Baldacci, David

Average customer rating:

Simplistic Characters and Dime Store Dialogue
A roller coaster ride of disappointment
above average thriller by Baldacci
YuK!
Reasonably entertaining page turner

Simple Genius
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446580341
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Book Description

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are back, and struggling in the emotional aftermath of the events that brought them to the brink in Hour Game. Dogged by personal demons, Maxwell is seeking solace in a psychiatric institution, after barely surviving a violent barroom brawl. And King, having failed to right their troubled partnership, watches bewildered and mortified by his partner's rapid decline. Relieved to have some distraction, he hastily accepts an offer to investigate a murder at a retreat called Babbage Town, a secret enclave of scientific geniuses working to surpass the capabilities of the most sophisticated microprocessor in the world. But to what end? And more immediate, why do so many of the key players in the menacing project have ties to the institution where Maxwell's staying? Suddenly, the pair find themselves in a race against time to expose a plot that could unhinge the entire global power structure...and destroy what's left of their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Simplistic Characters and Dime Store Dialogue.......2007-06-22

I have read other works by this author that were not bad beach reads but this one I cannot bear to read any further. The characters are simplistic and predictable even though the author attempts to imbue them all with skills and accomplishments so extraordinary that we find them interesting. They are not interesting, nor is the plot, nor is the horrible dialogue. This one was mailed in by the author. It's as if he borrowed James Patterson's bad novel computer program and just entered a few new names. This is a perfect example of an author taking advantage of his name recognition to spew out a piece of nonsense in order to make a few bucks or fulfill a contract. Shame on him, his editors, and the publisher for foisting this on an unsuspecting public.

A roller coaster ride of disappointment.......2007-06-22

This book takes you on a ride of mediocre, to laughable, with moments of excitement, to just flat out disappointing. It starts out very slow and confusing and eventually (and extremely slowly) build up to a seemingly exciting and mysterious plot. By the time you get to half way thru the book you are pulled into this mysterious question of "What are they really working on at Babbage Town?" You come up with a bunch of theories and actually get excited to read the last few chapters. But in the end you are completely let down by the total flop ending. It reveals an ending that has absolutely nothing to do with anything it's been leading up to. It feels like David Baldacci was either rushing thru it and didn't have time to really make a complex ending this book deserved. All in all the book is mediocre at best but the ending just makes this a horrible read to me because it left me THAT disappointed. This is the first Baldacci book I've read and will definitely be the last. He seems like he would have much more potential as a writer if he didn't release books so quickly. Just disappointing.

above average thriller by Baldacci.......2007-06-21

This novel, as sequel to Hour Game, in the sense it has the two characters King and Maxwell, is an above average thriller. [For a description use the one under the title.] It demonstrates the complex relationship of the two main characters in their differences (Maxwell is a bit of a mess; King a little bit more together.) They are like Law and Order SVU's "Benson and Stabler", except they worked for the FBI. It has a wide range of characters and the reading [refers to the audio version] by Mr. Scott Brick brings that out. One wonders how Mr. Baldacci (whose books I've bought since the first, Absolute Power) have all been good, and different, even when he repeats characters, like Maxwell and King. Any of his books would be worth reading (or listening to - if you prefer audio)

YuK!.......2007-06-20

I am a huge Baldacci fan, but this was soooo disappointing. I had toforce myself to finish it!

Reasonably entertaining page turner.......2007-06-18

Simple Genius is a little cluttered and a little clunky but Baldacci does a reasonable job of building action and suspense and, despite myself, I found myself turning pages.

The novel's downfall lies primarily in the pointless diversions from the principle plot. The principal plot involves the investigation into the mysterious death of a scientist whose body is found on the grounds of a secret CIA facility called Camp Peary.

The diversions both involve Michelle Maxwell, a former Secret Service agent. Michelle has an apparent `death wish' and her reckless behavior lands her in a psychiatric facility. Subplot #1 involves Michelle sneaking around hallways after `lights out' when she becomes suspicious of one of the staff on the ward. Subplot #2 involves delving into her troubled past to find out why she is a self destructive slob. The funny business on the ward is pretty dumb and its only purpose seems to be to give Michelle something to do during the first part of the novel while her partner Sean is investigating the strange events at Camp Peary. As for unlocking the key to Michelle's psyche and finding out what childhood trauma made her the mentally unstable woman she is today - it just didn't interest me. I would have enjoyed Simple Genius a little more if Baldacci had stayed focused on the CIA story line.

As for the main plot - it's a little far fetched but it kept me turning pages. There are some plot holes and a few developments that are hard to believe. For example, why would the killers leave the scientist's dead body on CIA property when they could easily have made him disappear, or at least tossed him on the other side of the river? Having the body found in Camp Peary resulted in nosy investigators like Sean and Michelle stumbling onto all sorts of things they were never meant to see. Michelle and Sean have to make some pretty huge leaps in deductive reasoning to connect the dots and solve the mysteries at Camp Peary but if you are willing to overlook a few things, this is a reasonably entertaining ride.

Average customer rating:

Mystery, Murder, Romance and political intrigue
The Collectors
Even better!
Eccentric, Ecclectic FriendsTaking Care of Business
The Collectors Entertaining Read

The Collectors
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 044653109X
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Book Description

People are dropping dead in Washington, D.C. First the Speaker of the House falls victim to a hitman in a carefully orchestrated murder in front of dozens of the city's power elite. Next, the director of the Library of Congress's Rare Books Room dies in a book vault, but no one knows how. Caleb Shaw, Camel Club member, nearly falls victim, too. Across the country, a gifted con woman assembles an A-list team to pull off one of the most audacious scams ever, against one of the most dangerous men in the world. When the worlds of Washington and the elite con collide head-on, the Camel Club finds itself teamed with a person they don't really trust but whose skill helps them unravel a secret that threatens to bring America to its knees.

Customer Reviews:

Mystery, Murder, Romance and political intrigue.......2007-06-11

I very much enjoyed this one with Oliver Stone and the quick witted, fast thinking Annabelle Conroy. There isn't much suspense but the plot continues to twist and turn with characters that are quirky, intelligent and real. I cannot wait for the follow up book and kept looking for the next CD as I could not believe this one had ended. A true read for all who wish to enjoy their read while living a bit through the characters

The Collectors.......2007-06-02

I don't watch soap operas,I don't watch episodes marked "first of two parts", and I hate end-of-season cliff-hangers. I want to see, or read, or listen to a complete story and then move on to something else. I don't like to have an ending held hostage.

I was enjoying this book on CD as a way to be entertained while driving, but was really annoyed to find it a cliff-hanger. I'll just assume that things turn out alright, but will avoid this author in the future. Books that play this trick on a reader at the end need to have a disclaimer on the cover.

