Rating: 
Summary: One of my top five books of all time
Review: Where to begin with this book.Before reading this book, my top five books were:
1) Roses Are Red by James Patterson
2) 1st to Die by James Patterson
3) The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver
4) Silent Justice by William Bernhardt
5) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christe Number five on that list has been bumped and "Split Second" takes a proud stand at number 2 bumping the rest down a bit. This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. All the way from the intriguing prologue to the twisted finish of the book, this book had me hooked, staying up nights to finish "just one more chapter." Prologue: 1996--Our first agent takes his tragic downfall after having his attention diverted by......well, you'll have to wait until later in the book for that. Then, the rest of the book starts in current time. Our second agent makes a mistake that ends with the kidnapping? death? of a presidential candidate. Not long later, our two agents meet and begin to realize that these two events are not isolated...they are related. But how? Why? The book throws more and more curve balls at you, leaving you wondering what the heck is going on. Then comes the twist in the final showdown. Then, another twist in there. I mean, wow. All I can say, is read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good But Not His Best
Review: Secret Service agents had failed to adequately protect presidential candidates in two elections eight years apart. In the first the candidate was assassinated. In the second the candidate was kidnapped. The main characters are the agents who provided the protection for the candidates. Sean King was next to presidential candidate Ritter when he was killed. Joan Dillinger was also on the scene. Michelle Maxwell was the agent in charge when candidate Bruno was kidnapped. These three become involved in trying to determine who was behind the crimes and whether there was a connection between the two. Several people connected in some way to the investigation are murdered as the story unfolds. Usually, a mysterious "man in a Buick" was at the murder scene.
Toward the end of the book it became more a chore than pleasure to finish. The latter part seemed to add confusion rather than contributing a lot to the story. I probably would have given a four or five star rating if the author had seen fit to wrap up the story about one-hundred pages earlier.
Overall though, it was an interesting book to read with much mystery and interesting characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly not up to par
Review: Not the quality of writing that Baldacci has exhibited in his earlier books. This read like one long very confusing and unbelievable conversation. As another reviewer said, when spread out over multiple sittings, the plot became more tangled in your mind. In the end, we are supposed to believe that all of the events that happened were for the purpose of fulfilling one man's fantasy. All in all, the book just didn't read right. I don't think David Baldacci can honestly say this was his best effort. Don't waste your money; if you must read it, get it from the library or the used books section. It's selling there for 33 cents; that's about what it's worth.
Rating: 
Summary: TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE
Review: I gave this 1 star only because there's no provision for No stars. This is an exceedingly amatuerish book in all respects. YUCK!
Rating:
Summary: Average Pop Fiction
Review: Split Second was a perfect example of a time passer. You won't be blown away by the plot, you won't care about the characters one second after you close it, and you won't recommend it to anyone you know, but the simplistic writing style he chose for this book somehow keeps you turning the pages. Books like these are the quicksand of all book stores. It's displayed every which way you turn, the first 10 pages are as a razor sharp hook, and as with most pop fiction written in the past few years, the ending is so underwhelming you can't help but picture the author realizing that he had waded in way over his head and had no idea how to bring the story home. You imagine him standing in front of a bulletin board filled with the names of all 150 character/suspects he used as page filler and throwing a dart to see who's gonna take the rap in the end.
BUT, like I said, the pages do turn with ease, which is a small treasure in itself compared with all the long winded, snowflake describing, Steinbeck wannabe's that are constantly shoveled into our face by the media these days.
If you like Pop Fiction, this book is more than readable, but you'd be better off omitting the last 30 pages and imagining your own ending. You couldn't do much worse.
Rating:
Summary: too complicated, too many peripheral minor characters
Review: The main characters were interesting & well-developed. The focus on Secret Service agents on presidential candidate protection details is a nice touch. However, the plot is too complicated & implausible, and there are too many vaguely-defined peripheral characters to make this book a hands down winner.
I read quite a bit, and I had a hard time following the plot in this one. Even in the final pages, where the villian explains his entire scheme & motive, things didn't become clear, or the least bit convincing.
this isn't one to put down & pick up again later -- it's too easy to forget where you are & which of the many peripheral characters are involved. It would be a decent fast-paced read best consumed in a single setting, with one's full attention.
Rating:
Summary: A Total Waste of Time...
Review: To give this book even 1 star is overly generous but I had to give it something. The plot, with all of its twists and turns is completely implausable. There is no depth to the characters and the author does nothing to draw you to them. I liked the first book I read by Baldacci. The last one I picked up was bad, this one, worse. Don't waste your time!
Rating:
Summary: Baldacci's worst...
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. I have enjoyed nearly all of David Baldacci's books, but I found this one to be boring, contrived, and silly. It was poorly written and the plot was actually kind of stupid. I don't know what happened with this one. He's a good writer--try one of the older titles.
Rating:
Summary: how very disappointing....
Review: what a shame - I really enjoyed Baldacci's previous books, and found them to be well written and engrossing, and most of all, believable. This one is too over the top - the characters are too stiff and wornout, and it has the most ridiculous and over-the-top unbelievable plot I've ever read - it reminded me of a Scooby-Doo plot line, it was that ridiculous. David, next time don't just punch the clock and mail it in - your fans don't appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: BALDERDASH
Review: An overwritten crime story. Cardboard characters. An over complicated story line. Flat and predictable dialogue.
Far out, unbelievable, motivations, and incredible criminal events.Totally non involving. Boring, boring, boring.
Wish I had the 5 hours ( wasted on the book )back.
Sorry that I seem so wishy, washy in my evaluation.
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