Split Second (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Baldacci (Author) "The motorcade streamed into the tree-shaded parking lot, where it disgorged numerous people who looked hot, tired and genuinely unhappy..." (more)
Key Phrases: detail leader, money stuffed, Secret Service, Clyde Ritter, Bob Scott (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"We just solved a huge, complicated mystery," says one protagonist to another in this latest novel from the bestselling author of Last Man Standing, Absolute Power, etc. And that is the problem: this story of two disgraced Secret Service agents who come together to solve two campaign-trail crimes doesn't play to Baldacci's strengths, which are suspense and action (as well as strong characterizations; here's one thriller author who writes people that readers care about). The novel is primarily a mystery, with lots of talk and untangling of clues, and a less than gripping one at that. It begins in 1996, when Secret Service agent Sean King is distracted-by what isn't revealed until near the book's end-just when the presidential candidate he's guarding is shot dead. Eight years later, agent Michelle Maxwell lets the candidate she's watching enter a funeral parlor room alone; he's kidnapped. Then a body appears in the office of King, who's now a successful lawyer in North Carolina. Maxwell sees King on TV and decides to look into the event that caused his disgrace, so similar to hers. Meanwhile, King's old flame, Joan Dillinger, an ex-agent whose security firm has been hired to find the kidnapped presidential candidate, hires King to help in the hunt. The narrative ties binding the characters don't loosen much over the novel's course, as curious cross-currents flow between the two cases, all leading to a cinematic but off-the-wall denouement that reveals a villain who is more cartoon than human. What saves this novel are a few strong but brief action sequences and, above all, the interplay among the principal characters, particularly the romantic tensions among King, Maxwell and Dillinger.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Baldacci's new thriller is sustained by the pulse-pounding suspense his fans have come to expect. Sean King is a former Secret Service agent whose career ended eight years ago when the political candidate he was protecting was assassinated. Now a lawyer, King has organized his life to forget his past, but it barges rudely in on him when he finds a colleague murdered in his office building. Further complicating his life are two women: Joan Dillinger, a former coworker and lover, and Michelle Maxwell, a Secret Service agent whose candidate, John Bruno, has just been kidnapped. Sean and Michelle start to suspect that their candidates' fates are connected and begin to investigate any ties the two may have to each other. It doesn't help that the police are on King's case, especially when yet another body turns up, this time in King's house. King and Maxwell turn their focus to Arnold Ramsey, the man who assassinated King's candidate, but it remains unclear if he was working alone. Meanwhile, the danger mounts, for neither King nor Maxwell can guess who the conspirators' next target is. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Vision (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446614459
• ISBN-13: 978-0446614450
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,758 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Sean King and Michelle Maxwell Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner for David Baldacci, A Stunning Book, October 1, 2003

By	Katie Osborne (Portland, Oregon and the sunny Caribbean) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Split Second (Hardcover)

I'd read a couple reviews that really slammed this book, so when a good friend got an advance copy and loaned it to me, I was almost afraid to read it. But, of course, I did. I mean we're talking about David Baldacci, after all, the man who has been responsible for several sleepless nights at my house. "Absolute Power," "The Winner," and the stunning, "Saving Faith," masterpieces all. Baldacci's books are about entertainment, and my Lord he entertains. He takes us out of our lives and plants us squarely with his characters. No longer are we office workers, nurses, truck drivers or librarians.

Still, after those horrid reviews, I was afraid, for I've never picked up a book by this man that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. There are so few writers out there that can quicken our hearts, it would be sad if we were to lose one. But after the first page, I knew those reviewers, those professional people that read books before they come out, were wrong.

Yes, some might say the premise is impossible, but it's not to those of us who are still wondering who killed JFK. And besides, isn't that what thrillers are supposed to be about, taking an impossible premise and making us believe in it and believe me, David Baldacci makes you believe in his plot and care for the people who walk through his pages.

I loved this book and I'm gonna read it again before I have to give it back. "Split Second" is a five star offering and if I could give it a sixth or even a tenth star, I would.

Those people in that professional reviewing organization that said this book's characters were flat are just plain full of hooey, and if I wasn't a lady, I'd tell you just what else they're full of. Yes, our heroes do a lot of wondering and figuring, but I was wondering and figuring right along with them. And maybe the book leans a tad bit more to the mystery genre than his other thrillers, but so what? The last thing a reader wants from an author are carbon copies of past successes.

David Baldacci has giving us a fine body of work, but he certainly doesn't have to use any of it to prop up "Split Second." This book can stand by itself very well. It would have been every bit the success it's going to be, even if it would have been Mr. Baldacci's first novel. Clint still would have been in the movie.

However. there is that one nagging worry that still tingles at the back of my mind. We eventually find out who assassinated presidential candidate Clyde Ritter, but we are still left wondering who killed JFK. That, of course, is not Mr. Baldacci's fault, but wouldn't you like to know?

Again, this is most definitely a five star thriller-slash-mystery. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This One Falls Short -Disappointing!, September 28, 2004

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Split Second (Hardcover)

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

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a good book, until..., November 10, 2003

By	Vincent Krief (Paris) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Split Second (Hardcover)

I'm a fan of Baldacci's books. This one is a real page turner and you spend a good moment, until you arrive after de 2/3 of the book. Then you realize something is wrong with the story, that is a bit artificial... This feeling is confirmed by one of the most ridiculous "end-revelation-solution" that I have read in my life. I told myself: "He's kidding"... But no, Baldacci is not kidding.