The Simple Truth

By Charles Winecoff
Published on December 11, 1998 05:00AM EST

In the pompous, pumped-up, sledgehammer world of David Baldacci, the proverbial convict on the lam is obviously innocent because, well, he carries a Gideon’s Bible. The defense attorney is a good guy too, because he’s caring for his sick mom and could never win his father’s love. The clichés snowball in the TV movie of a thriller, The Simple Truth about a 25-year-old murder case that resurfaces with lethal results. Baldacci seems to write with the presumption that you will root, unconditionally, for his cardboard characters. And you might, if it weren’t so tediously clear where they were going. D

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