Even better!.......2007-05-15

Badacci writes the perfect thriller mystery, whatever you call it.
Idon't know if this called pop culture novels or what, but i insist of that this is the kind of book that is an anjoyable ride. Well plotted, quality chatachters and way of writing.
It'a even better than The Camel Club

Two Thumbs UP!

Eccentric, Ecclectic FriendsTaking Care of Business.......2007-05-13

This is a group of old friends with very different interests and abilities that come together to solve the mysterious death of one of their own. Seemingly different stories in the beginning, come together to make for some great reading that you will leave you with the, can't put it down till I finish, feeling.

The Collectors Entertaining Read.......2007-04-23

In The Collectors, David Baldacci brings back his odd, quirky characters from his best seller, The Camel Club. Caleb Shaw, book worm, Milton Farb, obsessive compulsive with a photographic memory, Reuben Rhodes, Vietnam vet hippy, and secretive ring leader "Oliver Stone" take on another mission for truth in a city where truth is hard to find, Washington D.C.
Caleb finds a co-worker dead in a secluded area of the National Library of Congress. He is immersed further when he takes on the role of executor of the co-worker's collection of rare books. When he discovers a hidden copy of one of the rarest books in the country--a Bay Psalm Book--the Camel Club can't resist a mystery.
The four unlikely sleuths try to determine the authenticity of the book and find themselves up to their necks in danger--Oliver is nearly kidnapped, Caleb disappears--and no one knows who is behind it all.
A sub-plot twists throughout the book. Con-woman Annabelle Conroy schemes to pull off a heist of revenge against shady Atlanta City casino owner Jerry Bagger. In the midst of fleeing the country, her past brings a change in plans. She joins forces with the Camel Club boys to solve a murder of someone once close to her heart.
Baldacci creates lovable, laughable characters even though sometimes stretching their believability. Hardly a work of literary excellence, The Collectors is a fun, easy read with characters you'd like to get to know better over lunch. The Collectors kept me turning the pages till the very end when Baldacci sets up the plot for his next book. I only hope he writes quickly.

Average customer rating:

Saving Faith
Yeah...not one of his best....for a Democrat writer
My First David Baldacci Thriller.
Saving Faith
Well Written Ending

Saving Faith
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446525774
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Amazon.com

It sounds like a movie pitch: "The story is like Tom Clancy crossed with John Grisham set in the Washington D.C. political world." But David Baldacci's Saving Faith successfully fuses elements from both of these chart-busters in this political thriller spiced with techno-wizardry.

The villain is a classic spy caricature: cold-war CIA super-patriot Robert Thornhill wants to reclaim the glory days of the Central Intelligence Agency--when money flowed like the Mississippi during a flood, and the FBI watched helplessly from the sidelines. Working from his secret underground bunker, he blackmails Danny Buchanan, one of the great Washington lobbyists, to front an enormous bribery scheme that will force Congress to bend to the CIA's whims. But Thornhill's plan springs a leak: Buchanan's assistant Faith Lockhart discovers her boss's dirty dealings, and she intends to expose the whole mess to Thornhill's nemesis, the FBI. Thornhill's associates attempt to assassinate Faith, but their bullet kills her FBI escort instead. Faith finds herself on the run with Lee Adams, a fit-and-trim PI who had been shadowing her at the behest of Buchanan.

If all this sounds a bit confusing, it is at times. Baldacci works hard to keep the tension steadily rising, but it is sometimes difficult to remember why Faith and Lee can't just stop running and go for help. Nevertheless, they are very likable heroes, and Baldacci's depiction of the world of lobbyists and the internecine warfare of the FBI and CIA (complete with state-of-the-art spy gadgets and transmission-proof chambers) elevates the novel with details that can come only from careful research. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Danny Buchanan and Faith Lockhart are the greatest influence peddlers in Washington because they can guarantee results. But Buchanans bribery scheme is uncovered by Robert Thornhill, a zealous CIA chief, and he is forced to spy on his clients and network of politicians to further Thornhills grand plan. Separately, Lockhart goes to the FBI to tell all, and thus becomes a target of Thornhills. As the FBI is unknowingly pitted against the CIA mastermind, and Buchanan and Lockhart think each is destroying the other, its left to private investigator Lee Brennan to save Faith. The Simple Truth, The Winner, and Total Control were Main Selections of The Literary Guild and of Doubleday Book Club. David Baldaccis most recent novel, The Simple Truth (Warner, 11/98), has over 550,000 hardcover copies in print. It reached #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and had been on that list for 12 weeks. The authors previous novels, The Winner (1/98), Total Control (1997), and Absolute Power (1996), all reached #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and have over 1.1 million Warner hardcover copies in print combined. Absolute Power was a major motion picture directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with a screenplay by William Goldman (All the Presidents Men, Marathon Man). Also available as a Time Warner AudioBook. Praise for The Simple Truth: The Simple Truth, is that David Baldacci knows how to spin a good yarn. The Calgary Herald

Download Description

Danny Buchanan and Faith Lockhart are the greatest influence peddlers in Washington because they can guarantee results. But Buchanan's bribery scheme is uncovered by Robert Thornhill, a zealous CIA chief, and he is forced to spy on his clients and network of politicians to further Thornhill's grand plan. Separately, Lockhart goes to the FBI to tell all, and thus becomes a target of Thornhill's. As the FBI is unknowingly pitted against the CIA mastermind, and Buchanan and Lockhart think each is destroying the other, it's left to private investigator Lee Brennan to "save Faith."

Customer Reviews:

Saving Faith.......2007-03-23

A very good book. This is the second book by David Baldacci that I have read. I look forward to reading the rest of his novels.

Yeah...not one of his best....for a Democrat writer.......2007-03-23

Most liberal writers are pretty good at what they do..but this is not one of the best ones of Baldacci's. Skip it...go on to the next one...look for four stars or more. He has a lot of good books, this isn't his best.

My First David Baldacci Thriller........2007-01-13

The first book I read by him was Wish You Well and, that being said, it's easy to tell I am a newcomer to Baldacci's fan base. This book started out a bit slow, but got really good quickly, and I enjoyed the fast-paced, nonstop suspense of the war between the CIA and the FBI. With all the other reviews posted up here, you don't need another synopsis from yours truly, so I will just say that, apparently, he has written far superior books and they have been ordered, so we will see just how true that is. As it stands, this one was enjoyable, complete with intriguing characters, and I just hope that our government isn't this corrupt or bloodthirsty!

Saving Faith.......2006-11-13

I loved this book! A perfect get away from the world. If you love David Baldacci's writing, this stays true to his form. A very good twisting and turning, who done it novel.

