Split Second

I found this book to be disappointing, and less than the “thriller” it’s advertised to be. The pace is uneven, the plot is contrived, and the denouement is (frankly) preposterous. The villain is so evil as to be far from realistic. It's impossible to believe that two US presidential candidates can be killed / kidnapped without intensive nationwide investigations. And it's equally impossible to imagine a villain who concocts an elaborate scheme extending over decades, one involving multiple murders, kidnappings, imprisonments, and the cruel sacrifice of his own brother, all due to a sophomoric case of unrequited love. Apparently labelling a character "psychopathic" lets a novelist get away with anything.

Mr. Baldacci likes to show more reveal to the reader fragmentary information -- the main character reads a note that makes him rush off somewhere, but we readers aren't allowed to know why; a conversation is held and we aren't told who the parties are. These are amateurish and clumsy devices designed to keep the reader guessing, but I just felt manipulated. Unfortunately, the eventual answers are so unsatisfying as to leave the reader also feeling cheated.

Despite these perceived flaws, I found the book to be reasonable as a bit of bedtime escapism. However, I wasn’t sorry when it was over and have no inclination to relive the experience, or to seek out other works by this author. show less

My only other experience of David Baldacci was the rather unfunny seasonal comedy "The Christmas Train". Given how successful David Baldacci is, I figured that I probably hadn't seen him at his best and decided to give one of his mysteries a try.

"Split Second" is a tense, page-turning, puzzle-solving book that delivers a plot that is original, if a little far-fetched (but hey, I read books about vampires, werewolves and aliens - how much of a stretch can the plot of a thriller be?).

The plot revolves around two Secret Service agents who, more than a decade apart are each guarding different Presidential candidates when they make career-ending mistakes.

Of course, it turns out that the two sets of events are related in complicated and fun show more to unravel ways that bring the older male ex-agent together with the younger female ex-agent to save the day.

The book is at its best in creating tension before the action, especially when it's inside the head of one of the ex-agents. There's lots of misdirection and unexpected plot twists, gunfights, a couple of explosions and relatively high and mostly female body-count.It's actually pretty good at hiding the bad guys and then revealing them in a way that makes you slap your forehead for not having seen it already.

It was all very entertaining as long as it was taken at breakneck speed.

I found the two ex-agents hard to like.

The man, Sean King (how do Americans end up with Irish first names and Jewish family names?) is, of course, tall, handsome, moderately athletic. He knows how to build a house, cook a meal and choose the right wines. He also seems to have been married to his job, cheating on his wife and taking no real joy in anything prior to the sudden death of his career. Then, with an unconscious sense of entitlement that only those with generations of middle-class background have, he becomes a lawyer, builds a fabulous house, makes a lot of money, buys a lot of toys and doesn't really get involved with anyone or anything except keeping his house excessively neat. Why should I care about this guy?

The woman, Michelle (call me Mick) Maxwell, is, of course, small, blonde and beautiful. She's also an over-achieving ex-Olympian (rowing), from generations of police officers (senior police officers of course) with a good degree, a natural ability with guns and a martial arts black belt. She's on the fast track in the Secret Service but seems to have no idea why she wants to be there. She's too glossy and too shallow for my tastes but she has skills that allow the plot to move along quite nicely.

The two of them blunder through the book, trying to fix the mess they're in and getting a lot of other people killed in the process.

But, if I let go of my distaste for all-American heroes with an inbuilt sense of entitlement and an unexamined patriotism, I have to admit that this book kept me entertained all the way through.

Scott Brick did a good job of the narration, keeping the pace moving and making the dialogue live. He wasn't helped in this by the curious production standards Hatchette Audio, who played background music at apparently random moments and seemed to toss a coin on how to deal with transitions, sometimes leaving a pause so long that I checked my player was working and sometimes moving from one scene to another so fast that I became confused about who was talking or where I was. The cover art is so bland, a brown-paper wrapper would have been more interesting. These guys seem to be asleep at the wheel. show less

