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Split Second
 
 
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Split Second (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (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...)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
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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: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 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: #9,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #18 in  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Baldacci, David
    #79 in  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue

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David Baldacci
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
The motorcade streamed into the tree-shaded parking lot, where it disgorged numerous people who looked hot, tired and genuinely unhappy. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
detail leader, money stuffed
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Secret Service, Clyde Ritter, Bob Scott, Arnold Ramsey, John Bruno, Sean King, Loretta Baldwin, Sidney Morse, Kate Ramsey, Mildred Martin, Michelle Maxwell, Bill Martin, Buick Man, Howard Jennings, Susan Whitehead, Thornton Jorst, Joan Dillinger, Fairmount Hotel, Doug Denby, Regina Ramsey, Jefferson Parks, Agent Maxwell, Stonewall Jackson Room, United States, Neal Richards
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Customer Reviews

183 Reviews
5 star:
 (35)
4 star:
 (37)
3 star:
 (41)
2 star:
 (38)
1 star:
 (32)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (183 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
103 of 114 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.

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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars a good book, until..., November 10, 2003
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.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars What an ending!, November 4, 2003
By D. Sparks (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Split Second (Hardcover)
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Scott Brick's performance should be a 10-star
This is my favorite David Baldacci title and Scott Brick's reading is superb. It is a must-hear, even after reading Split Second. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Janet Morgan

4.0 out of 5 stars Maxwell & King meet
I'd be hard pressed to tell you if Maxwell and King or The Camel Club would be #1 with me. Suffice it to say if Baldacci writes it you MUST read it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sandy Rhoad

4.0 out of 5 stars Split Second paperback
Book was in good condition when I received it. I would buy from this dealer again.
Published 7 months ago by R. Hawkins

3.0 out of 5 stars Great start - poor finish
All in all, this book was pretty decent. It had lots of action and suspense - I suspected many people. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. Miranda

2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time
Starts of well, but then peaks around the middle, its almost as if Baldacci started with a brilliant story but couldn't figure a brilliant way to end it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Serial reader

4.0 out of 5 stars The streak of no 4 stars is finally broken....
I do not read reviews until I am finished reading any book. I was astonished to read the last several reviews. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Semper Fi!

3.0 out of 5 stars fast moving
The story moved well but Ifound the ending did not fit the story line.
Published 12 months ago by PT.Lee

1.0 out of 5 stars laughable
I do not expect mysteries to be great literature necessarily, but I do expect the ultimate denouement to be at least somewhat comprehensible and credible. Read more
Published 13 months ago by an opinionated consumer

1.0 out of 5 stars No Option for Zero Stars?
I am a Balducci fan. I have read half I dozen of his books and enjoyed them all. Until now. No, this is not the worst book I have ever read. But it is close. Read more
Published 14 months ago by John Walsh

2.0 out of 5 stars A fun bit of fluff
The book grabbed me from the start -- it had suspense, conspiracy, interesting characters, etc. Somewhere around the middle it lost speed, and by the end I was shaking my head in... Read more
Published 17 months ago by E. Truman

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