Well Written Ending.......2006-07-22

Not one of Baldacci's best. The characters are not well fleshed out. But yet it does make for a fast read. 3 1/2 stars, I bumbed it up to four because of the finale.

That being said we have a whistler-blower, Faith Lockhart, who has information that will allow the FBI to put away quite a few Congressmen. Problem is the CIA has been using her boss to gather Intel on these same Congressmen for their own purposes. In steps an unsuspecting Private Investigator who just happens to do everything he can to save Faith. All the while both the FBI and the CIA are seeking them after.

This story has blackmail and plot twist that you will not see coming. But in hindsight you will see they were well developed. The ending of the book is actually pure Baldacci. It is well written and is worth the read.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic, action-packed thriller!
The Winner
Excellent First Baldacci Experience
Back so Soon? Yes, and This One is Much Better than Saving Faith!
The Winner...is a winner

The Winner
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Vision
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446606324

Book Description

She is 20, beautiful, dirt-poor, and hoping for a better life for her infant daughter when LuAnn Tyler is offered the gift of a lifetime, a $100 million lottery jackpot. All she has to do is change her identity and leave the U.S. forever. It's an offer she dares to refuse....until violence forces her hand and thrusts her into a harrowing game of high stakes, big money subterfuge. It's a price she won't fully pay....until she does the unthinkable and breaks the promise that made her rich. For if LuAnn Tyler comes home, she will be pitted against the deadliest contestant of all: the chameleon-like financial mastermind who changed her life. And who can take it away at will....The Winner

Download Description

THE DREAM . . . She is 20, beautiful, dirt-poor, and hoping for a better life for her infant daughter when LuAnn Tyler is offered the gift of a lifetime: a $100 million lottery jackpot. All she has to do is change her identity and leave the U.S. forever. THE KILLER . . . It's an offer she dares to refuse . . . until violence forces her hand and thrusts her into a harrowing game of high stakes, big money subterfuge. It's a price she won't fully pay . . . until she does the unthinkable and breaks the promise that made her rich. THE WINNER...For if LuAnn Tyler comes home, she will be pitted against the deadliest contestant of all: the chameleon-like financial mastermind who changed her life. And who can take it away at will . . .

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic, action-packed thriller!.......2007-05-04

The Winner, by David Baldacci, is one of the most exciting and action-packed books I have read in a while.
I absolutely love when books play out like films and I can picture everything that I am reading. This book accomplishes that impeccably.
Baldacci's style of writing is superb and full of imagery that only grips the reader's attention and holds it, making the book almost 'unputdownable'!
LuAnn Tyler is perhaps one of my favorite haroine characters in a long time. I feel that after reading this book I can recognize her on the street.
But I do have to say that Baldacci did emphasize LuAnn's beauty quite a bit, showing that this is definitely a guy's book. But there isn't anything wrong with that.

I cannot wait for the film adaptation of the book! Baldacci, you are a Winner!

The Winner.......2007-04-13

The violence (and there was a lot of it) got really old, because it seemed to be the same thing over and over. I found the plot to be shallow.

Excellent First Baldacci Experience.......2007-01-28

This is the first Baldacci book I have read and found it to be quality reading that stimulated my mind. Some thrillers move very quickly and mindlessly fly by, but this book was a page turner that required you to emerse yourself into the nove. I will read more Baldacci.

Back so Soon? Yes, and This One is Much Better than Saving Faith!.......2007-01-22

I took the advice of other Baldacci readers after my previous review and picked up The Winner. I have come to the conclusion that this is one of the best suspense thrillers I have read that doesn't involve a serial killer in a long time. My first Baldacci book was Wish You Well, and that will appeal to people who love stories about southerners and loyalty to family. Saving Faith was a good political thriller. The Winner, so far, is my absolute favorite of the three I have gotten my hands on.

As I often have the misfortune of coming along to write reviews long after other people have beaten the plot to death with their own, I will save long-winded breath and tell you that this book is irresistibly hard to put down, audio or otherwise. LuAnn Tyler is not just some whimpy, helpless country hick heroine, but a very good and admirable person who did something you and I would most likely do if we were in her situation--accepting fixed lottery winnings to get herself and daughter Lisa out of a very hopeless situation and escaping from the scene of a murder she did not commit. You really care about this person and hope for the best in the end. She becomes a different person in ten years thanks to the mysterious and wicked Jackson aka Peter Crane, but she is also a victim of her fixed fortune.

She also has two great and likeable allies in "Charlie" the man who has been at her and Lisa's side for the entire decade, having become so loyal to her that he places his own life in jeopardy as he eventually turns his back on the evil and cunning Jackson, and also in a mysterious builder who also has something in his own past to hide.

Nonstop twisting and turning plot, a strong and admirable female protagonist, and a truly dispicable villain (in fact, among my favorite villains in modern literature) guarantee you one very fine and satisfying read. Baldacci is fast becoming one of my very favorite writers, and I have another of his books I'm starting tomorrow. One thing the back of the jacket says is that you will think twice about playing the lottery. Sorry, but Mr. Baldacci did not scare me THAT badly, masterful and versatile writing talent that he is! Pick this one up, because it is definitely not a loser.

The Winner...is a winner.......2006-12-21

I read this book about 5 years ago, and then again recently. I had forgotten enough that the re-read felt like I was reading it for the first time. And as I re-read it, I remembered why I had liked it so much.

In short, Baldacci gives us both a fantastic protagonist and an equally fantastic antagonist in this story. He delivers an excellent thriller with a highly imaginative, highly original plot. It's all the right ingredients for a best-selling page turner.

Our heroine, LuAnn Tyler, is poor white trash but with supermodel looks, tomboy athletic prowess, and never-say-die tenacity. A single mom barely out of her teens, LuAnn works nights waitressing at the local truck stop to make ends meet for her and her infant daughter. She dreams of giving a better life to her daughter, but with no money, no education, and no prospects, it appears that LuAnn's life is destined to be nothing more than unrealized dreams in a shabby trailer at the end of a shabby dirt road.

But all of that could change in the blink of an eye as LuAnn stumbles across a remarkable opportunity when she goes to interview for a job at the local mall: a man who never reveals his identity explains to LuAnn that he has rigged the national lottery and offers to give her a winning ticket. However, there's a catch - she must leave the USA and never return while the mystery man invests her millions for her.

Fast forward 10 years. Now we find our protagonist fabulously wealthy, fabulously educated, fabulously refined, and still fabulously beautiful, but fabulously unfulfilled as well. LuAnn is profoundly weary of living as a quasi-recluse in countries not her own - and ultimately ashamed of the facade she's constructed to shield her daughter from her mother's true origins.

LuAnn breaks her promise, sneaking back to the USA - only to find out that her return wasn't as secret as she hoped. Now, the one man she hoped would never find out - Mr. Lottery - is hunting her in deadly earnest to keep his secret concealed.

