Split Second (King & Maxwell Series, 1) Mass Market Paperback – May 28, 2013

Great book, so much going on. The main characters are good together as they work to solve the crimes that happens throughout the book. Can wait to start the next one..

King and Maxwell series, are so much fun! I loved reading the first one in the series! It was a fast read for me because it was so jam packed with action! It kept me guessing!! I highly suggest this series.. and him in general as an author!!

Absolutely one of David’s best mystery action adventures. I loved the real lifelike speculative theories that mimic the actual process for teams solving challenging and complex problems. ‘Tis truly an artistic literary masterwork. Could not put it down.

Too many characters made it confusing . otherwise good plot and exciting read.😀 liked the agents hope to read about them i n another case.

I don’t how David B writes so many entertaining books, and every one of them keeps you intently reading and anxiously turning pages right to the end.

This book took a loooong time to get to the end where you finally understood what happened. I almost quit reading it several times. I didn’t get invested in the characters for some reason except for King and end. Michelle. I found the connection between Ritter and Bruno confusing with the time lapse so it made the plot seem irrelevant. First time with this author and may well be my last. The plot was over the top so unrealistic it wasn’t believable especially the “play” at the end.

After finishing "The Hit", I was looking around in Baldacci's past works for something that might be similar in the format of a mystery series. This book is pretty good in that respect. But it is not a perfect book, especially if you are a little older, as I am. At 70, I almost need to take notes on the characters as they are introduced to keep everything straight. However the benefit of that is that I can probably enjoy reading it again in about six months while you kids with sharp memories might be bored the second time through.There are many characters in this book. The two primary are, of course, King and Maxwell. They are each Secret Service Agents, or former agents who made the mistake of letting the people die (or disappear) whom they were charged to protect. Maxwell's problem was recent and Sean's was 8 years earlier. A third character who enters as an unexpected visitor at Sean's house in the Virginia mountains is Joan Dillinger. In the beginning Baldacci says Sean has an ex-wife. When Joan shows up, he treats her very much like one would treat an ex-wife and she reciprocates with a measured friendliness, acting like she owns him. This turns out not to be the case. But she is a former Secret Service Agent who played a key part in Sean's mistake where he failed to prevent the man he was guarding from getting shot. They may not have been married but they had acted like it. She presents herself nude on the dining table.Sean has managed to make a new life for himself in the Virginia hills doing basic lawyering. He thinks his past problems are behind him. But they catch up with him when a man working in his office is murdered and turns out to be a Protected Witness. Michell Masxwell comes to see Sean looking for advice on how to recover from being dumped by the Secret Service. Joan Dillenger comes to see Sean to help him with the murder in his office because she has quit the Secret Service and become a Private Investigator. She can make a lot of money if she finds who killed the guy in Sean's office. She asks him to join her for a split of some of that money. Then a lot of other people get into the act from the FBI, the Secret Service and the US Marshall's Office. A team is organized to figure out who did what to whom. A primary bad guy is on the team. Some old ladies that King and Maxwell interview, or King and Dillinger interview, end up mysteriously dying in bathtubs in different places around Virginia. It begins to look like present-day problems related to Maxwell's protection problem are related to Sean's protection problem from 8 years earlier. During all this King and Maxwell become romantically attracted while King remain's unattracted to Dillinger (despite her efforts). Maxwell uncovers the fact that Dillinger mistakenly caused King to be significantly distracted just as the assassin fired at the man he was to protect.The web of the investigation spreads wide and involves many diverse people. When it came time to finish the story, Baldacci had a tough time. It does not go smoothly. An innocent young lady gets killed for no reason except by accident. King gives up a lot of money after losing his big fancy home in an explosion. Some of the characters may be happy but some are probably just confused. It seemed as though someone told Baldacci to finish the story; so he finished it before he was ready. But it does set the stage for what could be some nice following books in the series.I hope the next book in the series is better. I am starting it now.

Two assassination attempts, one of which was successful, are the basis of the narrative. Although they were 8 years apart there was a connection between the two. Three secret agents, one of which is active, all investigate to unravel the very complicated master plan and mastermind behind murder and kiidknapping. . Definitely a page turner!

Another excellent book by this Author gripping and full of Action lots going on in this book. The ending was excellent can't wait to start my next book.

Read it, love it. Can't say anymore. It is probably one of the books I would like to read again.

At times I found the book hard going. The basic plot is sound but a bit on the weak side. Don't let what I've said put you off because the book is a very good read.

This is a murder mystery involving US secret service agent King and Maxwell, the story begain with a murder then kidnapping of high profile person and then serious of criminal events which finally they both able to solve

To date, I have read 22 books written by David Baldacci, and never been disappointed. The mystery and intrigue in all his books is amazing. They are hard to put down, and never short stories, which makes it interesting to really think of what will happen next and with who. Split Second is the second in the series I have read, and I have now just purchased the next, Hour Game to continue. Great reads for sure. L. Smith, Canada