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David Baldacci’s Deliver Us from Evil (2010) is the second book in his Shaw and Katie James series, and it is the rare sequel that improves on the original. It pairs a man with no past with a woman who has lost everything, and it sends them after one of the most chilling villains Baldacci has ever written: a billionaire who sells weapons to terrorists as a business, not an ideology. This is a full book report.

About the author

David Baldacci was born in 1960 in Richmond, Virginia. He studied political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia, then practiced law in Washington, D.C. for nine years. His first novel, Absolute Power (1996), was a bestseller and became a film starring Clint Eastwood. Since then he has published more than forty novels and sold over 150 million copies worldwide. His books include the Camel Club series, the King and Maxwell series, the Amos Decker series, and the Will Robie series. He is one of the most reliable entertainers in modern fiction — his books are fast, smart, and morally clear. He also runs the Wish You Well Foundation, which supports literacy programs across the United States.

The setup

The book opens with Shaw — a man with no last name, no past, and no paper trail — working as a “cleaner” for a shadowy organization called the Temple. The Temple’s operatives fix problems that governments cannot touch. Shaw is the best of them: patient, precise, and utterly without a life of his own.

His current target is Evan Waller, a billionaire businessman who has built a fortune on the quiet sale of weapons and technology to the worst people on earth. Waller is about to close his biggest deal yet: selling a devastating weapon to a terrorist organization. Shaw’s job is to stop him — permanently.

Meanwhile, Katie James is a war correspondent at the end of her career. She was the best in the world once, a Pulitzer Prize winner, but a breakdown in Afghanistan destroyed her. She is drinking, broke, and desperate for one last story. When she stumbles onto Waller’s trail — and onto Shaw — she sees her chance at redemption. Neither of them wants a partner. Neither of them has a choice.

The characters

Shaw is Baldacci’s most interesting hero. He has no identity — no family, no home, no records. He exists only as a function. The book’s quiet tragedy is that Shaw is a man who has erased himself, and Katie James is the first person in years who makes him want to exist again. He is deadly, but he is also gentle, and the contrast is what makes him work.

Katie James is the emotional heart of the book. She is a brilliant journalist destroyed by what she has seen — the book opens with her at rock bottom, and her arc is about climbing back. She is not a damsel; she is a professional who has been broken and is trying to rebuild. Her relationship with Shaw is the best part of the book: two damaged people who recognize each other.

Evan Waller is the villain, and he is genuinely unsettling. He is not a madman — he is a businessman. He sells weapons the way other men sell software. He has a family, a public face, and a private empire of death. Baldacci’s point is that evil does not look evil; it looks like a CEO.

The plot, without spoilers

Shaw tracks Waller across Europe — from London to the French countryside to a private island in the Mediterranean. Katie follows the same trail, chasing the story. Their paths collide, and they are forced to work together even though neither trusts the other.

Waller, meanwhile, is closing his deal with a terrorist financier named Reggie Camp, and the weapon he is selling is worse than anything Shaw has seen. The book’s middle section is a cat-and-mouse game across Europe, with Waller always one step ahead — he has resources, connections, and a private army.

The climax takes place on Waller’s island, where Shaw and Katie have to stop the deal and survive the island’s defenses. The ending sets up the next book in the series, No Time Left (2011), which continues Shaw’s story.

Themes

Identity and erasure. Shaw has no past, and the book asks what a person is without one. Katie, who has a past she cannot escape, is his mirror.

Redemption. Both leads are trying to earn their way back — Shaw from a life of violence, Katie from a life of watching violence. The book is about whether people can be remade.

The banality of evil. Waller is the book’s argument: the worst people in the world do not look like monsters. They look like businessmen.

Journalism and truth. Katie’s arc is about what it costs to tell the truth — and whether telling it is worth the price.

Writing style

Baldacci writes in short chapters with alternating points of view — Shaw, Katie, and Waller each get chapters, and the rotation keeps the tension high. His prose is lean and functional; he is not a stylist, but he is a master of momentum. The book is long (over 500 pages) but reads fast, because every chapter ends on a hook.

What works

• Shaw and Katie. The partnership is the book’s engine, and it is genuinely affecting.
• Waller. A villain who is chilling precisely because he is ordinary.
• The European setting. Baldacci uses London, France, and the Mediterranean well.
• The pacing. It is a long book that reads like a short one.

What does not work

• The conspiracy mechanics get complicated in the middle — some readers will need to keep notes.
• Katie’s backstory is told in fragments that can feel repetitive.
• If you have read the first book (The Whole Truth), some of Shaw’s mystery is already gone.

Who should read it

Read it if you like international thrillers, espionage fiction, or stories about damaged heroes. Read it if you liked the Bourne films or the novels of Robert Ludlum. It works as a standalone, but reading The Whole Truth first adds depth to Shaw’s story.

Verdict

4 out of 5. A smart, fast international thriller with a great villain and a genuinely moving partnership at its center. It is not Baldacci’s most ambitious book, but it is one of his most satisfying — and Shaw is one of his best creations.

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A closer look: the Temple and Shaw’s world

One of the most intriguing parts of the book is the organization Shaw works for. The Temple is never fully explained — it is a shadow network that handles problems governments cannot touch, staffed by operatives like Shaw who exist off the books. Baldacci keeps the organization deliberately vague, which is the right call: the mystery is part of the appeal. Shaw himself is the more interesting puzzle. He is a man who has erased his own history so completely that he barely exists — no family, no home, no records, no attachments. Katie James is the first person in years who makes him want to be seen. Their partnership is the emotional core of the book, and it is what lifts it above the standard international thriller. Baldacci has written many heroes over the years, but Shaw is one of his most memorable — a ghost who learns, slowly, that he wants to be a man again. The book also raises a question it never fully answers: what does a man like Shaw do when the job is done? He has spent his whole life being useful to others. The sequel, No Time Left, picks up exactly there, and it is worth reading for anyone who finishes this book wanting more of him.

Frequently asked questions

What is Deliver Us from Evil about?

Shaw, an operative with no past, is sent to stop Evan Waller, a billionaire arms dealer selling a devastating weapon to terrorists. He is joined by Katie James, a broken war correspondent chasing the story of her career. Together they hunt Waller across Europe.

Who wrote Deliver Us from Evil?

David Baldacci, the American thriller writer. It was published in 2010 as the second book in the Shaw and Katie James series.

Who is Shaw?

Shaw is a “cleaner” for a secret organization called the Temple. He has no last name, no past, and no records — he exists only to fix problems. He first appeared in The Whole Truth (2008).

Who is Katie James?

A Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent whose career was destroyed by a breakdown in Afghanistan. She is chasing one last story when she crosses paths with Shaw.

Is Deliver Us from Evil part of a series?

Yes — it is the second book in the Shaw and Katie James series, after The Whole Truth and before No Time Left.

Do I need to read The Whole Truth first?

No — Deliver Us from Evil works as a standalone. But reading the first book adds context to Shaw’s character and the Temple organization.