Baldacci pits this not-so-country bumpkin against a refined killer - a killer with the intelligence to rig the lottery and remain undetected while amassing his own private fortune investing the winnings of LuAnn and his other "clients." It makes for a terrific story and Baldacci tells it with skill, building to a satisfying climax and satisfying conclusion.

It's a great read, and although it's cliche, be forwarned: you really will have a hard time putting this one down.

Average customer rating:

Incredible...
Cut out 200 pages and it would have been great!
Loved the book - another GREAT ONE
Kinda guy stuff, I suppose
Story that is rather slow to unravel

Last Man Standing
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446525804
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Amazon.com

Last Man Standing has the essential elements of a terrific David Baldacci novel: a tough but tender-hearted hero, dirty dealings in the nation's bureaucracy, and a roller-coaster plot. Web London, a member of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, froze up on a drug raid and thus became the sole survivor of a remote-controlled ambush that killed six of his compatriots. Now the only witness has disappeared and the inside man on the botched raid has gone underground.

As a pretty psychiatrist puzzles over the corners of Web's brain that kept him alive, Web himself stays on the move. He's certain that the ambush is connected to the prison escape of a neofascist leader, Ernest B. Free, whom he helped arrest five years earlier, and a series of new murders leads him to a Virginia horse farm and the driving force behind all the carnage. It may seem as though Baldacci gives away the mastermind too soon, but both the bad guys and the good guys are complex enough that there's plenty of punch all the way to the last page. --Barrie Trinkle

Book Description

Web London roars into a dark alley one night with his FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Seconds later, the team is ambushed and every man is deadexcept Web. As the FBI conducts their investigation, the suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force determined to finish the job that began in the alleykilling the seventh and sole surviving member of Charlie Team, Web London. Based on the real-life FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Last Man Standing heralds David Baldaccis highly anticipated return to the thriller genre. The New York Times bestseller Wish You Well (Warner 10/00), David Baldaccis most recent hardcover, has sold more than 580,000 copies. Saving Faith (Warner, 11/99), Baldaccis previous thriller, sold more than 460,000 copies. His phenomenal hardcover debut, Absolute Power (Warner, 1996), netted over 1.8 million copies, and became a successful film starring Clint Eastwood.

Download Description

It took ten seconds for Web London to lose everything: his friends, his team, his reputation. Point man of the FBI's super-elite Hostage Rescue Team, Web roared into a blind alley toward a drug dealer's lair, only to meet a high-tech, custom-designed ambush that killed everyone around him. Now coping with the blame-filled words of anguished widows and the suspicions of colleagues, Web tries to put his life back together with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Claire Daniels. To do so, he must discover why he was the one man who lived through the ambush--and find the only other person who came out of that alley alive . . . a ten-year-old boy who has since disappeared.

Web's search leads him from inner-city Washington, D.C., to the rolling hills of Virginia horse country--while people connected to him are violently silenced. Acting on his instincts, Web believes he knows where the killer will strike next. Only this time, he may not survive the attack. Last Man Standing is an explosive psychological thriller about a man desperate to find answers--from the secret terrors he has kept from himself to his unbearable guilt. His fight to save himself and those he cares for will come at a high cost . . . and threaten everything he has grown to believe in. With vividly realized characters and a breathtaking pace, this is another spellbinding novel from David Baldacci, one of today's best storytellers.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible..........2007-05-30

...in its mediocrity. I have a hard time believing that David Baldacci even wrote this. Having read and enjoyed several of his other books I at first guessed it was either a very (very, very) early work where he was still a "green" writer or it was a later book where he'd suffered Author Burnout.

The plot isn't too complicated. You have this super-Gman type who, in the opening chapter, freezes during an assault by his team and ends up being the "last man standing," or in this case, lying down. After that, it's basically a story of why his team was set up and why he froze, including a tremendously tedious visit to an - surprise, surprise - attractive psychoanalyst. Then there are some scenes with his coworkers that are trite to the point of agony.

This story has so many things wrong with it, besides what's already been mentioned. First, there are too many point of view characters which makes the story hard to follow. Then there are far too many areas of the book where nothing of interest happens. For example, if you're going to detail a therapy session in a book it'd better be a revealing one - Baldacci's wasn't. Calling the book dull is an understatement.

After the first chapter the story drags on and on with little or no build up to sustain interest. Compared with the rest of the field it deserves no better than 2 stars. Against Baldacci's other stories it merits less than 1 star. If you've never read Baldacci before, please skip this one.

Cut out 200 pages and it would have been great! .......2007-04-18

Have you ever seen a movie that had a great beginning and a great ending and everything in-between was lacking...well, that's what this book was like. You could have cut the book down by about 200 pages and it would have been a great book. I gave it four stars because overall it was good, but had too many fillers.

Loved the book - another GREAT ONE.......2007-02-26

I'm a new fan of David Baldacci. This plot isn't simple and I didn't have it figured out a quarter through the book. I really appreciated that. The book moved along fairly quickly and I was never bored. Can't wait to read my next David Baldacci book.

Kinda guy stuff, I suppose.......2007-01-29

This review is for the Pocket Books First U.S. Paperback edition, 2002, 548 pages. LAST MAN STANDING was on the USA Today top 150 best sellers list for 24 weeks between November 2001 and November 2002, reaching the peak position of number five.

The story begins as the seven member Charlie Team, part of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Unit, is raiding what they believe is a drug gang's operations center. They intend to capture accountants with knowledge of the drug network. But it's a trap. Instead of computers and clerks, they encounter deadly crossfire from automated Gatling guns. All but one of the team is slaughtered. Web London, the last man standing, is alive only because he inexplicably collapsed, paralyzed, just as the attack begins. Five-hundred some pages later we understand why Web collapsed, who set the trap and why. Well, sort of understand. Some motives and actions are not eminently logical.

This story is about alpha men, both the good guys and the bad. It details the Hostage Rescue Unit, the selection criteria for its members, their training, gear and operating methods. There's the inside dope on weapons, night vision goggles, gangsters, hot cars and breeding race horses. Kinda guy stuff, I suppose.

Story that is rather slow to unravel .......2006-12-19

This book took about 100 pages before it really captured my interest. However, even then, there are just too many subplots and details to make this a fun read.

Given the way the story unfolds, it's almost amazing that Baldacci was able to tie up almost all of the loose ends in the final 100 pages.

You can tell that Baldacci is a very talented writer, but subtelty is not part of his repertoire. This story was more complex than it really needed to be.

