Rating: 
Summary: Less than mediocre effort
Review: It's hard for me to believe that so many gave this book a good rating. What were they thinking?! This book is so utterly contrived, so far-fetched, and so ridiculous that it would not have qualified for even a secondary school short story. Good fiction is so hard to come by, but mediocre efforts abound that make for reasonably good reading fare. No so with Baldacci's latest book. The story line is gratuitously clever by one half stretching credibility to well beyond the breaking point. Additionally the writing is way, way WAY below par. Honestly, it was written as though by a child. I've loved many of Baldacci's former efforts and was looking forward to his latest book, but what an utter disappointment. If you like your stories exciting, believable, well written, with good character development that lures you further into the story this book is not for you. Even if you are still in grammar school this book is not for you because it does so many things so wrong. Trust me, and don't waste your time and effort on this book. It truly is a stinker. It went directly into the trash can after I read it. There isn't a single person I know that would enjoy this book. I did learn one thing from this book: That the top reviewers on this site are not to be trusted. I enjoy reading the reviews on this site before reading a book and am not often steered too wrong. I was here.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars
Review: See book summary above. I've read all of Baldacci's books. What he's served up here is not your highly suspenseful thriller or a fast-paced shoot'em up. Instead what you get is a slowly unraveling mystery (and I mean slow), the type of which many authors write. Some people may love this kind of novel, but I don't.
It's not what I expected, but as far as straight mystery goes, it works.
Rating: 
Summary: An insult
Review: David Baldacci used to be a GREAT author, one whose work I would patiently look forward to. After reading his last two books before this one (The Christmas Train and Last Man Standing) I promised myself I would forever skip over any future books from him. I caved in. I gave him one another chance. A stupid move. Very stupid. About as stupid as this book. This book is so incredibly contrived and far-fetched, that I'm insulted that he would think we would buy into it even for a few evening's readings. Save yourself your time. Save yourself your money. But more importantly, save yourself the anger you'll experience after reading this book and realizing you were taken for an idiot. There are far better books out there to spend your time on. Oh, and David: "Never again!"
Rating: 
Summary: Another Blockbuster To Be Sure!
Review: With "Split Second" by talented-storyteller David Baldacci, I was so engrossed with the story I had trouble putting the book down! I know you won't be able to put this book down either!
Yes, the story is that compelling! In, "SPLIT SECOND" all it takes is a split second for someone's worst nightmare to actually come true. Former CIA Agent Sean Kings knows this only too well. He glanced away briefly, but it was all the time an assassin needed to kill a president candidate he was supposed to be protecting and so the story begins... SPLIT SECOND is one fantastic story written by one fantastic writer! (Take '10' writer Baldacci you've earned it with this great story!)
Rating: 
Summary: One of the last villains didn't
Review: I liked SPLIT SECOND. Kinda reminded me of early Ludlum. There are two "good" guys (well, one's a guy -- the other's a girl). The rest of the characters are all suspect, in one way or the other. Sean King is an ex-Secret Service Agent who saw the presidential candidate he was assigned to protect get gunned down. Flash forward eight years. Michelle Maxwell is a Secret Service Agent who loses her candidate. He simply vanishes into thin air. Other than King and Maxwell, you never know who to trust. You know the two shamed agents are going to get together, but how Balducci does it is and how he weaves all the stories into an understandable tapestry is what made this book work. Not to spoil the ending, I did think the storyline involving one of the final villains was over the top. The author left the ending with King and Maxwell forming their own agency. There's chemistry between them. The sequels should be fun. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: disgrace
Review: I dont think he wrote this book. If he did, he ought to be ashamed of himself.
