Talking about 'The Escape' with David Baldacci

Earlier this month author David Baldacci sat down with Fresh Fiction to talk about his newest booksTHE ESCAPE (December, 2014) and THE FINISHER (March, 2014). As one of the more prolific thriller writers,Baldacci has no trouble finding inspiration for his John Puller series in current events, but he also tends to feel influenced by some unlikely sources.

THE ESCAPE is a family affair for John Puller, a combat veteran and an Army special agent. In his third story he is faced with tracking down his brother who was convicted of crimes against national security. The assumed traitor is the first to break out of the secure prison and it is up to John to find his brother before it is too late.

The comparisons to J.K. Rowling’s HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN may be a stretch, but Baldacci acknowledged with Fresh Fiction that it’s actually a pretty on point homage.

David Baldacci: Hi, Gwen.

Gwen Reyes: Hi, Mr. Baldacci. How are you?

David Baldacci: I'm fine, thank you.

Gwen Reyes: Good. Well, thank you so much for chatting with us. It was really interesting listening to you talk briefly about your career and everything. But, I--it was funny, because I came in with a whole bunch of questions that I wanted to ask about family. But, what I was actually really fascinated by was that one of the first books that you read with your kids was Harry Potter, and I find that THE ESCAPE has kind of like a PRISONER OF AZKABAN kind of vibe to it. And I don't know if you were aware of that while you were putting it together.

David Baldacci: You know, I'm glad you pointed it out. I've been to a number of prisons in my life as a lawyer. I've never been sentenced to prison, just let me put that out there, and I was able to walk out at the end of the day. But, it's one of those few places in the world where you--your total freedom is taken away, and it's a very important thing. And I have had clients who've been in positions.

So, I can't say that I was thinking about the PRISONER OF AZKABAN, but it certainly is a great analogy because it's not a good place. You're not free. You're being controlled completely by someone else. And I've been fascinated by prisons for a long time, and I've written about them before in other books.

But, with THE ESCAPE, really I think that probably the worst feeling you could possibly have is if your liberty's been taken away but you know that you're actually innocent. There's no way, no voice, no advocate for you anymore. You're just behind bars serving out a sentence you didn't deserve.

So, for me, that really just heightens the stakes. And I also love to write about justice and injustice and people having a second chance and redemption. And THE ESCAPE is really full of all of those themes.

Gwen Reyes: Yeah. Well, and especially since you just said the fact that in THE ESCAPE you have--or with prison you have this issue of your freedoms are taken away, but then you also kind of have this juxtaposition with the Puller brothers' father having Alzheimer's, which is another thing where your personal liberties are taken away because they're being taken away by nature. Did you find any sort of challenges of adding that element into the book and throwing so much family drama and family turmoil into the story?

David Baldacci: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I have siblings as well. I think many families have been touched by people who are suffering from dementia or other type of illness like Alzheimer's.

Puller Senior is living in a prison as well. It doesn't have bars. It just happens to be in his mind. So, that's something, one, that is affecting him, obviously. But, at some point he will be in a state where he won't even know it's really happening anymore.

So, really then the pain of what he's going through falls to the two sons, who know very vividly and markedly what he's going through. And they see a father who led men into combat, who was as strong as they come, who was decisive. May not have been the greatest father in the world because of the career path that he chose and how much time he had to devote to that, but at the same time it's a man they love and respect and probably have never been able to live up to the expectations, one, that he had for them and, two, the sort of achievements he made in life as well.

It's really hard to grow up with a father who had done as much as John Puller Senior had done. So, for me, having a father relationship like that with two brothers, both very different in many ways but also similar in some ways, I just loved how all those dynamics worked out on the page.

Gwen Reyes: Yeah, it was--I mean, it's such a compelling read.

David Baldacci: Thank you.

THE ESCAPE is available now and makes a perfect holiday read or gift for a loved one.