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gram06's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the book. I like the characters King and Maxwell.
dmantonya's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone thinks that Sam Wingo double crossed the US out of a billion dollars in Afganistan and is dead except his son Tyler. Tyler hires Sean and Michelle to figure out who really did it and why. It keeps you guessing like many of books by David Baldacci until the very end. I really liked this one!
nickertz's review against another edition
3.0
The adventure continues. Its beginning to look like K&M are always destined to be messing with a president. In this story it takes a while to get him involved - but... The story is a pleasant diversion - always exciting and good banter between the protagonists. Edgar finally joins the firm (like on the recently cancelled TV show). So for your K&M fix this is the only place to be.
beckmank's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting story. King and Maxwell take the case of 16-year-old Tyler Wingo. He has just received word that his father Sam was killed in Afghanistan, but Tyler is convinced the Army is lying and hires King and Maxwell to look into it. Things are not as they seem, and pretty soon Sean and Michelle have gotten in too deep and are on the run.
Mr. Baldacci switches between King/Maxwell and Sam Wingo’s perspectives to tell the story. He was good at building suspense throughout. There were a lot of great twists and turns. Sean and Michelle have a great relationship. Good banter between them, and you can also tell that they really care for one another. They make great partners for the different situations that arise.
Hidden Staircase.
Mr. Baldacci switches between King/Maxwell and Sam Wingo’s perspectives to tell the story. He was good at building suspense throughout. There were a lot of great twists and turns. Sean and Michelle have a great relationship. Good banter between them, and you can also tell that they really care for one another. They make great partners for the different situations that arise.
Hidden Staircase.
connie575's review against another edition
4.0
Always seem satisfied with this author. Another book that keep interested. Thought I had it figured out. Kept changing my mind as to who all the bad guys were. Maxwell and King are fun character with personality quirks that give them that almost real feel, even when they are being close to super heroes.
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
Baldacci returns with a new instalment of the King and Maxwell saga, infusing a little of the television series into the story, with the addition of Mr. Socially-Awkward, Edgar. When the PI pair come upon a teenage boy during the middle of a thunderstorm, they learn he's been told of his father's death in Afghanistan, another casualty in one of Bush's futile wars. What seems to be a cut-and-dry situation soon becomes all the more complicated when Tyler receives an email from his dad. The communication is laced with a code only Tyler would know, making its author seem eerily to be speaking from the other side. Interests piqued, King and Maxwell begin to dig around and soon discover the supposedly 'KIA Soldier' is anything but dead and the Pentagon is fully aware. A covert mission's gone awry and there are those buried deep within the upper echelon of the military and federal bureaucracy that will stop at nothing to divert the money into their own hands. The more King and Maxwell discover, the deeper the plot appears to be, so high that the Commander-in-Chief might play a role. With those out to both destroy the United States and pad their own pockets, it's more than a race to find the missing soldier and all about saving one's life at every turn. A sure page-turner right out of the scripts of the TNT series, Baldacci treats his readers to a wonderful novel.
A fan of the author and book series, I was dismayed to see its television transformation did not last more than ten episodes. However, Baldacci has a way with is words and plot lines that keep readers highly entertained and thoroughly engrossed from the opening pages until the stunning endings, with much action and historical ties throughout. This novel is no exception and is truly proof positive that Baldacci values Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, even if television execs cannot translate the hype the novels receive into something fans will flock to watch on the small screen. Filled with great research and dialogue that is both full of dry wit and yet serious at times, Baldacci encapsulates all that's needed in a great thriller, leaving little for the reader not to enjoy. His master storytelling abilities is second to none and he knows how to keep things fresh and exciting, while juggling a number of series and projects simultaneously. James Patterson could surely take a lesson or two from Mr. Baldacci.
Kudos, Mr. Baldacci, on such an exciting piece of work. I am eager to see what else you have up your sleeve in the coming months.
A fan of the author and book series, I was dismayed to see its television transformation did not last more than ten episodes. However, Baldacci has a way with is words and plot lines that keep readers highly entertained and thoroughly engrossed from the opening pages until the stunning endings, with much action and historical ties throughout. This novel is no exception and is truly proof positive that Baldacci values Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, even if television execs cannot translate the hype the novels receive into something fans will flock to watch on the small screen. Filled with great research and dialogue that is both full of dry wit and yet serious at times, Baldacci encapsulates all that's needed in a great thriller, leaving little for the reader not to enjoy. His master storytelling abilities is second to none and he knows how to keep things fresh and exciting, while juggling a number of series and projects simultaneously. James Patterson could surely take a lesson or two from Mr. Baldacci.
Kudos, Mr. Baldacci, on such an exciting piece of work. I am eager to see what else you have up your sleeve in the coming months.
kartiknarayanan's review against another edition
4.0
This time around King & Maxwell take on the Pentagon. It is a by the numbers King & Maxwell book. While I enjoyed reading the book, I had this feeling of deja vu since it has all the hallmarks of a Baldacci novel. Great writing and excellent character combine with a predictable plot to make this an not-great but good book.
disis19's review against another edition
4.0
I read this series with the World of Sleuths Group. These were my first books by David Baldacci and I really enjoyed them. This installment seems to be the last in the series, which makes me a bit sad and the end felt incomplete as well which doesn't leave the best last impression for me.