Rating:
Summary: An Edge of Your Seat Thriller
Review: I bought this book on a Friday night and became so captivated by the story that I ended up devoting every spare second of my weekend to it. By Sunday night, it was history and I hadn't had very much sleep in between the things I had to do over the weekend and the one thing that I found myself unexpectedly wanting to do - which was to get back to Split Second to find out what would come next. Split Seconds starts out by describing two seemingly unrelated security breaches for protectees of the U.S. Secret Service. The incidents are set eight years apart and on the surface, the only common ground that they seem to share is the fact that both involved the Secret Service and in each case, an agent was individually blamed for what went wrong. Yet, there is so much more to Split Second. There is a highly complex connection between the two events and that is the suspense and delight of the story. David Baldacci has woven a wonderful plot through Spilt Second that kept me on the edge of my seat. It is well written and very well paced. Despite the complexity of the story, Baldacci's writing style and clear explanations made it an easy and enjoyable read. In Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, Baldacci has cast two extremely well developed characters. These are two that I would like to see continued in a subsequent story. Kudos for Baldacci's latest! An exciting ride of suspenseful moments that kept me glued to the book from start to finish. Highly recommended! Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USA
Rating:
Summary: Split Decision for Split Second
Review: Amazon's advance billing for David Baldacci's newest book, Split Second, states that this "new thriller [is] reminiscent of his phenomenal bestselling debut, Absolute Power." I loved Absolute Power and some of Baldacci's other novels so on my recent vacation, I gave Absolute Power a read. Certainly the story starts with a bang as Sean King, a secret service agent guarding the life of a presidential candidate, is momentarily distracted by an elevator door opening. Suddenly, King finds his protectee assassinated by a lone gunman. Who was the gunman? Why did he murder the candidate? And what (or who) could possibly distract a disciplined secret service agent at the peak of his career? Fast forward eight years to another secret service agent, Michelle Maxwell, and another presidential candidate. This time the candidate is kidnaped, but no ransom is demanded. Is there a connection between the assassination and the kidnaping? King and Maxwell team up to try to solve the mystery. In the page burning mayhem that follows, one of King's old lovers shows up (another secret service agent), a potential girlfriend is murdered and (literally) hung out to dry, a witness protection person is murdered in King's office, and a former lover is kidnaped. Meanwhile King and Maxwell repeatedly narrowly escape their own murders. With such a great plot set up, and given Baldacci's immense talent, I certainly expected Split Second to be "pure, mind-numbing adrenaline to the last page". (Quote - Amazon) Unfortunately the last half of Split Second is simply mind-numbing. It's almost hard to believe that the same person who wrote the first half of the book also wrote the rest of the book. For one thing, in the set up Baldacci establishes a love triangle between King, Maxwell, and another former secret service agent, Joan Dillinger. This has the potential to take an already good plot and boost it right into orbit. How would King balance two potential lovers, protect all three of them, and at the same time solve the mystery? King's dilemma could have made for delicious drama. I am disappointed that Baldacci chose not to take his story too far down this path. Another downfall of Split Second is closely related to the first. One of the love triumvirate mentioned above (I'll not mention who for the benefit of the gentle reader who chooses this book despite my mediocre recommendation) is kidnaped. Now wouldn't the reader expect that such an event would be a tragedy in his or her loved one's lives? Not according to Baldacci, evidently, who continues to write his other two characters' actions with little affect or affection. Wouldn't one remaining lover lament the loss? Wouldn't the other remaining lover take advantage of the opportunity? Wouldn't they at least think about this? We'll never know because Baldacci never tells us. Finally, this novel fails in my mind because of the letdown conclusion of the book. Both of the above discouragements could have been rescued by the kind of incredible ending that has made Baldacci so widely acclaimed. Not so this time round. In fact, the only truly surprising aspect of the ending is that it's so domestic. I've given Split Second a split decision with a 3 rating out of a possible 5. The story does move along at a good pace. Each chapter is short and advances the plot forward exactly one scene. In fact, the book almost reads more like a screen play than a novel. But I believe most readers will be disappointed in Baldacci's latest novel for its uneven storytelling. Unless you have an abundance of time and a shortage of books, I'd recommend a pass on Split Second.
Rating:
Summary: Disgraced Secret Service agents seek vindication.
Review: In David Baldacci's new thriller, "Split Second," Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are Secret Service agents who failed in their jobs to protect the presidential candidates entrusted to their care. After he was drummed out of the Service, King started a new life in rural Virginia as a country lawyer and volunteer deputy. Maxwell is placed on administrative leave, and she decides to do some sleuthing of her own. Soon, she begins to believe that her case and King's may be connected somehow. Maxwell and King join forces to get to the bottom of the events that wrecked their careers. Baldacci has stumbled badly with this novel. The setup is intriguing enough. Maxwell and King are two attractive and capable individuals who gain the reader's sympathy immediately. However, before long, the plot slowly but surely unravels. The novel ends up preposterously, and even the most gullible reader is forced to groan at the convoluted and irrational events that explain Maxwell's and King's downfall. No one expects thrillers to be models of logic. However, one would expect that a writer of Baldacci's stature would have enough respect for his loyal readership to come up with a story line that has some basis in reality. In addition, at four hundred pages, "Split Second" is too long and lumbering. As appealing as the main characters are, they cannot make up for the unbelievable and far-fetched narrative that left me shaking my head in disbelief.
Rating:
Summary: Exhilerating read!
Review: Mix one Secret Service agent whose protectee was assassinated eight years earlier; another who just had her protectee abducted; with a retired agent running a thriving investigative firm; and a rogue deputy U.S. Marshall who has just had a member of the Witness Protection Program murdered on his watch and you have the ingredients for another intense political thriller from David Baldacci. It took only a split second for Secret Service agent Sean King's attention to wander and third party presidential candidate Clyde Ritter to be gunned down. Michelle Maxwell's independent candidate was seized by a very well trained team with a diabolically clever leader whose preparation is impeccable. She and King are drawn together by the seemingly unrelated events. They form a peculiar alliance as they face peril and intrigue searching for clues that will lead them to the person(s) responsible and redemption. A gripping story filled with tense action that holds your attention. Alive with fully developed complex characters and menacing villains. "Split Second" is another strong outing from David Baldacci.
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