Review: Everyman going nowhere
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2011
In "No Time Left," we meet Frank  Becker, David Baldacci's main character, standing in front of a "modern" building in a city "that had seen more prosperous days."Becker is of "average features" and is someone who blends into the pale landscape by virtue of "the bland suits he wore, the low decibels of his speech, his everyman's attention to any location other than him." His line of work allows no room for empathy. Compassion is not constructive. To Becker, feeling conveys weakness. If he has a distinguishing characteristic, it's that he was born without an index finger on his right hand.With little time to build character or tension, short stories must be difficult to write. This one reads as if Baldacci was preoccupied with something else. He seems intent on making "No Time Left" as plain and unprepossessing as possible. And then at the last minute he pitches the curve ball that comes fast out of nowhere and is meant to hit with a shock.  Except it doesn't. Unlike some of his better efforts - "Stone Cold" comes to mind - this time out Baldacci fails to engage. "No Time Left" is simply plain and unprepossessing.