Simple Genius

[Simple Genius] by David Baldacci
Maxwell & King series Book #3
4★’s

From The Book:
In a world of secrets, human genius is power.
And sometimes it is simply deadly . . .

Near Washington, D.C., there are two clandestine institutions: the world's most unusual laboratory and a secret CIA training camp. Drawn to these sites by a murder, ex-Secret Service agent Sean King encounters a dark world of mathematicians, codes, and spies. His search for answers soon leads him to more shocking violence-and an autistic girl with an extraordinary genius.

Now, only by working with his embattled partner, Michelle Maxwell, can he catch a killer...and solve a stunning mystery that threatens the entire nation.

My Thoughts:
I am probably one of David’s show more Baldacci’s top fans…especially of his John Puller, Will Robie and the newest…Amos Decker series… but Maxwell and King will always hold a favorite place in my heart. I was so sorry to see this series end. I was overjoyed when the Mystery & Suspense group voted to read this series as a book discussion. That being said…I had an issue with this book…not too serious but it did lose it half a star…at least for me.

In this… the 3rd book… we find Michelle Maxwell hitting an all time mental low as she nearly kills a total stranger for no other reason that he was dressed in military gear and he was simple there. The events after that incident offered some very good storyline and some very exciting moments. However…nothing is as it seems, in this tortuous tale.

As Michelle struggles with her emotional problems, Sean nearly bankrupts himself and their company paying for Michelle’s much needed help which brings us to his taking a job from his former lover, Joan, to investigate a compound of geniuses that have super computers and complicated codes at their finger tips. Here is where the majority of the remainder of the book takes place. Be warned…unless you have a degree in physics and computer sciences…you will want to skip over some parts of this or your head will implode. From here on it reminded me of the old adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely ". It is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys and involves every spook agency in the government. I did find the look into code breaking and Alan Turing's work cracking the Enigma Code during WWII fascinating and very much enlightening..

The ending of the book…while diffidently being a wild ride of twists and turns was what lost it the extra half star that I had originally awarded it. David Baldacci is a superb writer…one of my favorites… who keeps the reader turning pages, and there is plenty of suspense, mystery and action….character development galore. You really get to know much more about King and Maxwell. It was exciting, fun, with an excellent plot. Those were the good points that got it the 4 stars to start with. What I had the main issue with was that Baldacci turned all the good people into bad people, the bad people into good people, and in one case back into a good person saying he was “just following orders”. Now where and how many times have we heard that excuse for bad manners, behavior and judgments? That defense failed at Nuremberg and it fails here. show less

A whole new side to Michelle Maxwell in this one, but I have to say that I still want to be her when I grow up. This was a conspiracy theorists wet dream: secret codes, secret tunnels, mystery CIA training camp, anonymous privately-funded think tank. Love the addition of Horatio Barnes, hope he sticks around for some later books. Speaking of which I can't wait to get to the next in the series!

Following the murder of a prominent mathematician, Monk Turing, at Babbage Town, a mysterious research facility near Washington, DC, the secretive owners of the facility hire private detectives to look into the death. Through an old acquaintance of Sean's, Joan Dillinger, Sean King is handed the job. However, before the investigation gets off the ground, Michelle, in a fit of rage, has a near-death fight in a bar and checks herself into a private psychiatric facility named Reston. It seems something in Michelle's past is threatening to explode from her subconscious. Horatio Barnes, a psychologist, takes her on as a patient to address her private issues, while Sean takes the lead on the case.

Since Monk's body was found across the river show more from Babbage Town on the grounds of Camp Peary Naval Reservation, Sean's efforts get blocked by the FBI, CIA, and DEA. After another murder of a possible witness, Michelle ditches Horatio and joins him. Together, they try to crack codes, sort through government secrets, and deal with several murders that have everyone on edge. As they dig deeper, they meet some pretty strange characters and run into danger at every turn. It's a fast-paced story full of suspense, twists, and clever thinking, as Sean and Michelle work to uncover the truth behind all the secrets.

This third book in the series delves into Michelle's past secrets and questions the relationship between Sean and Michelle. Driven by government conspiracies, a scientific race to end the world as we know it, and overreach by power-hungry military operatives, I found this story entertaining and thought-provoking. show less

This is the first book I've read by the amazing prolific writer of mysteries and conspiracies David Baldacci. And while I'm usually not a huge fan of these types of books (mysteries or cheap/pulp fiction), but this one was pretty darn good.

The book follows Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, two former secret service agents who get hired to investigate the mysterious death of a worker at a even more mysterious company. While Sean investigates the original death, the body was found on a nearby CIA training base, Michelle struggles to deal with her inner demons and tries to join up with Sean to help him.

Overall, a pretty good book for a pulp fiction mystery. I'll admit that the twist ending (and there always is a twist) took me by surprise. show more Not an intellectually stimulating book or one that will win any awards, but a good read none the less. show less

I listened to this on audio and it was engaging enough that I didn't repackage the disks in disgust (as I did after trying to listen to a Janet Evanovich book, and a Mary Higgins Clarke book). But after loving the first King & Maxwell novel, and giving up after three attempts to feign interest in the follow up, the third volume in this series has mostly convinced me that David Baldacci is a wildly inconsistent writer. I may yet give him another shot - - after all, billions of readers can't be wrong (can they? ) - - but for now I am turning my attention to a totally different genre.

I'm reading through Baldacci books like bonbons, not really satisfied but can't stop. Again, this one has so many things going on through most of the book, with no clear idea of who the bad guy is or what crime is happening despite the body count, to a violent whirlwind ending. Great characters, though. I felt a little bad that South Freeman didn't get anything out of this, not even a few Revolution-era coins .

After book 2 in this series which I really enjoyed and gave us plenty of scope to work out who the killer was I was very disappointed by this book. It started off very well with a look into Michelle Maxwell's back story and how this was affecting her current 'out of character' actions. This part of the book I enjoyed, however I never really bought into the main murder mystery, partly because we weren't given enough details and the author kept too many key elements to himself. To be a real murder mystery we should have more of a chance working out who did it, and more importantly why. It was all but impossible to work out why in this book because of surprises in the reveal that came out of left field. Hopefully the next book in the show more series will get back on track. show less