As usual, I did enjoy the investigation. I did also like that a character from a previous book was tied in. That being said, there is something that happens with said character at the very end of this novel that doesn't make any sense at all.
I have listened to most of this series on audiobook. The first 2 were narrated by a different person than the last 4. There was also dramatization added to the last 4 audiobooks that I didn't quite care for. That didn't prevent me from continuing to listen to these books though.
As a series, I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
As usual, I did enjoy the investigation. I did also like that a character from a previous book was tied in. That being said, there is something that happens with said character at the very end of this novel that doesn't make any sense at all.
I have listened to most of this series on audiobook. The first 2 were narrated by a different person than the last 4. There was also dramatization added to the last 4 audiobooks that I didn't quite care for. That didn't prevent me from continuing to listen to these books though.
As a series, I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
yarbs's review against another edition
2.0
Book was cheesy airport reading. I liked these characters to read him again.
carol26388's review against another edition
2.0
None of my friends have reviewed this book. Friends, this is your fault. I hold you all responsible. As well as my mother's eighty-five year-old friend who loaned her this book. It just goes to show you that even elderly ladies can't be trusted, particularly ones with brain cancer. Just sayin'.
A moderately readable beginning that careened between two ex-Secret Service Agents running a detective agency and the adventures of a lone soldier on a critical mission in the Middle East. Son running away after he is officially notified that his father is dead hires the detective team; father goes AWOL to solve who framed him. Canned dialogue, but vaguely likeable characters and an interesting set-up. I found myself extremely intrigued by the parallel story of the soldier/father making his way through the desert country, and less interested in the push-pull of the dynamic between the investigators, the teen and the government officials.
Inspiration always hits at just the right time (a man crossing the street! a car coming by with a familiar face! a conveniently married ex-wife!), aided by the almost literal deux ex machina of an autistic computer whiz who can obtain all information anywhere, conveniently working for Department of Homeland Security. The situation becomes ever more unbearable with a somewhat forced analogy to the Iran-Contra affair and a psychopath bent on revenge. Somewhat unhelpfully, Baldacci channels wikipedia so he can explain Iran-Contra all the readers under thirty just what that was, as well as all the readers older than thirty who forgot that was even a big deal (Reagan was perfect! so says the hazy fog of conservative memory).
Characters were straight from Central Casting: rugged older gentleman; the younger, daredevil female partner; a mopey teenager; the unquestioning, betrayed soldier; the Agency man who is just following orders; the psychopath bent on revenge. Nothing makes sense beyond the surface description, so when they act inconsistently, it is uncomfortably clear that it is in service to the plot, not out of character creation.
I started skimming large swathsonce the soldier made it out , although I returned for the end. I felt strangely like I had watched Speed, The Bourne Ultimatum, and In the Line of Fire. Apparently this was a single-season TNT tv show, and I can absolutely see tv on every page of the book. Action escalates to ridiculously implausible degrees, culminating in the absolute silliest of scenes, which is then topped--ala Speed--by an even more ridiculous capstone which made the minimal character development earlier almost meaningless.
Read it friends. It's really, really good. I would even go so far to say that it is the thriller version of [b:A Discovery of Witches|8667848|A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)|Deborah Harkness|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322168805s/8667848.jpg|13190160].
A moderately readable beginning that careened between two ex-Secret Service Agents running a detective agency and the adventures of a lone soldier on a critical mission in the Middle East. Son running away after he is officially notified that his father is dead hires the detective team; father goes AWOL to solve who framed him. Canned dialogue, but vaguely likeable characters and an interesting set-up. I found myself extremely intrigued by the parallel story of the soldier/father making his way through the desert country, and less interested in the push-pull of the dynamic between the investigators, the teen and the government officials.
Inspiration always hits at just the right time (a man crossing the street! a car coming by with a familiar face! a conveniently married ex-wife!), aided by the almost literal deux ex machina of an autistic computer whiz who can obtain all information anywhere, conveniently working for Department of Homeland Security. The situation becomes ever more unbearable with a somewhat forced analogy to the Iran-Contra affair and a psychopath bent on revenge. Somewhat unhelpfully, Baldacci channels wikipedia so he can explain Iran-Contra all the readers under thirty just what that was, as well as all the readers older than thirty who forgot that was even a big deal (Reagan was perfect! so says the hazy fog of conservative memory).
Characters were straight from Central Casting: rugged older gentleman; the younger, daredevil female partner; a mopey teenager; the unquestioning, betrayed soldier; the Agency man who is just following orders; the psychopath bent on revenge. Nothing makes sense beyond the surface description, so when they act inconsistently, it is uncomfortably clear that it is in service to the plot, not out of character creation.
I started skimming large swaths
Read it friends. It's really, really good. I would even go so far to say that it is the thriller version of [b:A Discovery of Witches|8667848|A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)|Deborah Harkness|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322168805s/8667848.jpg|13190160].