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The only thing potentially worse than not being able to see the forest for the trees is not being able to see the trees because of the forest. - anonymous
As the book description goes - THE SIXTH MAN Edgar Roy-an alleged serial killer held in a secure, fortress-like Federal Supermax facility-is awaiting trial. He faces almost certain conviction. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy's attorney, Sean's old friend and mentor Ted Bergin, to help work the case. But their investigation is derailed before it begins-en route to their first meeting with Bergin, Sean and Michelle find him murdered. It is now up to them to ask the questions no one seems to want answered: Is Roy a killer? Who murdered Bergin? With help from some surprising allies, they continue to pursue the case. But the more they dig into Roy's past, the more they encounter obstacles, half-truths, dead-ends, false friends, and escalating threats from every direction. Their persistence puts them on a collision course with the highest levels of the government and the darkest corners of power. In a terrifying confrontation that will push Sean and Michelle to their limits, the duo may be permanently parted.
What I like about the story is that I truly learned a lot of new things. Edgar Roy possesses an EIDETIC memory which is sometimes referred to as having a photographic memory. However, I learned that there is a difference between these two terms - while a person having a photographic memory can recall mostly visuals, those with eidetic memory also recall the sensory information.
The book also contain some riveting facts about weapons, firearms and ballistics. I did not know that the standard issued gun for FBI agents is either a Gloc or a Sig. 'Google-ing' the difference, I was offered some technical descriptions that are far beyond my comprehension. There's also Parabellum which was derived from the Latin saying "If you wish for peace, prepare for war". What an apt name for a gun! Beretta was also mentioned but for me, a gun is a gun is a gun.
I was also struck by another analogy in the novel of the character James Harkes' (used to be the watchdog of Peter Bunting, the creator of the intelligence system, and provides one of the twists in the story) return to his true master like Cerberus to Hades. Cerberus, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound that guards the Underworld and Hades is the god of the Underworld. I was so fascinated by the parallelism used by the author!
There's so much more to share - like why was it called an E-program! E stands for Ecclesiastes - yap, that book in the Bible. The 'why' I leave to your interpretation and probably give you an opportunity to discover by reading the book and share my fascination.
The book has kept me on the edge of my seat (well, of my bed, really). I am now really excited to have Baldacci sharing my nights...errr, reading his work. :)
