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)

Balducci is always a great storyteller. I enjoy

his narrative. And since , I have long ago I only had radio growing up, this has been a dejavu for me to rekidle my youth

What a Stupid Ending

At first the storyline sucks you in, but then you realise King is stupid. The evidence should have told him that he needed a home security system which probably won't of have uncovered the many bugs. Baldacci writes better than this. If it were not for the excellent performance of Scott Brick i would have given Split Second an Overall rating of one star.

Enjoyable

Took a little time to get started, but towards the end it really warmed up.

Thrillingly written and well developed plots

enjoyed the twists and turns thought the story. Baldacci's storylines continue to keep me engaged throughout. I don't want them to end.

An excellent who done it

Long pauses between chapters for some reason. Not much difference in the voices. Other then that the story was excellent.

Great Stuff

Sean King is a great character.
He along with Michelle and Joan created a tense and challenging trio.
looking forward to more of this excitement.

rando chapter reader guy 👦?

entertaining...but I don't get the non narrator speaking the chapter info parts. Almost as annoying as a footnote interjection spat into the middle of a chapter by the non narrator

One of The Greatest Mysteries Since Jane Marple!

What did you love best about Split Second?

The many different characters their personalities and how they interacted with each other. David Baldacci did a great job in creating each of the characters and keeping them in step with the twisting story line. The story line was something that was plausible and I could follow the different twists and turns. I especially liked it that the author would let you see some of aspects of the "bad guys" in the story, but not enough to give them away, I like that a lot in a mystery.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story was a bit slow in the beginning, but the author kept teasing my interest with a little of the "facts" of the mystery just at the right time to make me want more of the story, to hurry up and get to "the who done it". The plot kept me very interested especially towards the end, when I just had to hear the last hour and a half just to find out all of the answers, and I didn't want any distractions so I could see the "big picture". So, I stopped my truck and listened intently to the last of the book so I wouldn't miss a thing.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators, and with that said, he made the story even better! I was looking at the later books in this series, and I noticed that Mr. Brick doesn't narrate the last 2 books, and that is very disappointing to me. I love his voice and how he tells a story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Sean King and Joan were out on the water in the sail boat. Don't want to give anymore away than that.

Any additional comments?

This was a great book that was narrated by Scott Brick, one of my favorite narrators. I really do love a good mystery, and I think I found another great mystery writer.

Not nearly as good as his other books

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. There are so many inconsistencies that make this story hard to enjoy.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Frustrating.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, first time.

Did Split Second inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

The author has written several other books that were really good. This book was just not nearly as good as what I expected.

Okay.

Story a bit confusing, but o.k. Not one of my favorites. Really like listening to Scott Brick's voice.