Travis Devine has retired from his role as an Army Ranger and joined the ranks of young interns trying to make a name for themselves in the cutthroat world of New York finance. A commuter on the 6:20 train, he finds himself pulled into a world of murder and money laundering. When a mentor and love interest at his firm is found hanging in a storage room, it's not long before it's ruled a murder and Travis is the prime suspect. Now, he's being pulled into covert operations by a retired general and the body count is rising.

I struggled with this one. While the story was full of twists and thrills, I was also distracted by dated terminology and awkward dialogue. The main characters were all in their 20s & early 30s, yet they sounded much older and many of their behaviors felt more like what a 60 year old thinks young people do, than what they actually do. I can see why long time readers of Baldacci would enjoy this one, but I don't think he'll be attracting young readers just because his protagonist is younger.

The audio narration was okay. I was distracted by the addition of female voices when the main narrator could have just done it all.

first baldacci book and I can't say I was let down. very different than what I was expecting but good none the less. I couldn't wait to figure out the significance at the end but it answered all of my questions.

I love a good David Baldacci standalone thriller. This one has a lot going on at one time: conspiracies, murder, financial crime, and more. The protagonist is an intriguing character and the story moves along at a good clip, especially once more and more become revealed.

This was a highly addictive, fast-paced read. Travis, a former army ranger, is somehow roped into searching for a killer at a fortune 500 Manhattan company. There are so many twists and turns. I did NOT see the murderer coming. This can totally turn into a successful series- if that's the case, sign me up!

Leaving reviews on goodreads and amazon.

Travis Devine is a West Point graduate who abruptly cut his military career short, got an MBA and became an overworked analyst at a financial firm. Sara Ewes was Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, and her suicide starts Devine on a convoluted path. The police won’t stop questioning him, strangers start threatening him and he really wants to know more about the bikini-clad woman who puts on a show every morning for the passengers of the 6:20 train.

I read one other book by this author and didn’t like it very much. This book was much more entertaining. It is a standalone, but can easily be turned into a new series. If there is another book I will read it. It was long, but fast paced and I was never tempted to start skimming. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved as the body count continues to grow. Who is emailing Devine from a hidden account? What’s really happening on the locked floor of the firm? Who can Devine trust? I liked Devine, but there were also a lot of other characters with interesting stories, including Devine’s three housemates and the woman in the bikini. The narrators of the audiobook did a very good job. 4.5 stars

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

David Baldacci is a family favorite author, so I was excited to get an advanced copy of The 6:20 Man.

This book follows the character Travis Devine, a former Army soldier now working up the ranks on Wall Street. Every day he takes the 6:20 train into work. This train passes the home of the owner of the firm where he works. Each day the other Wall Street guys oogle at a woman clad in various red and green swimsuits at the home.

One day Travis arrives to work to find out that a woman he was in a relationship with has hung herself. No one knew about their relationship and in poking around, Travis learns that the woman he thought he knew and the company he works for aren’t what he thought.

Baldacci did a great job building suspense and intertwining the different characters of the book. The book is action packed, humorous, and contains the right about of spice found in his books.

I had the luxury of also receiving the audio book. The narrator was perfect for this read.

Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 (4.5/5)

David Baldacci's The 6:20 Man is a fast-moving action thriller that has you on the edge of your seat. I was drawn into the story right away.

The story is engaging, and Baldacci maintains the tense atmosphere that keeps you engaged. The plot is enticing, action-packed, and complex, revolving around financial crimes, national security, and corruption, among other things. There are several plot twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. The plot is wildly unpredictable! I definitely didn't see it coming at the end.

I listened to the audiobook version and absolutely loved the narration. Thanks to @Netgalley and @HachetteAudio for providing me with the review copy. I couldn't stop picturing an action-packed film in my head.

I liked all of the characters, but I thought there were a few too many of them. It was getting difficult for me to remember each one and their connections at one point. Nonetheless, I adored the fact that there were multiple strong supporting leads.

Overall, David Baldacci's The 6:20 Man is yet another masterpiece—an excellent crime thriller with addictive storytelling that draws you into the complex web of twists and turns. I hope there will be a sequel.

