First Family

Starred review from March 30, 2009
Plenty of intense action drives bestseller Baldacci's stellar fourth novel to feature former Secret Service agents Michelle Maxwell and Sean King (after Simple Genius
). Maxwell and King, D.C. PIs, step on the toes of everyone, including the FBI and the Secret Service. They even manage to bruise the ego of First Lady Jane Cox, who hires them after her 12-year-old niece is kidnapped following a birthday party at Camp David. Baldacci excels at making the improbable believable as one obsessed man, 62-year-old Sam Quarry, takes on the best security the U.S. can muster from his Alabama redoubt. Even more impressive than Quarry's determined campaign is the ingeniousness with which Baldacci manages to disguise both Quarry's precise motivation and aims. Meanwhile, Maxwell has to deal with her mother's death and a host of other personal issues. Baldacci's careful plotting and confidant depictions of national security procedures make this a thinking man's thriller.

June 29, 2009
Veteran character actor Ron McLarty brings a strong performance to a rather weak entry in Baldacci's political thriller series featuring ex-Secret Service agents turned private investigators, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. When the president's niece, 12-year-old Willa, is kidnapped, the first lady brings in King and Maxwell to help find her. Unknown to the PIs, the motive behind the abduction has the potential to shake the presidency to the core. Although the action moves swiftly enough, the plot strains credibility, and it is to McLarty's credit that he manages to impart some reality with excellent character voices and sense of urgency. His reading is exceptional during the scenes between Willa and her kidnapper as he plumbs a depth of character beyond the written words. Strategically placed sound effects enhance the listening experience. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 30).