Split Second by David Baldacci (Sean and Michelle #1)

Split Second by David Baldacci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Jacket Blurb:  Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air. Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. Eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes. Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge.

Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, the two discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making – and are a long way from over….

Read as an audio book.

First in a somewhat "new to me" series - I read and reviewed The Sixth Man (35) here. I enjoyed The Sixth Man enough to go and start from the beginning.

First book didn't disappoint.

Premise of the book was 8 years ago, while guarding a presidential candidate, Sean took his eyes off the audience and his protectee was shot. A replay of the video of the event showed that Sean was distracted by something, but he never admitted to more than a lapse of attention. His career in the Secret Service over, Sean now lives quietly as an estate attorney (for a lack of a better description).

Michelle, rising star in the service, manages to lose her presidential candidate at a funeral, in a room that only held the widow and the deceased. Remiss and chastised for leaving her protectee unguarded, her career is on the line. Michelle decides to look up Sean, and the two soon realize that the two events might be linked.

In between Sean and Michelle is Joan - prior secret service, now retired and running her own PI firm. She enlists Sean's help in finding the missing presidential candidate and hopes to re-kindle a previous relationship with Sean.

This was a bit of a whirlwind thriller and I admit, I really didn't see aspects of the conclusion coming. Which *I* really enjoy. I like being surprised.

I also GREATLY appreciate that Sean did not sleep with either female lead within the pages of the book. We know he and Joan had a relationship prior to this, but they did not renew the sexual liaisons. Sean certainly admired Michelle's body, but there was no falling into the sheets. I can't tell you how happy that made me, such a refreshing change from just about every other mystery/thriller out there. Thank you Mr. Baldacci!

One not insignificant "oops" was noticed by the husband - during the Grande Finale, Sean was given a gun. The magazine was welded shut so theoretically he couldn't check to see if he had live ammo or blanks. Sean agonized over what the antagonist loaded the gun with and what he would do when the scenario played out. The Husband pointed out Sean could have checked his ammo when he racked the slide and jacked a round into the chamber.

Overall an engaging story, interesting characters, author avoided some much overused tropes and the ubiquitous sexual tension, and some surprising twists at the end. I'll be reading the next in the series.



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