The 6:20 Man AUDIO by David Baldacci is a new stand-alone novel which may become a new character in Baldacci’s arsenal of interesting heroes in the undercover fight for justice what is his stock and trade. Travis Devine is a drone at a Wall Street company, making millions for the owner, but leaving him working 80 hours a week and making enough to pay his rent and his transportation costs. He lives an hour away and takes the train every day, which provides him with his only bright spot as they pass mansion where a beautiful woman sunbathes in bikinis or barely there one-pieces on an almost daily basis. The train stops there for some unknown reason and then moves on. One day he gets an odd email about a woman having died in his building. He knew her. In fact, they had dated for a time despite the rules against it. He had like her, thought maybe she might be the one. Then she broke it off and now she was dead. It was only then that strange things started happening: the police focused in on him; some retired two-star general blackmailed him into going undercover at his company; and his curiosity was whetted.

Travis is a good character. He is a little over thirty; had left the military, which he had loved, under a cloud and inflicted the punishment of this job on himself, possibly as penance. He had like Sara and was heartbroken to hear of her death, even more heart-broken when a couple of days later he had learned it was murder. There was no doubt that there were things going on in this building that were not right. Was the murder part of that? He got up very early every morning and was at the local high school working out by four before going to work. He was in prime physical shape and had been well-trained as an army ranger, which came in handy several times. He had three roommates, all of whom he liked and thought they were there by happenstance. He was to learn later that might not be the case. It was a complicated and compelling plot, typical of Baldacci. I enjoyed it and really had no idea of the outcome before it happened. I like that in a book. There is so much more to the book than I can cover here. I recommend you read or listen to it.

The readers were Zachary Webber, Christine Lakin, and Mela Lee. I thought Webber was terrific but I felt like the women readers made caricatures of most of the women. It was thoughtfully read other than that and I enjoyed it. I found it a compelling listen.

I was invited to read a free audio version of The 6:20 Man by Hachette Audio, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #hachetteaudio #davidbaldacci #the620man

Happy Pub Week to The 6:20 Man

I both listened and read this book and I absolutely loved the narration! It was multicast and excellent.

This is a #murdermystery #thriller that is full of #suspense. Someone killed Sara Ewes a beautiful financial analyst at a #WallStreet firm. She's also the former girlfriend and coworker of Travis Devine an entry level analyst and former #armyranger . Travis is under suspicion by the police for her murder. But he is also coerced by the government to secretly investigate his firm's shady and possibly deadly dealings.

What I liked the most about this book is you find yourself interested in all of the unique characters. Travis lives with 3 very different roommates who all have interesting backstories. There are no superfluous people in this book.They all contribute in some way to the plot and the many twists and turns.

I would love seeing this book on the big screen just for the fight scenes alone as Travis is one badass fighter - Is it wrong that I found that sexy AF? He's not just a fighter he's a lover too - (small sexy scene in book). 😏

Overall this was a good #beachread that I hope will have a sequel. More fight and sexy scenes please 😂

Thank you @grandcentralpub for my ARC and @macmillan.audio for my ALC. The 6:20 Man is available now.

In “The 6:20 Man” (Grand Central Publishing) David Baldacci’s latest standalone thriller, Travis Devine hates his new job. It makes him feel like he’s a hamster on a treadmill. Every morning he hops on the 6:20 a.m. train from Mt. Kisco into Manhattan to work as an entry-level financial analyst at one of the world’s most prestigious investment firms. As a former Army Ranger with the medals and the wounds to prove his valor, he’s used to the grind, but in the Army he was serving his country. At his new grunt job in the financial sector, he’s serving billionaire Brad Cowl, and the all mighty dollar, are chipping away at his soul bit by bit.
A mysterious email disrupts Travis’ routine when it informs him that his coworker and former girlfriend, Sara Ewes, is dead on the 52nd floor of their offices. Initially believed to be a suicide by hanging, the police quickly determine that Sara’s death is a homicide. Unfortunately for Travis, he’s the only one who’s received this missive, and all evidence fingers him as being the sole suspect in her murder. And he has no alibi.
Travis’ past comes calling when he’s approached, or as he sees it—blackmailed, into secretly assisting a government investigation into his boss and the firm. The Army has cleared him of wrongdoing in the suspicious death of a fellow officer in Afghanistan, but the feds claim they have the goods on him. He either cooperates, or spends the rest of his life eating prison slop at Leavenworth.
The Army has molded Travis into a finely tuned war machine, but at his heart, he’s a good and moral man. To clear his name, he needs to find out who killed Sara. Nabbing his boss for international espionage, money laundering and SEC violations would be the icing on the cake. The bigger picture is whether Sara’s murder and Cowell’s potential crimes connected, and if so, how. Both investigations lead Travis into the labyrinth of a potential high-stakes international conspiracy, which threatens his life and anyone tangentially related to Sara and his boss.
In true Baldacci form, he has created a likable, flawed hero in Travis Devine. Wounded by an IED in Kandahar, Travis bears the weight of external and internal scars. Admittedly, he has daddy issues, having disappointed his father when he entered West Point. His honorable discharge led to him receiving an MBA and his father’s approval, but Travis could never live up to the success of his older siblings. His familial issues, the suspicious deaths of his fellow officers in the Middle East, and a lack of self-confidence in his new position haunt him. By working at a job he hates, Travis is flogging himself in self-imposed penance for those sins. He has a killer instinct, which serves him well in self-preservation—guns, throwing a punch or sensing danger, but not necessarily when judging whom to trust.
“The 6:20 Man” is filled with twists and turns and menacing characters, and similar to Travis, the reader doesn’t know whom he should trust either. Are his computer hacker, law student and tech prodigy roommates who they say they are? What about the cops who interrogate him after Sara’s death and are trying to pressure him into admitting guilt for her murder? What about the gorgeous girl in the bikini who lives at the mansion he passes everyday on the train into the city? What about his boss—is Cowl a self-made man, a fraud or a criminal? Is anyone who they say they are?
Read the full review at Booktrib.com.