Average customer rating:

So-so
The Hour Game: killing time with a book
Typical Baldacci, Outstanding
Depressing Serial Killer Story
Pathetic, by-the-numbers attempt at suspense

Hour Game
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446531081
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Amazon.com

Two disgraced former Secret Service officers team up to solve a series of copy-cat crimes in this exciting new thriller by a master of the game. Sean King was momentarily distracted when a presidential candidate he'd been guarding was assassinated a few feet from where he stood, and Michelle Maxwell left the Service under a similar cloud when she lost a "protectee" to an ingenious kidnapping scheme, events told in Baldacci's typical terse, fast-paced style in Split Second. Now partners in a private investigation firm in a small Virginia town, they're hired to investigate a burglary at the home of a wealthy local family. But even before the chief suspect in the break-in meets his death in a gruesome slaying reminiscent of a serial killer long since caught and punished, King and Maxwell get caught up in a string of other murders, each of which copies the techniques of another madman, from San Francisco's Zodiac Killer to Chicago's infamous John Wayne Gacy. While the two protagonists aren't especially complex or well-developed, the action never stops, and Baldacci's trademark pacing keeps the reader turning pages until the denouement, which unfortunately isn't quite as satisfying as the rest of the novel. --Jane Adams

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

<a name="baldacci-essay"> Why Hour Game: An Exclusive Essay by David Baldacci
 <img border="0" src="http://g-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/artists/davidbaldacci.t.gif" align="left"> It's hard not to notice that the majority of fictional serial killers are cut from the same mold. When David Baldacci wrote Hour Game, he went out of his way to create a murderous original. Read this Amazon.com <a border="0" href="/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/544487/ref=lkh_bk_1/${0}">exclusive essay to learn how and why he did it.

Book Description

As a series of brutal murders darkens the Wrightsburg, Virginia countryside, the killer taunts police by leaving watches on the victims set to the hour corresponding with their position on his hit list. What's more, he strives to replicate notorious murders of the past, improving on them through savage attention to detail. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are already investigating a crime involving an aristocratic and dysfunctional Southern family, but when they're deputized to help in the serial killer hunt they realize the two cases may be connected. Adding to the tension is the appearance of a second killer, this one imitating the murders of the first. Soon, the two killers are playing a game of cat and mouse, with King and Maxwell racing to solve the intricate puzzle of their identities-before the body count escalates.

Customer Reviews:

So-so.......2007-06-14

This is the tale of a serial killer who goes about his work with thought and style but when he's not quite as free to murder who, where and when he originally planned to, the sense of intrigue fades away and it takes much of the interest in the story with it. It's a rather stereotypical scenario involving an extremely wealthy family full of jealousies, tragedies and divided loyalties and enough potential suspects in the shapes of kingpins and widows, sons and daughters, in-laws and various hangers-on to satisfy those who enjoy working out who did it before the inevitable revelation. It's even possible that the butler did it, if you want a taste of the corniness, but for me the only thing I wanted to happen was to reach the end of the story, all 100+ chapters of it and probably 50 too many.

The goodies, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, are a pair of former government agents now working together as male/female partners in a small P.I. firm in a small Virginia town. They have appeared together previously in SPLIT SECOND, but one of the biggest flaws in the novel reviewed here is that they make a pretty uninteresting couple, certainly neither of them possesses the charisma or personality to carry a series and probably not even a stand-alone.

It's all a bit ho-hum in the end, a by-the-numbers murder mystery which might have been compelling 20 years ago but with so much crime fiction available today it doesn't really stack up against the best of the competition. It's OK but it's nothing special and doesn't break any new ground or old barriers. Something to pass the time on a long-haul flight perhaps, but not a contemporary crime classic by any stretch of the imagination - particularly if the genre of crime fiction is your favourite and you read a lot of it regularly.

The Hour Game: killing time with a book.......2007-06-14

If you are looking for a novel to spend a few hours with to fill in time (as I was) then this novel may well appeal. However, if you are looking for an action filled, coherent story that has you breathlessly turning the pages - then this is unlikely to be the novel that does it.

Parts of this novel worked well, other parts didn't. My sense is that Mr Baldacci is trying to fit too much action between the covers and he is doing so at the cost of any coherency in either character development or plot. And yet, something keeps drawing me to these novels. Perhaps, subconsciously, I've become a fan of Michelle and Sean.

I've read three Baldacci novels now and while each one was worth finishing, I'm glad I borrowed them all from the library.

Recommended, but only if you are looking for a truly light weight (but thick) novel.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Typical Baldacci, Outstanding.......2007-06-02

Former secret service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are back again. In this story they deal with a serial killer. The first body is found in the woods in Virginia. Her watch is missing and clues found lead the police along a trail to a famous serial killer from the past. Meanwhile Sean and Michele are investigating the burglary of a wealthy couple in the area.

More bodies pile up, more clues are left which make the murders look like the work of someone copying famous serial killers and it looks like the case our erstwhile ex-secret service agents are working on is connected. Like all David Baldacci books, you won't be able to put this one down, not till you're finished. Then you just might want to start over. It's that good.

Depressing Serial Killer Story.......2007-04-16

The storyline of this book actually really bored me. It took me a life time for my standards to read it beacause the plot has no thread to it, is confusing and not very "mind-sticky", the two main characters have a nice personality, but the serial killers homicides lack completly of immagination as does the killer and the characters that circle around the story. I do not recommend it personally. The only good thing is that you are not sure of who did what untill almost the end (at least I was not but maybe I got so bored I did not see it), but the mind of the killer/s and the reasons are lame and all in one there are nicer books to spend your money in.

Pathetic, by-the-numbers attempt at suspense.......2007-04-12

For number of reasons I got stuck with reading this book. The characters are wooden,the writing is laughably stilted:" The inclement weather was the best friend he could hope for." The "inclement" weather? Another gem:"...as a Secret Service agent she never went anywhere without her gun, even the toilet."
The bodies keep on piling for no rhyme or reason. Utterly pathetic attempt at writing a suspense potboiler. In short:don't bother.
For a good quality suspense read anything by Michael Connelly, especially the Harry Bosch series.

Average customer rating:

As always, a superb book!
Typical Baldacci, typically pretty good!
Great thriller!
Another Exciting Novel!
An entertaining summer/airplane read...

The Simple Truth
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Hachette Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 1570426384

Amazon.com

Rufus Harms is rotting in a Virginia military prison. As readers learn in the terse opening of The Simple Truth, he was convicted 25 years ago of the brutal killing of a young girl. Readers also learn that Rufus did not commit the crime; out of a haze of memories and with fragments of evidence, he has reconstructed the truth about the horrid event that ruined his life. He knows his discovery could cost him his life, so he breaks from prison after sending an appeal to the Supreme Court that details a massive conspiracy tied into the foundations of Washington.

