Split Second

David Baldacci

Aug 2009 · King and Maxwell Book 1 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

Split Second is the first in the gripping King and Maxwell series by bestselling author David Baldacci.

When something distracts Secret Agent Sean King for a split second, it costs him his career and presidential candidate, Clyde Ritter, his life. But what stole his attention? And why was Ritter shot?

Eight years later Michelle Maxwell is on the fast track through the ranks of the Secret Service when her career is stopped short: presidential candidate John Bruno is abducted from a funeral home while under her protection.

The similarity between the two cases drives Michelle to re-open investigations into the Ritter fiasco and join forces with attractive ex-agent King. The pair are determined to get to the bottom of what happened in those critical moments.

Meanwhile, high-ranking members of the legal system and key witnesses from both cases are going missing. King is losing friends, colleagues and clients fast and his ex-lover, Joan Dillinger, is playing curious games – she wants Sean back, but she also owes him for something . . .

Split Second is followed by Hour Game, Simple Genius, First Family, The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

Ratings and reviews

Other than the mentionned best-seller, I read two other books by Baldacci which were at least satisfying. This one has a really promising start and a quite interesting storyline. Unfortunately, if you care for believeable caracters, for something like an "acceptable" quality in style, and have little tolerance for dirt cheap tricks, the result here is a big disappointment. I have to wonder who wrote this and who else wrote "Absolute Power", as there's no possible comparison. Towards the finale, the author uses a grotesque subterfuge not to reveal a vital information so we keep reading until the end ("when he heard the answer", "the truth he had uncovered was hard to believe", "he couldn't tell her what he knew although he wanted to" and so on); this drags over several chapters, letting the reader feel he's played for an idiot, having no choice but to read on and wait for the truth to come out. I've never seen anything like it. The main caracter is supposed to be involved not in one but two romances (one old, one new) playing side by side, and they just don't manage to exist. It's fiction on a really low level. Not recommended unless you're bored out of your mind.

I read a book a week and have spent 100s on ebooks with Amazon. I read all Lee Child's, Michael Connoly, Rachel Amphlett, John Grisham and Robert Crais. I have enjoyed every one, but get fed up with all the 'padding'. One learns to skip this 'fill-space' nonsense. It is not relevant to the plot, doesn't 'add interest' and is boring. Then I discovered David Baldacci. I have read 6 of his so far and enjoyed every one, except this one. Good scenario, but muddled from the start. Can't make head or tale of who is who. I have given up on it and wasted €8!! So, sadly one star rating. The firs six, were really enjoyable. I will buy another, in the hopes that I can 'get into it'.

There's far fetched and far fetched but this really takes the proverbial. Daft story line and dafter characters. Don't bother.

About the author

David Baldacci is one of the world’s bestselling and favourite thriller writers. With over 130 million copies in print, his books are published in over eighty territories and forty-five languages, and have been adapted for both feature-film and television. David is also the co-founder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation®, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across the US.

Trust him to take you to the action.