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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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Stone Cold by David Baldacci  (6)  £12.59

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16 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (4)           Average Customer Review (16 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Over-confident writing at its worst, 7 Dec 2007 By  N. Richardson (N Yorkshire, England) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Simple Genius (Paperback) 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   10 of 16 people found the following review helpful: A Code Enthusiast's Thriller, 5 May 2007 By  Donald Mitchell "a Practical Optimist" (Boston) - See all my reviews          This review is from: Simple Genius (Hardcover) If you love books about secret codes, Simple Genius will be a book you'll long treasure. If you like thrillers that teem with action, sex scenes, obscure martial arts, and high-tech weaponry, this book will seem like a yawn. As Mr. Baldacci warns you, don't read the Author's Note until after you finish the book. But don't miss that note if you read and like the book. It's a marvelous look into how the story was constructed. What I found most delightful about Simple Genius was that the plot development kept surprising me. Sure, the general outlines are foreshadowed intentionally (so that you don't get lost in the maze of details), but the specifics shift unexpectedly. In fact, midway through the book, I literally jumped out of my chair with surprise when one change occurred involving the medical examiner. Simple Genius is intellectually dense. You'll be exposed to more psychology, code breaking, quantum computers, and history than you would normally find in 20 thrillers combined. To Mr. Baldacci's credit, he keeps it as simple as possible without insulting your intelligence. As the book opens, former Secret Service agents turned PIs, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have hit bottom. They don't have any work, and Michelle picks a potentially lethal fight with the toughest guy she can find in the roughest bar in town. It takes the last of Sean's money, but he persuades Michelle to seek psychiatric help from an old friend, Dr. Horatio Barnes. Barnes quickly concludes that Michelle is punishing herself, but for what? Desperate to keep Michelle in treatment, Sean calls his former love and begs for a job. He gets the job, on the condition that Michelle is kept away. Sean is to find out why Monk Turing, a scientist, appears to have committed suicide inside the CIA's highly classified facility informally referred to as the Farm. The scientist had worked at a very secretive installation cross the river from the Farm. No one wants to tell Sean anything. He cannot even find out who his clients are. Sean's heart is deeply touched by Viggie, the 11-year-old daughter of the scientist, a mathematical genius whose emotional and social development is retarded. Sean finds he cannot make much progress until Michelle releases herself from the mental hospital. But can either of them count on her mental stability? Michelle finds herself in the unexpected nurturing role for Viggie. Michelle is by far the most interesting character in the book. She's super human physically and intensely flawed psychologically at the same time, reminding me of the myth of Achilles. I found in her a metaphor for the modern world with its ability to do increasingly great things materially while becoming ever more spiritually and psychologically barren. In addition to enjoying the thriller, you'll find this book will also leave you with lots of food for thought. Enjoy!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Entertaining thrills, 7 April 2008 By  P. Lewis (UK) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Simple Genius (Paperback) 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)