The complex drama of Rufus Harms is only one of the interwoven threads in this massive, violent legal thriller that also draws from the vocabulary of hard-boiled crime fiction. Baldacci offers glimpses into the arcane politics of the high court, where Justice Elizabeth Knight wages war with the manipulative Chief Justice Harold Ramsay. And while Harms struggles to keep out of harm's way and the justices duke it out, Supreme Court law clerk Sara Evans toils with ex-cop John Fiske to discover the import of Harms's appeal (and, simultaneously, to uncover the murderer of Mike Fiske, John's law clerk-brother and the original holder of the appeal). Their interest in the document apparently draws the attention of the same deadly conspirators who manipulated Harms over two decades earlier. While the armed mayhem sometimes rises to the point of excess, Baldacci's novel continues to offer new surprises until the final pages. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Twenty-five years ago, Rufus Harms was convicted of a murder he knows he committed. But when his memory is jogged by a letter from the army, he has a shocking realization: he's not guilty. From prison, Rufus secretly files an appeal with the Supreme Court, unaware that the real killers are on to him. But the long-time convict knows he's running out of time when the Supreme Court clerk, who is the first to see Rufus's appeal, and Harms's lawyer are murdered. Sprung from prison by his brother, Rufus must now elude capture long enough to expose a shocking cover-up and save his own life.Baldacci's most recent novel, The Winner (Warner, 12/97), has over 460,000 copies in print, and was on The New York Times bestseller list. Total Control (Warner, 1/97), Baldacci's second novel, sold nearly 300,000 hardcover copies. The paperback edition (12/97) has over 1.2 million copies in print. Absolute Power (1996) reached #2 on The New York Times bestseller list and netted over 230,000 hardcover copies. Absolute Power was also a major motion picture from Castle Rock Entertainment. A chapter from The Simple Truth will appear in the mass market edition of The Winner, which will be published in 12/98.Also available as a Time Warner AudioBook.

Download Description

Twenty-five years ago, Rufus Harms was convicted of a murder he doesn't remember committing. When his memory is jogged by a letter from the army, he has a shocking realization: he never intended to kill anyone--he was coerced. From prison, Rufus files an appeal with the Supreme Court, unaware that the real killers are on to him. But the long-time convict knows he's running out of time when the Supreme Court clerk, who is the first to see Rufus's appeal, is murdered. Sprung from prison by his brother, Rufus must now elude capture long enough to expose a shocking cover-up and save his own life.

Customer Reviews:

As always, a superb book!.......2007-03-06

If anyone has read Jack Olsen's book, THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF GERONIMO (ELMER)PRATT, you'll see the parallels in this fiction book to Jack Olsen's true crime story of Mr. Pratt. This was a fabulous book and should receive 5 stars from everyone that reads it. Spending 25 years in a prison for a crime you didn't commit is horrific. Can you imagine losing that many years of your life. Geronimo Pratt lost those many years, 26 to be exact. He is the only man that sued the FBI and the police and won and it was a long battle. "They" tried to kill him in prison to shut him up. You must read the book after you've read this fiction novel. I really have to wonder if David Baldacci read Jack Olsen's book before writing this novel. Excellent...superb!

Typical Baldacci, typically pretty good!.......2006-10-07

David Baldacci has a knack for writing fiction that sucks you in and holds you no matter what the story. Part of the talent is to introduce interesting characters. This book is no exception. Sara Evans is a clerk working for a Supreme Court justice. She is quite close to another clerk (Michael Fiske) who works for a different judge. Michael asks Sara to marry him but Sara really loves Michael's brother John, who Sara has only seen once and never officially met.

Michael comes across an appeal that intrigues him (to say exactly why would be a spoiler and it is only revealed very late in the book as to exactly what intrigued him) so much that he pulls it out before it is filed and goes to visit the requestor. That happens to be a Rufus Harms who is serving a life sentence in an Army prison for murdering a girl.

When Michael goes to see Harms, practically all Hell breaks loose and Harms realizes he is in danger himself and some mysterious evil guys from the prison murder Michael. Apparently there was some secrets in Harms appeal that some powerful unknown men do not want known.

Michael's murder is investigated by his brother John (an ex-cop who is now a defense lawyer for the lowest of the low criminals) and he enlists the aid of Sara who was close to Michael and knows some things about Michael. Sara is instantly in love with John and the more they start investigating the more they put their lives at risk from the unknown powerful men. Additionally, the police start to suspect John of the murder of his brother especially when he is named as the sole beneficiary of Michael's life insurance.

Meanwhile Rufus Harms has escaped prison from some of those men that tried to kill him.

So we have tension throughout to see if Rufus will survive as well as John and Sara before the evil guys get them.

There is a lot of good information about what goes on behind the scenes at the Supreme Court. A good read

Great thriller!.......2006-07-26

I loved this book. It had some historical references, which tends to bring a story to life as one can relate them to familiar or current events. It didn't have typical hollywood ending, but it was a good ending nonetheless. The main-character was a bit underdeveloped, mentally and emotionally; thus I couldn't really feel sorry or bad for him.

Another Exciting Novel!.......2006-07-07

This book keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. As good writers do there are twists and turns, which makes it all the more exciting. It has it all: innocent man in prison for 25 yrs, behind the scenes of the Supreme court, inner workings of an ex-cop's mind, they are all there plus more. This is a book you will not be able to put down.

An entertaining summer/airplane read..........2006-06-25

On my recent trip to a user group meeting, I threw this book into my suitcase... The Simple Truth by David Baldacci. It ended up being better than I expected...

John Fiske is pretty much estranged from his brother Michael, who is a clerk for the Supreme Court. But when Michael is murdered, John decides to take a break from his defense attorney life and revisit his cop days to help out in the investigation. The key piece of evidence is a missing appeal that Michael took from the mail room but never logged into the system. It was filed by one Rufus Harms, a black soldier who has been in prison for a quarter century for murdering a little girl. The appeal must have something that others wish to have buried, because everyone who touches the appeal or someone close to it becomes a target... even John Fiske.

The book is structured such that you know the appeal must be personally damaging to many high-powered individuals, but you really don't know the what or why until close to the end. For a 500+ page novel, I was surprised he could keep the plotline moving enough to prevent me from wanting to put the book down. It probably could have been condensed a bit, and the love interest aspect seemed a little awkward. But still, an enjoyable summer/airplane read when there's some down time...

Average customer rating:

Another Baldacci Great
Too Slow
Action packed!!
A laughable attempt not worth your time
This books stinks

The Camel Club
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Vision
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446615625

Amazon.com

Conspiracy theories--everybody has one. The difference with this conspiracy is that it's all too real. David Baldacci's The Camel Club takes readers inside the Beltway as four unlikely misfits struggle not only to survive, but to save their president and their country from a plot that will lead to nuclear disaster.

