Simple Genius

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have seen their lives splinter around them. Michelle lies unconscious in a hospital bed after a night of suicidal violence. And Sean is forced to take on a thankless investigation into the murder of a scientist just inside the CIA's razor-wire fence near Williamsburg, Virginia.

Soon he is uncovering layers of disinformation that shields a stunning world of elite mathematicians, physicists, war heroes, spies, and deadly field agents. Amid murder, a seemingly autistic girl's extraordinary genius, and a powerful breakthrough in the realm of classified codes, Sean learns enough to put his life at risk. Now, he needs Michelle, at her best, to help stop a conspiracy of traitors operating in the shadow of the White House itself.

From Michelle's courageous struggle to defeat her long-buried personal demons to a centuries-old secret that surfaces in the heat of the action, Simple Genius pulses with stunning, high-intensity suspense. The heroes of Split Second and Hour Game are back as you've never seen them before.

Download the accompanying reference guide. And Don't miss the previous exploits of this dynamic duo in Split Second and Hour Game.

©2007 Columbus Rose, Ltd (P)2007 Hachette Audio

loving the twists and turns

Having devoured the Will Robie series and now the first 3 in the King and Maxwell, it amazes me how unpredictable the outcomes are every time. a thrill rude from start to finish.

One of the most involved plot lines I've ever read

Sometimes I think I'd like to sit in a quiet corner (if one actually exists) of David Baldacci's brain and just watch the process of plot creation and evolution take place. It would have to be worth the price of admission to see this creative mind start working from a premise and watch it evolve into this meandering, seemingly non-sensical arc where bits and pieces are tossed from one chapter to another and from, what appears to the uninitiated, one unrelated character or event to another until they all converse into several 'I didn't see that coming' aha moments as the book comes crashing to its ultimate end where the random pieces of various plot lines get tied, and not always neatly, and the audio ends and you sit back and realize both your breathing and you heart seems to have stopped. Baldacci is that good, and no more so than in Simple Genius. I've read/listened to everything he has ever written and I can't imagine how he gets his mind to work on so many different levels to create the vastly different novels and characters he has. Simple Genius never lets you rest. It never gives up a moment where you feel comfortable putting it aside to do something as mundane as eat. One jolt gets replaced with another, usually from a totally different direction just as you were starting to feel comfortable in your expert reader's knowledge of where this plot was going and how it was going to pan out. You'd be wrong. So many storylines take off in so many different directions as the book progresses that you're unsure if they will ever find their way home. They do. And not always in the way you might expect or even in a way you're prefer. Sometimes you feel comfortable finishing a novel. You feel peace and comfort from the knowledge God's in his Heaven and all's right with the world. Baldacci scoffs at that notion, but does it in a way that has you comfortably in its grip as it ends. I have 2 complaints. One is my standard complaint about Hachette Audio: Music and sound effects and pauses. I don't need a 30 second pause with soothing/intrigue inducing music between chapters. I am not so faint-hearted that I need to relax or calm down before continuing. I don't need sound effects. My imagination functions well enough to bring to life gunshots or explodong bombs or the sounds of the city. This is not a movie that requires a sound track. Please, Hachette, just read. Second, in this case I wish I learned more about Viggy at the end. She was such a monumental figure throughout the story, yet was almost treated like an after-thought at the very end. Maybe he had a reason for that. All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and can't wait to climb onboard his next adventure.

ending

the ending was hard to take, yet probably a realistic one, given the plot.

Engrossing Multidimensional Read

This book draws you in from page one. It has several different story lines that connect but keep you exploring their individual secrets. The sometimes have shocking or certainly surprising resolutions.

Brainteaser

This book kept going in different directions while keeping you entertained and on your toes trying to figure out who dunnit

tedious and interesting

Not for nothing but when you have to spend the last chapter of 15 minutes explaining the entire 13 hour whodunnit, whydunnit and howdunnit, then you did not do a good enough job along the way. That being said the characters were interesting and the back story of Maxwell was a nice lil tag along side story.

this was an exceptionally good listen

I would probably listen to Scott brick reading the New York telephone book but this was also an excellent story it will keep you guessing until the very end of course Scott just made it better.

Fast paced, multi plot entertainment.

This book brought new depth to the characters and explored the possibility of intrigue and deception behind the public facade of our governments alphabet intelegence agencies while tossing in some American war history. Well worth the time to read and ponder.

Who Knows?

Another interesting, exciting and action packed story. I enjoyed the story who knows what is really happening out there with the technology. Secret bases, rogue agents keeps you guessing. The narration was excellent.

Great Story

I have enjoyed this series so far and this book will not disappoint. There are several twists and turns in the plot and a subplot that keeps you guessing. The narration is wonderful and I could not wait to hear what was next....well done.