Immediately I was attracted to this book given the protagonists role in the financial industry. I was drawn to his Army Ranger background and MBA to NYC high finance.

Devine is a man of routine, taking the 6:20AM train to work everyday, passing a beautiful woman at the pool at the trains signaling stop, working head down, fingers flying all day and then goes home only to repeat it again tomorrow. That is until Sarah Ewes ends up dead, hung in a closet on the 52nd floor, the woman he saw himself falling in love with, the mentor of his entry-level analyst class. Slowly he gets sucked back in to the government's sights as the mystery of her death unravels.

The character development and speed of the plot truly kept me flying through this read. At first jarred by the changing narrators to match the character speaking, I quickly warmed to it as it aided in maintaining distinction amongst the many characters in Devine's life.

Baldacci on top form. A very good thriller that keeps you hooked till the end. Loved the interaction between the narrator's that brings this book to life. Highly recommended.
I received this audiobook from Hatchette audio and Netgalley for a review

Travis used to be a skilled Army Ranger, but left under a cloud of suspicion. He earned an MBA after his service ended. Now he takes the 6:20 train in to the city's financial district to work at a job he dislikes. Every day, the train stops for a few minutes in an area where Travis can see a beautiful woman lounging by a pool at a fancy home. Each day, the men on board the train all enjoy the view before the train moves on. It's the only pleasant time in Travis' morning. One day, he receives a mysterious email informing him of the death of his co-worker, a woman he once dated. Travis is then drawn in to a series of secrets and intrigue, which lead to more deaths. Travis might be the next one to die if he can't determine what is really going on at his place of employment.
The 6:20 Man is David Baldacci at his best! I highly recommend this suspenseful novel.
I was given an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
#davidbaldacci
#the6:20man
#netgalley

I became a fan of Baldacci after watching Absolute Power. A thriller about the President with his story and Clint Eastwood. He’s perfected his version of the thriller. A little slow burn to start, action, subtle twists and misdirection to keep you guessing.

It centers around an ex-military man barely treading water on the outside. There is so much going on here. There is some things from his past resurfacing, financial crimes, murder and so much more all woven together in a seamless way.

Every time I thought I had it figured out, something shifted and alas I was wrong again. It did get a little far-fetched at the end, but that did not make me regret reading the book or hoping this is the first in a new series.

While narrated mostly by Zachary Webber, Christine Lakin and Mela Lee also bring the story to life. I switched back forth between the print and audiobook and was totally engrossed in listening.

Name of Book: The 6:20 Man
Author: David Baldacci
Audiobook Narrators: Zachary Webber, Christine Lakin, and Melo Lee
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: July 12, 2022
My Rating: 3.6 rounded up

I actually read as well as listened to this novel. I finished reading a few weeks ago and then got the audiobook that I forgot requested. I love a good audiobook and we audio fans know the narrator can make or break a good story. I have read several Baldacci audiobooks and one thing I like is when there is more than one narrator the narrators actually carry on a conversation with each other. Typical an audiobook with more than one narrator, one narrator will complete the chapter and perform the all characters.
I noticed in the credits a technician was mentioned who did ‘mixing and matching’. I have to guess that is when the two narrators are chatting together. Whatever it is called ~ I like it!!