Bestselling Baldacci

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446611778.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Last Man Standing</td> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446606324.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Winner</td> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446604844.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Total Control</td> </tr> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446607711.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Simple Truth</td> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446603589.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Absolute Power</td> <td><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0446608890.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Saving Faith</td> </tr> </table>

</!-- end6pak -->

Book Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci takes readers inside the nations most elite power club and shows how far its members will go to protect their darkest secrets. The Camel Club. Its where the most influential businessmen and politicians wine, dine, and often change the course of historyand where ruthless mercenaries spy unseen, recording every last bit of information to sell to the highest bidder. But when Harry Stonehomeless man and conspiracy theorist extraordinairewitnesses a gruesome murder, secrets begin to unravel. Stone steals a piece of evidence from the scene that links the Clubs founders to the murder of a high-profile government official, and theyll do anything to get it back. Secret Service Agent W. Frank Churchill begins investigating Stone as a murder suspect, but soon, with the help of defense attorney Kate Monroe, he unearths a shocking truth: One man is using the Camel Club for his own terrible devicesand to achieve his horrific goals, he must kill Stone....and anyone else who gets in his way.

Customer Reviews:

Another Baldacci Great.......2007-06-21

David Baldacci manages to tell a serious story against the backdrop of the nation's capital in a sort of different way. In 'The Camel Club,' Baldacci introduces us to several friends who make up the Camel Club, a small club that is dedicated to uncovering the conspiracies of the government. They are all interesting characters (the leader calls himself 'Oliver Stone') who start out investigating a murder that they witness. This plunges them headlong into a conspiracy at the highest levels.
On the side, we are introduced to another group of characters preparing for something in the small town of Brennan,PA which is named after the fictional president that Baldacci made up. He gives you some details of what they are preparing to do, and you know that it's going to be something BIG. It takes two-thirds of this long book to set up the murder mystery by the Camel Club, and the events shrouding Brennan, PA.
When the stuff goes down in Brennan, the book REALLY takes off. I won't spoil anything, but the story takes some major turns.
Another excellent book by David Baldacci.

Too Slow.......2007-06-19

When the author when into a two+ page tangent on the Library of Congress he lost me. The first 100 pages don't move. I quit at p. 107. Several of his earlier works were much better.

Action packed!!.......2007-06-11

Love Baldacci!!! This was my first but I have now read most of his works.

A laughable attempt not worth your time.......2007-05-28

This refers to the audio book that I'm forcing myself to finish listening to because I have nothing better at the moment for my long trips.

I don't mind too little plot, or ideology that I might disagree with, but I do insist on some skill at the art of writing. I could read (or listen to) the phone book if an imaginative lyrical writer had penned it.

Unfortunately, Baldacci seems to have precious little of this skill. Yes, the plot is stupid, the characters cardboard, the dialogue unrealistic. But it's the "fillers" that make me want to scream. A typical page sounds like this:

"Where are we?" A... asked curiously.
"We are in the park", B... answered cautiously.
"I like it here" C... said slowly.
"Me, too", remarked D... enthusiastically.
"Not me", E... claimed sadly.

Etc., etc., etc. The "ly" adverbs (sometimes three or more in a paragraph) are so repetitive, so lazy, so unneccessary that they are unintentionally hilarious.

Whoever wrote that this book sounds as if written by a twelve-year-old was right on the money. An amateurish, hackneyed piece of trash is what it is. (And this has nothing to do with the political views that may or may not be intended by the author. As a Canadian, I am not offended by so-called "anti-American" views. My opinions are based strictly on writing style.)

In my humble opinion, James Patterson is the worst popular contemporary writer of the day. However, I'm now nominating Baldacci as the second worst.

This books stinks.......2007-05-13

The author can tell a pretty good story, but the plot here is on the far side of improbable. The problem is that he can't write worth a damn. The dialog is really bad - *nobody* actually talks the way his characters do. And the characters themselves are thinner than cardboard. Baldacci seems to favor the George Bush view of life - totally black or white, you're either with us or against us. Not to mention a few technical howlers. Baldacci mentions, over and over again, the devastating effect of "supersonic" rifle rounds. As far as I know, just about every rifle bullet (in fact probably bullets from most any gun) go supersonic. This book is lousy, and I'll never waste my time with Baldacci again. At least this one was loaned to me, so I didn't waste my own money.

Average customer rating:

Out of Control
Colorful, literally
DUMB WASTE OF TIME...
Back on Track!!!
Brain Dead Main Character Kills Story

Total Control
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Vision
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446604844

Book Description

Sidney Archer has the world. A husband she loves. A job at which she excels, and a cherished young daughter. Then, as a plane plummets into the Virginia countryside, everything changes. And suddenly there is no one whom Sidney Archer can trust. Jason Archer is a rising young executive at Triton Global, the world's leading technology conglomerate. Determined to give his family the best of everything, Archer has secretly entered into a deadly game. He is about to disappear-leaving behind a wife who must sort out his lies from his truths, an accident team that wants to know why the plane he was ticketed on crashed, and a veteran FBI agent who wants to know it all....Total Control

Download Description

Sidney Archer has the world. A husband she loves, a job at which she excels, and a cherished young daughter. Then, as a plane plummets into the Virginia countryside, everything changes. And suddenly there is no one whom Sidney Archer can trust. Jason Archer is a rising young executive at Triton Global, the world's leading technology conglomerate. Determined to give his family the best of everything, Archer has secretly entered into a deadly game of cat and mouse. He is about to disappear--leaving behind a wife who must sort out his lies from his truths, an air-crash investigation team that wants to know why the plane he was ticketed on suddenly fell from the sky, and a veteran FBI agent who wants to know it all. From Seattle to Washington, D.C., from New Orleans to Maine, the hunt for Jason Archer follows a trail as complex as the world he lived and worked in--a world of enormously powerful computers, a multimillion-dollar takeover deal, titanic financial standoffs, artificial intelligence, and the Internet. With brilliant minds colliding, ruthless men waging battles of intimidation, rainmakers going toe-to-toe with killers, and security specialists making a fortune trying to plug the holes, the startling truth behind Jason Archer's disappearance explodes into a sinister plot with the murder of the country's single most powerful individual And soon Archer's wife, Sidney, aided by the relentless and sharp-eyed FBI agent Lee Sawyer, will plunge straight into the violence that is leaving behind a trail of dead bodies and shocking, exposed secrets. . . . In Total Control David Baldacci pulls out all the stops.

Customer Reviews:

Out of Control.......2007-04-26

Sometimes Baldacci writes entertaining material (Absolute Power for one) - this is definitely not one of those times. His characters in this overlong novel are absurd - every one of them. The plot is way too convoluted. Just awful stuff - avoid at all costs.

