow I missed reading this series, so I jumped in with both feet with book #4. Without knowing anything prior to the series, I could easily follow the story, it can very well stand on its own. Knowing myself, however, I will go back and read the previous three books, and then continue with the series as the author writes more, because John Puller is a character well worth meeting and following.

No Man’s Land by David Baldacci
Series: John Puller #4
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Published 2016
Genres: Military Thriller, Thriller
Source: Review Copy
Also by this author: King and Maxwell, End Game