Product Description
When something distracts Secret Agent, Sean King, for a split second, it costs him his career and presidential candidate, Clyde Ritter, his life. What stole his attention? Why was Ritter shot? Where were the other detail leaders? Eight years later, Michelle Maxwell, is on the fast track through the ranks of the Secret Service when her career receives a lethal blow: 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-ra… More >>
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Like many of the reviewers here, I too have an affinity for “all books Baldacci.” And, while I admit Mr. Baldacci has penned a few a novels which stand alone, I cannot bring myself to say his new offering, SPLIT SECOND, is not a thrilling, fun read. Baldacci has an impressive skill of weaving subplots in and out of his storyline controlling the reader’s focus until he decides to change directions…typically in mid-thought. This skill is what makes Baldacci an up-and-coming star in the literary field. And while SPLIT SECOND won’t rival TOTAL CONTROL or ABSOLUTE POWER, it is a book well worth it’s price.
As in several of his other books, Baldacci spins the storyline of SPLIT SECOND around the Secret Service. Baldacci links two crimes separated by eight years and brings together two publicly disgraced Secret Service agents to solve their respective mysteries. Eight years earlier, Agent Sean King was guarding a presidential candidate and took his eyes off the candidate for a split second, a split second that changed King’s life forever and ended the life of the candidate.
Current day…Agent Michelle Maxwell allows a presidential candidate to override the Service’s chief mandate of never losing track of a subject. The result, while not as final as King’s, is just as disastrous…Maxwell’s subject is kidnapped. Unbeknownst to King and Maxwell, these two agents lives will become linked by two separate and ostensibly unrelated crimes all due to a “split second” hesitation. One candidate is dead, the other missing, and two careers are seemingly trashed.
Though she’s been put on leave and publicly vilified, Maxwell is determined to find her missing candidate. The similarity between what happened to her and King’s situation eight years earlier leads her to believe there could be a link, or at least clues to assist her in solving the crime. In the meantime, King has used the proceeds of a libel lawsuit to go to law school, become a successful small-town attorney, and live a quiet, solemn life. That quiet life ends when King is reluctantly drawn into the intrigue of Maxwell’s case and, his own. Joining the cast of characters and adding wrinkle to wrinkle is Joan Dillinger, King’s former lover and Secret Service partner. Dillinger now runs an international investigative agency and has been privately hired to find Maxwell’s missing candidate.
As the plot twists through one dead end after another, the subplot involving the two women vying for King’s affection thickens. This, as always, throws additional emotional baggage on King as he tries to close the unclosable case. With unexpected twists known to Baldacci readers, the storyline throws curve after curve spinning this thriller toward its climax.
With SPLIT SECOND, Baldacci proves himself adroit in combining his storyline with poignant, tight subplots, developing deep, interesting characters, and providing “edge-of-your-seat” action leaving the reader thirsting for more. And, while the climax may not have been up to the quality of the storyline, this is an excellent read and is highly recommended by this reviewer.
Rating: 4 / 5
I gave this 1 star only because there’s no provision for No stars. This is an exceedingly amatuerish book in all respects. YUCK!
Rating: 1 / 5
I wanted to really enjoy this book, and I will admit that the first half was entertaining. But the conclusion of this story is totally implausible. Far too many lose ends –plotlines that took chapters to build– get wrapped up in one or two paragraphs. And all of the “evil” characters are totally ridiculous. They are totally one-dimensional and unrealistic, like something out of the comic books I read as a boy.
I couldn’t wait to finish this trainwreck, but I kept hoping for something better.
I want my eight dollars and six hours of my life back.
Rating: 1 / 5
i knew it be a matter of time before the grishman/baldacci style of writing junk for the masses would get to me. well, it has. I read this book in two days and like other reviewers found the story implausible and the charachter development moronic. i guess that is why grishman/baldacci sell so well.
Rating: 2 / 5
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.
Rating: 2 / 5