Split Second [Mass Market Paperback]

Monday, March 26, 2012

Split Second [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Vision (September 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446614459
ISBN-13: 978-0446614450
Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : David Baldacci
Price : $7.99

Customer Reviews

Most of the reviews I've read here by other customers seem like they only read the first half of the book. I'm a big Baldacci fan, a big mystery/suspense fan and I really enjoyed the first half of this book...maybe even the first three quarters of it. But the ending and plot unveiling is just so ludicrous, so insipid and so filled with "who gives a damn" moments that this book went from a 5 to a 2 in about 20 pages. Very disappointing.

I was disappointed with David Baldacci's "Split Second." Unlike his previous works it is definitely not a strong, tightly written novel, although it could have been a real winner. Throughout much of the book, the thrills, adventure and mystery are certainly present and do keep the reader turning the pages. The three main characters are interesting, unusual and well developed. So, what's wrong? The second half of the novel falls apart. The pace slows; the tension diminishes; the characters begin to act out of character, and turn into cardboard figures without much rationale for their actions. The villain, who has such potential to be a really bad guy, is totally one-dimensional - pure evil incarnate with no complexity, more like a cartoon than a human being. There's a fascinating love triangle which should have taken-off - but falls flat. And after the terrific opening and much of the first half, the conclusion is weak. The book ends with a peep, not a bang!
Sean King, Secret Service agent extraordinaire, with great career potential, is guarding a presidential candidate on a campaign stop in Smalltown USA. King's attention is diverted for one instant, and good cause, when the candidate, Clyde Ritter, is shot dead. Agent King recovers his composure immediately and shoots the assassin. The killer dies. So does King's career.
Eight years later Secret Service agent and girl wonder Michelle Maxwell is on a career fast track in a profession where only men succeed. Agent Maxwell, a former Olympic rower, is the exception to the rule. She has her sights set on White House duty guarding the president and she just might get the gig. She is presently guarding a presidential candidate, John Bruno, who is making an unscheduled stop at a funeral home to pay his respects to the deceased. The room is vacated except for the candidate, the corpse and the widow. Bruno insists on time alone, without security. Uncomfortable with the candidate's decision, Maxwell, and fellow agents stand outside the closed door, 99% sure their charge will be safe. He is kidnapped right out from under their noses. Michelle may still have a job, but her career is over. She is determined, however, to find John Bruno before he is killed - if indeed, he is still alive.
Former agent King is now living in a house he designed and built on a quiet lakefront in Virginia. He went back to school for a law degree and shares a practice in town. Sean reads of agent Maxwell's fall from grace and feels great empathy because of his similar experience. His empathy chills considerably when Ms. Maxwell shows up at his door with some questions and a theory that the murder and the kidnapping, eight years apart, just may be related. She provides some convincing arguments, and it doesn't hurt that King is wildly attracted to her, so he considers the ramifications of working with Michelle on the case. Then he finds a body, dead, in his law office. Just about this time, an old flame and colleague of King's, Joan Dillenger, turns up, apparently on-the-make. They haven't seen each other in eight years. She was with him the day before the assassination and stayed with him that night in his hotel room, leaving her black lace panties on the ceiling light fixture for the maid to remove the following morning.
Joan, Michelle and Sean combine their considerable resources to solve this mystery which just keeps getting more complicated - and interesting. But there is someone out there, in the background, with even more resources, who is playing them all with extraordinary expertise.
Given my above comments, if you are a Baldacci fan, then the book is certainly worth reading. It's just a shame he didn't tighten up his narrative and hone the plot.
JANA