A presidential candidate is assassinated, and Secret Service Agent Scott Ignacius King is unjustly scapegoated. Eight years later another presidential candidate is kidnapped and Secret Service Agent Michelle Maxwell is unjustly scapegoated. King and Maxwell are suitable Baldacci main characters: attractive, brave, decorated for heroic achievements, cool under pressure and, of course, of superior intellect.
The villain is also suitable: sociopathic, manipulative, ruthless and cold-blooded, and not above killing two old ladies in their baths.
The plot is woven to hold our interest and does, mostly, though, there are a number of preposterous twists and turns. The bad-guy uses an elaborate ruse involving a false fire, and false show more firemen/rescuers in order to kidnap King, then devices an incredible theatrical happening to bring about the denouement.
Split Second is OK to read to pass time, but don't be surprised if the profusion of false conjectures and red herrings tend to bore. show less

Split Second which was first published in 2003 was the first book in Baldacci’s King and Maxwell series. This is a sizzling and tightly plotted thriller that once you begin reading you will devour each page. This has a brilliant plot breathless action and out of this world characters.

When Secret Service Agent Sean King is distracted for just a second his protectee the presidential candidate Clyde Ritter is assassinated. Even though he kills the assassin his time with the service is over he had done the unforgivable lost the person he was supposed to protect. He had to move on with his life whether he liked it or not was irrelevant.

Secret Service Agent Michelle Maxwell is not happy that her protectee the presidential candidate John show more Bruno has demanded a last-minute change to the schedule. Maxwell allows Bruno into a room alone with a widow. When Maxwell re-enters the room some time late both the Bruno and the widow are missing.

Maxwell driven by the similarity of her protectee’s case with that of King she wants to re-open the investigation. The Secret Service will not hear of it. She manages to convince King to join her and investigate both cases. At the beginning of the investigation, they could see no link nothing that would connect the pair of incidents. But what they did do was kick a hornet’s nest which made their life chances a little more restricted. Especially as key witnesses had a habit of disappearing from both cases and then dead bodies turn up in the home and offices of King. They seem to be a step behind with every step they take. It becomes clear that there are some very funny games being played.

The plot is strong so much so that you could imagine it happening and Baldacci’s research is evident throughout the book. The plot twists keep you hooked throughout the book he has made it hard for the reader to work out who actually are the bad guys and the book is better for that.

A brilliant read. show less

In this thriller, the life of Secret Service agent Michelle Maxwell is changed in a split second when she allows one of her charges, a presidential candidate, out her sight so that he could console a newly made widow. In a blink of an eye he vanished, along with her career. Eight years previously, the same thing had happened to another secret service agent, Sean King. Like Maxwell, he had been guarding a presidential candidate. In his case, his charge was murdered when King took his eyes off of him for a split second. Interested in King's case, Maxwell comes to think that he was unfairly condemned for his losing his charge. When a horrific murder occurs, King, who is now a lawyer, starts out as a witness, but quickly falls under show more suspicion as the murderer. Maxwell steps when it becomes clear that the murders King witnessed are connected to the disappearance of her missing candidate. Joining forces, Maxwell and King soon find themselves trapped in a maze filled with deadly secrets that could destroy them both.

The plot was fast paced and even though there was one part of the story I found completely unbelievable, I really enjoyed the characters and the action packed story. I will definitely plan on reading the rest of the series. show less

Really over-the-top plot, with one of those psychopaths who can do everything, and never get caught. Who knows, maybe they exist, but we never hear about them because they never get caught. Anyway the silly stuff was mildly amusing so that's fine; what was annoying was the way that the author would shift from knowing the point-of-view character's inner thoughts to not telling us what the same character saw, or said, just to avoid giving us a hint. That's not playing fair with the reader; if such devices are necessary, the plot must be too lame and the author needs to rewrite.

I had it figured out that Ramsey was pulled in for a prank and thought his gun was loaded with blanks. The actual denouement disappointed; I like my plot better.

"Split Second" is the first book in the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series. It follows two ex-Secret Service agents who experience similar failures and team up to solve their respective cases. Sean lost his protectee, presidential candidate Clyde Ritter, to a political assassin's bullet, which led him to leave the service and become a lawyer. Eight years later, Michelle was also assigned to protect a presidential candidate, John Bruno, but he fell victim to a kidnapper while under her watch—a setback that did not reflect well on her career.

When Sean finds himself back in the news after his partner is murdered, Michelle decides to reach out to him to discuss the similarities in their cases. Together, they quickly become embroiled in show more a complicated conspiracy—typical of a Baldacci novel—that puts them in multiple life-threatening situations. The plot is filled with numerous twists and turns, making keeping up with the story challenging. Although I found the ending a bit far-fetched, the two main characters are likable, and the witty dialogue adds to the book's enjoyment. show less