Colorful, literally.......2007-02-12

Have you ever seen anyone with a blood red face? How about whiter than paper? Green? Couldn't help but note these descriptions in Baldacci's novel. His or her face occasionally "reddened," "went pale," "reddened", "paled," "was eggshell pale," "white as a ghost," "carried a red sheen," "turned ashen," "was red with anger," "face flamed red," "was a shade of white," "turned a shade paler," "was now blood red," "flushed," "turned whiter than paper," "grew red," "froze," "went stone cold", "turned green." Are these aliens Baldacci is dealing with? Aside from this, a readable book.

DUMB WASTE OF TIME..........2006-12-14

I read about 80 books a year, and this one was a TOTAL WASTE of time. The main character, Sydney Archer, is a blonde dingbat. Simpering and helpless one moment, she's Wonder Woman the next, demonstrating unbelievable prowess. A really annoying character, one begins to hope that the bad guy wins. The book goes all over the map with complicated interactions among a host of characters, but none of it is credible. Don't waste your time. Baldacci must have needed the money to write something this bad.

Back on Track!!!.......2006-07-07

This is more like it. A good exciting book that keeps on moving. It was not as good as Absolute Power but way better than The Winner. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys good non-stop excitment.

Brain Dead Main Character Kills Story.......2006-07-01

This book was simply not up to Baldacci's usual quality. The story goes all over the place, but doesn't get anywhere until the last 50 pages. Even after 200, 300, and even 400 pages we are still chasing dead ends and no closer to figuring out where this thing is going. I don't mind suspense, but you can stay "suspended" only so long until it becomes boredom.

The main character is the worst one Baldacci has ever created. One minute she is crying her eyes out, and puking her guts out totally paralyzed by fear, and the next minute she is tracking down trained bad guys and saving the lives of the inept FBI agents and police. This is repeated throughout the story.........I would think she had worn out all the emotional crap by the end of the book. She makes one blunder after another resulting in the deaths of innocent people, but at the same time comes up with brilliant deductions that help her stay one step ahead of the mastermind killers. By the end of the book I found myself pulling for the sadistic killer to finally finish this stupid [...] off.

This is one of those books to keep next to the bed in case you are having trouble sleeping.

Average customer rating:

A Real Thriller from Start to Finish
Wow! Could not put it down.
The Difference between cooking and writing
An intriguing, beguiling, suspenseful tale right to the end!
Good story until the rediculous ending!

Split Second
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Vision
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446614459

Book Description

Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air. Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. Eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes. Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge. Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, the two discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making-and are a long way from over

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"eBook Special Feature:? David Baldacci's personal thoughts on writing The Simple Truth and The Christmas Train? Includes excerpts from The Simple Truth and The Christmas Train. It was only a split second;but that's all it took for Secret Service agent Sean King's attention to wander and his "protectee," third-party presidential candidate Clyde Ritter, to die. King retired from the Service in disgrace, and now, eight years later, balances careers as a lawyer and a part-time deputy sheriff in a small Virginia town. Then he hears the news: Once again, a third-party candidate has been taken out of the presidential race;abducted right under the nose of Secret Service agent Michelle Maxwell. King and Maxwell form an uneasy alliance, and their search for answers becomes a bid for redemption as they delve into the government's Witness Protection Program and the mysterious past of Clyde Ritter's dead assassin. But the truth is never quite what it seems, and these two agents have learned that even one moment looking in the wrong direction can be deadly. Full of shocking twists and turns, and introducing a villian to rival Jackson in Baldacci's The Winner, SPLIT SECOND is pure, mind-numbing adrenaline to the last page."

Customer Reviews:

A Real Thriller from Start to Finish.......2007-06-17

David Baldacci was born in 1960. He attended law school at the University of Virginia, and went on to work as a trial lawyer, and later as a corporate lawyer, in Washington, D.C. He is now a full-time writer whose best selling novels include Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth and Saving Faith. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

The author has come up with a new thriller that is reminiscent of his best selling debut book, Absolute Power. It has all of the thrills and excitement of a first rate novel.

Sean King is going place in the closed world of the Secret Service, that is until he makes a fatal mistake. It only took a split second, but that is all it took for a man to die, a man who was under the protection of agent King. Third party presidential candidate Clyde Ritter was dead and Sean King's attention had wandered at the vital moment. He retired from the Service in disgrace and now eight long years later he balances careers as a lawyer and part-time deputy sheriff in a small Virginia town.

Then he hears some news. Another third part candidate has been taken out of the presidential race, abducted right under the nose of Secret Service agent Michelle Maxwell. King thinks its time to take another look at the truth of the matter and forms an uneasy alliance with Michelle Maxwell. But the truth is never quite what it seems and even one unguarded moment can be fatal. The book is full of twists and turns and is well worth reading.

Wow! Could not put it down........2007-05-08

I had read this book a couple of years ago and liked it then and recently read it again. It seems like it was better the second time around. Could not put it down.

I love how the whole story just seemed to tie in to the conclusion.

You will enjoy it.

The Difference between cooking and writing.......2007-04-17

When cooking or following a recipe, there are few constraints. When writing a formula novel, there are many constraints. In addition to the author's work, the editor and the agent have specific constraints. We must have action, we don't need character development. We must have action, we don't need insight into the cardboard characters.

The Gaussian curve applies to writers as well as coin tosses. This author is not at the top end of the curve. Ah well, there's always Charles Dickens.

An intriguing, beguiling, suspenseful tale right to the end! .......2006-11-03

After reading Stuart Woods, Andrew Greeley/Nelson Demille, what does one expect from the creator of 10 Top, New-York Times No.1 best sellers. After years of being away from David Baldacci, I can say,"I'm glad to be back at home!" Even though switching-off to Iris Johansen, I still was compelled to finish the Split Second, first!

The story takes fascinating twists & turns through rapidly moving stages and intriguing personalities, as Secret Agents in the CIA, FBI and Federal Witness Protection Program! Sean Ignatius King, Michelle Maxwell, Joan Dillenger are focused characters in swiftly moving tales of assassination, betrayal, kidnapping, murder and plots of careful planning to be objects of continued search over periods of Vetnamese and Watergate cover-ups! The areas covered are basically in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.

There were some familiar areas touched upon by Baldacci, that reminded me of being back home in East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains! It is one superbly continual spinning-out of profoundly suspense-filled engrossing drama... At least 5 or 6 stars. Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood

Good story until the rediculous ending!.......2006-08-08

This was a really interesting story. Wonderful political plot with endless possibilities as to who the true villan might be. Once I got toward the end and the villan and his motives were revealed, what a bummer! This was lame, lame, lame. Is that the best he could do? Not at the top of my most recommended reads for the summer!

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