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Simple Genius
 
 

Simple Genius (Paperback)

by David Baldacci (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Pan Books (2 Nov 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330450972
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330450973
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 11.2 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 51,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #20 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > B > Baldacci, David

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk
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

Product Description
Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are both haunted by their last case. Realizing that Michelle is teetering on the brink of self-destruction from long-buried demons, Sean arranges therapy for his reluctant partner. But instead of focusing on her recovery, Michelle unearths disturbing secrets in the hospital ...Sean accepts a much-needed job. A physicist, Monk Turing, has died in mysterious circumstances near Babbage Town a secretive establishment populated by an eccentric group of scientists and cryptographers, funded by an anonymous but powerful group. Meanwhile the dead man's young daughter, piano-playing prodigy Viggie, has secrets of her own. But what is the significance of the phrase 'codes and blood'? Directly across the York River from Babbage Town lies the sinister CIA training ground, Camp Peary, where Monk Turing's body was found. With both the FBI and CIA breathing down Sean's neck, can he discover the truth? And will he be in time to save Michelle from herself?

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Simple Genius
52% buy the item featured on this page:
Simple Genius 3.2 out of 5 stars (25)
£5.49
Stone Cold
16% buy
Stone Cold 3.8 out of 5 stars (13)
£3.64
Divine Justice
13% buy
Divine Justice 4.0 out of 5 stars (9)
Split Second
10% buy
Split Second 3.5 out of 5 stars (20)
£5.49

 

Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars How the mighty can fall...., 23 May 2008
By johnverp (Budapest) - See all my reviews
This is the second Baldacci I've read recently and the deterioration in the quality of his writing over time is now very noticeable.

In this effort, which brings back former agents Sean and Michelle, now acting privately, he also introduces an unbelievably wild plot, albeit delivered with quite a lot of pace. But that's about it.

Coincidence upon coincidence and just so many hard to believe components really killed this book for me. I kept going to the finish but I am sure my groans were quite audible in the end.

In short, in my view, Baldacci is no longer producing well-constructed tales written with flair.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Over-confident writing at its worst, 7 Dec 2007
By N. Richardson (N Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The only good part of this book is the opening paragraph - so instead of reading on, why not stick pins in your eyes? You'd get more out of it. This books feels hurriedly & lazily written - it stretches credulity beyond the accepteble and has a sadly predictable cast of characters. There's the phenomenally strong and feisty female sidekick struggling to deal with childhood issues she doesn't realise she has. Her partner is the relentlessly supportive type who doesn't realise he loves her. There's the lantern-jawed CIA boss, and HIS boss - the glamorous, sexy and preposterously young head of 'The Farm'. The Harley-riding psychologist who can fly around the USA at a moment's notice and investigates patients with neither their consent not payment. A bunch of typcaset physicists and mathematicians, and a orphaned child prodigy who uniwttingly holds the secret to the whole mystery. A murder has occurred on federal land and the CIA, FBA and loal police are involved - but the mysterious landowners call in two unemployed PIs - because OF COURSE they'll do a better job than federal law enforcement. On top of the codes and cyphers, there's even ancient buried treasure. Everything happens too fast, too easily, too coincidentally. Oh please! Readers are made of smarter stuff.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining thrills, 7 April 2008
By P. Lewis (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the first Baldacci book I've read and I'll now go back and read others, including the previous Sean and Michelle books (plus I hope there'll be another). I found the book a fun, thrilling and fast read with enough background research to provide added interest (hadn't heard of quantum computers). OK, so at times it felt quickly written and could have done with a little more depth, but I still found the book very enjoyable and I'm surprised at the negative reviews.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars I want my money back, this is dross

The simple genius is Baldacci getting away with this.

I thought I would get an intelligent book about what seemed to be a subject that offered the potential... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter Lynch

4.0 out of 5 stars A reflection on the miserable Bush-ist West
There is a fascinating style in Baldacci's books. We are always dealing with state business and crime intertwined in the plot. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU

3.0 out of 5 stars (3.5*) Sadly simple but no genius...
This was my first Baldacci and I found it all surface shine with very little underneath. The premise sounded intriguing: a quasi-secret code-breaking establishment working on... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Roman Clodia

1.0 out of 5 stars not up to standard
Sometimes authors are tied into a set amount of books and then they struggle to complete the books in the time span allowed. This is how Simple Genius feels to me. Read more
Published 13 months ago by White Rose

5.0 out of 5 stars Attention-grabbing storyline
David Baldacci is the first male author, who gets me to read books like I have nothing else to do. Once I have started I cannot put his books down. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Marley T

3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of his best
David Baldacci writes jolly good thrillers, but in this one he seems to have been taking lessons from Dan Brown - "pick a technical subject and then get most of the details wrong,... Read more
Published 18 months ago by P. J. A. Jennings

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
This is the third outing for David Baldacci's private detective team of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, in which solving a case is complicated by the surfacing of Michelle's... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Teemacs

2.0 out of 5 stars oh dear
This unfortunate book has all the marks of being two pieces of written work, neither big enough to be a book in their own right being thrust together in same vain attempt to... Read more
Published 18 months ago by adam

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining enough but less than thrilling. . .

I started reading Baldacci with his very good "The Camel Club" and have slowly been working through his back list. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bill Pullman

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring, Implausible
This book cannot have been written by David Baldacci. It was boring, the plot pathetic & childish. I felt cheated and that Baldacci was writing any old trash to capitalize on his... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. S. H. L. Pratt

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