Split Second

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Michelle Maxwell has just blown her future with the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight to comfort a grieving widow. Then, behind closed doors, the politician whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air.

Living a new life on a quiet lake in central Virginia, Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. He's been there before. In an out-of-the-way hotel eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service man allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the presidential candidate Sean was protecting was gunned down before his eyes.

Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge. She has become obsessed with Sean's case. And he needs a friend - especially since a series of macabre killings has brought him under suspicion and prompted the reappearance of a seductive woman he's tried hard to forget.

As the two discredited agents enter a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, they uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making - and are a long way from over....

©2003 Columbus Rose, Ltd. (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

"Baldacci's new thriller is sustained by the pulse-pounding suspense his fans have come to expect." ( Booklist)

A complicated suspense filled story.

I thougherly enjoyed listening to this book. It gets your mind working overtime with attempting to stay up with all of the action and mystery. The ending chapters have a surprising conclusion. Thanks Mr Baldacci!

First class listen

I don’t often listen to Baldeci because years ago I had a couple of books that where the story was difficult to follow, this is the second book excellent book since then. I found the story very well written and so clear that it was easy to imagine yourself there. It was realistic for a fictional story in that if he stayed strictly to what happen in the real world it would likely be boring. Scott Brick did his usual great job narrating, sorry if you aren’t a fan of his.

Excellent reading

As usual, David Balducci’s story plots are wonderful and they keep you on your toes for the beginning all the way to the end. Makes the story too interesting and hard to put down. The narrators was fine, but like another reader commented, they have a weird reflection almost like a normal voice with a Brooklyn Accent asking questions very weird.

Great story page after page!

A new type of detective thriller, as you try to guess “ who done it”. Great characters and an amazing crafted plot. You will enjoy this series.

Baldacci & Brick, an excellent combo

I decided to give this series a try after devouring the Camel Club series by David Baldacci and also because I have enjoyed other books narrated by Scott Brick. While the Camel Club books remain my favorite I found Maxwell & King a wonderful series especially after my second time through the book to pick up all the details I missed the first time while in rush hour traffic. This series is a little darker than other Baldacci books and was slower to suck me in but I was totally hooked by mid-book.

Maxwell & King, a formidable team, seem like polar opposites at first look but as the story continues and more personal information about the two emerges I came to realize that Baldacci is indeed a brilliant & crafty story teller.

OK but pay attention

This is a good thriller but perhaps one better read than listened to. You have to pay close attention to the characters as they appear and disappear. It's not so dense that you can't pick up the thread after a little doze. I agree with the reviewer about the narrator. All the characters sound the same.

A Good Thriller

There are thousands out there, but this book is still great. The myriad of twists and turns keep you on the edge of your seat trying to guess where it will all lead to. These law enforcement thrillers do not get repetitive, though. And I will continue to read them.

2nd time around and it was good again.

I enjoy the combo of mystery, humor, chemistry, twists and turns.
I'm going through the series again.

good read

There were a few too many characters. It was getting a little to confusing trying to remember who was who.

Baldacci is always good.

It's Baldacci. That means it has a riveting, fast paced story that twists and turns and you will have trouble putting it down. He has never disappointed me.