This is David Baldacci novel #27 for me.
Who’s a fan? Yep! That would be me! My favorite characters are John Puller, Will Robie, Amos Decker~ The Memory Man and Atlee Pine ~although I wasn’t wild about the first Altee but awww liked the others and I am looking forward to #4!

Our story features thirty-two year old, West Point grad, former Ranger and Army Captain, Travis Devine who now daily boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan and sit in the third row window seat on starboard side. He currently is working as an analyst at Cowl and Comely, a prestigious investment firm.
Then one morning his life is shattered by an email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend (although employees are not permit to date), has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building. If that isn’t bad enough, he receives a visit, that unless he is will to participate in a secret investigation old Army secrets will be revealed.
Now the pleasant lives he imagined through the window on the 6:20 train ride, there is a killer who has Travis Devine as a target.

Want to thank NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this early audio eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July12, 2022

𝔸𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜/𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨

The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci
@DavidBaldacciAuthor
Pub Date: July 12, 2022
Narrated by: Zachary Webber: Christine Lakin: Mela Lee
Duration: 11H 48M

“A good soldier never discounted the intervention of well-timed luck.”

The Gist

Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine is the 6:20 Man, commuting to work via the 6:20 train every morning to his entry level job at a well-known investment firm. When co-worker and former fling, Sara is found dead of an apparent suicide, Travis has serious doubts for a few reasons. Was Sara murdered? If so, why?

My Thoughts

The 6:20 man is such a compelling read. It is complex and twisty, following Travis through a labyrinth of corruption, secrets and lies happening right under his nose. The wealthy that he’s always envied on his commute have something to hide and they’ll stop at nothing to keep their secrets but Travis has a secret, too and he’s just as motivated to keep it that way.

I must admit, I thought the setting might be a bit boring, I mean, finance? Blah! But it was interesting and not overly complicated. What at first started off a bit slowly, quickly picks up pace and the twists are dark and disturbing. Combining the high stakes world of finance and politics, Baldacci weaves a thrilling story that was as chilling as it was unputdownable! I am delighted to meet a new Baldacci character in Travis Divine. He’s a badass and I want more of him!

Narration: Zachary Webber, Mela Lee and Christine Lakin narrate this thrilling story beautifully, capturing the range of emotion and interpreting each character’s unique voice and personality. Well done!

My thanks to @NovelSuspects @GrandCentralPub for this gifted copy and to @HachetteAudio for this gifted ALC

I am a huge fan of David Baldacci books. I thought I would try the audio version of this title. I enjoyed the narration style and liked who I assume will be the new main character in a new series. Recommended for fans of Baldacci's other work and spy/thrillers.

What would you do if got an email from the killer?

This book is crazy but good. It was so different. There were two different plots running at the same time; the murders and the investment firm. I was surprised by how it ended but it was good. I loved getting to read this book and would definitely recommend it to others.

4.5 suspenseful stars! This mystery kept me guessing the whole entire time. I had so many ideas on who I thought was behind it all and I flip flopped back and forth between all the characters so many times. Travis Devine is an ex Army Ranger and works at a financial company now. When one of his collegues turns up murdered, a collegue that he had a relationship with, he gets involved trying to figure out what happened. He notices a series of intricate events that might hold the key to her death, but when bodies start piling up, he knows he's running out of time before the killer might get to him.
There were so many characters and each of them had something a little off about them, so of course, any one of the could have been the suspect. I didn't know who to trust so I felt for Travis, he just had to trust his gut, which sometimes works out and sometimes is dead wrong.
Thank you to Hachette Audio, David Baldacci and Netgalley for an early audio copy. The narration cast was perfect.

BOOK REVIEW- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

My Thoughts: Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and David Baldacci for this advance listening copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review! This was my first @davidbaldacciauthor book and I absolutely loved it! I loved following along with Travis and he tried to complete his mission and figure out what is going on with his firm. There were so many great supporting characters in this one and I liked what they all added to the story. The ending of this one had me completely surprised and shocked- I loved it! The narrator also did a great job bringing the different characters to life! This one comes out on a July 12th and would be a great suspenseful mystery to add to your shelf. ✨