Simple Genius - Softcover

Baldacci, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 044619946X ISBN 13: 9780446199469

Publisher: Hachette Livre, 2007

Synopsis

In a world of secrets, human genius is power.
And sometimes it is simply deadly . . .

Near Washington, D.C., there are two clandestine institutions: the world's most unusual laboratory and a secret CIA training camp. Drawn to these sites by a murder, ex-Secret Service agent Sean King encounters a dark world of mathematicians, codes, and spies. His search for answers soon leads him to more shocking violence-and an autistic girl with an extraordinary genius.

Now, only by working with his embattled partner, Michelle Maxwell, can he catch a killer...and solve a stunning mystery that threatens the entire nation.

About this title

Review

With a series of ever more accomplished novels, David Baldacci has been building something of a reputation for himself as one of the most reliable practitioners of the modern crime/thriller novel. The emphasis is, of course, usually on Baldacci's métier, the legal arena, and it's clearly the field he is most comfortable in -- as in Simple Genius. His long-term protagonists, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, have found that the aftermath of their last case has stayed with them in an unpleasant way, and Michelle is obliged to undergo therapy. Sean, his financial circumstances straightened, takes on a job. A scientist is dead in a nearby town -- the scene of the (possible) crime is a clandestine research institute peopled by a large cast of neurotic scientists. There are secrets galore to be unearthed here, and just across the river from the institute there is another clandestine institution, the CIA training ground, Camp Peary, where the dead man's body was originally discovered. Sean finds himself at bay, with several government security services on his tail, even as Michelle struggles to regain her mental equilibrium.

As in such page-turning thrillers as Hour Game and Split Second, David Baldacci knows how to keep the reader thoroughly engrossed, and never loses the capacity to surprise us with the revelations that his beleaguered hero and heroine become party to. This is one of the longest Baldacci books, weighing in at nearly 600 pages, and there are lengthy appendices after the novel proper has finished. These may not retrospectively add to the appeal of the book of the reader has just finished, but they show that Baldacci has -- as always -- done his homework. --Barry Forshaw

Review

"Exciting...good fun and fast-paced."-- Midwest Book Review

"Keeps a reader turning pages."-- Washington Post Book World

"Exciting...good fun and fast-paced." "Midwest Book Review""

"Keeps a reader turning pages." "Washington Post Book World""

"Compulsively readable...Baldacci, always strong on suspense...finds his voice here. The best entry in the series."--Booklist (starred review)

"Exciting...good fun and fast-paced."--Midwest Book Review

"Keeps a reader turning pages."--Washington Post Book World

Edition details

• Publisher: Hachette Livre
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 044619946X
• ISBN 13: 9780446199469
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 507