One Good Deed by David Baldacci at 20% Review

One Good Deed by David Baldacci

The mechanical whoosh and greasy smell of the opening bus doors greeted Aloysius Archer, as he breathed free air for the first time in a while. He wore a threadbare single-breasted brown Victory suit with peak lapels that he’d bought from the Sears, Roebuck catalogue before heading off to war. The jacket was shorter than normal and there were no pleats or cuffs to the pants because that all took up more material than the war would allow; there was no belt for the same reason. A string tie, a fraying, wrinkled white shirt, and scuffed lace-up size twelve plain Oxford shoes completed the only wardrobe he owned. Small clouds of dust rose off his footwear as he trudged to the bus. His pointed chocolate brown fedora with the dented crown had a loop of faded burgundy silk around it. He’d bought the hat after coming back from the war. One of the few times he’d splurged on anything. But a global victory over evil had seemed to warrant it.

I normally don't like overuse of descriptors in sentences, all the adjectives and adverbs get me feeling that there's going to be a lot of fill in this book and less story, but Baldacci makes it work.  Here we meet Aloysius Archer, or as he says, "just call me Archer" as he gets his first steps of freedom after he leaves prison, where they give him a ticket to Poca City, USA,  The year is 1949 and the country is starting to relocate west after post-WWII.

Archer settles in and gets his first job, repossessing a 1947 Cadillac, and this is where the story starts getting good.  Despite serving in Europe during the war and somehow ending up in jail, which hasn't been revealed, we find Archer is an educated thinking man.

Now we find out if this helps Archer, or hurts Archer.