First Family (King & Maxwell) (edició 2009)

Fiction

This is a continuing series involving ex-Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. As the book title implies, the book involves the President of the United States and his family. The President's niece is kidnapped, and King and Maxwell are hired by the First Lady to find her. An unnecessary side-plot involving the murder of ex-Agent Maxwell's mother is included, for reasons I couldn't understand other than it adds pages to the book.

Intentional or not, Baldacci's Presidential Couple could easily be based on the Bill and Hillary Clinton. The fictional President, Dan Cox, seemed to have difficulty keeping his pants on around young women, and the fictional First Lady, Jane Cox, proved to be a strong, powerful political animal who would do whatever was required to get things done her way. And the legacy of both Presidents were diminished by scandals during their second terms.

The main thread of the book involves King and Maxwell trying to catch up with the kidnapper Sam Quarry who is behind the kidnapping and trying to settle an old score. It proved to be a good book with an interesting plot, and while your suspicions are raised during the book, the full story stays well hidden until the concluding chapters of the book. ( )

Baldacci writes good thrillers. The underlying plot is very twisted (political) and is not really explained until very late in the book. One cannot help but feel the humanity for the main antagonist/kidnapper (Sam), whose life was ruined by the actions of others. Meanwhile, Sean and Michelle get themselves into and out of trouble yet again, and Michelle comes to terms with a repressed event from her childhood. ( )

David Baldacci is probably the best contemporary thriller writer around. This story is so well researched and written with elegant prose without any boring passages. The "villain" in this plot is a great complex character that you couldn't really hate. The suspense is high in all of his books, and First Family did not disappoint. I recommend any of his books if you have never read one! ( )

A child is kidnapped at a presidential retreat and two former Secret Service agents must become private investigators in a desperate search that might destroy them both. A daring kidnapping turns a children's birthday party at Camp David, the presidential retreat, into a national security nightmare. Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell don't want to get involved. But years ago Sean saved the First Lady's husband, then a senator, from political disaster. Now the president's wife presses Sean and Michelle into a desperate search to rescue a kidnapped child. With Michelle still battling her own demons, the two are pushed to the limit, with forces aligned on all sides against them-and the line between friend and foe impossible to define...or defend.

Like most of Baldacci's books, this one is taut and suspenseful. Once started, this one is hard to put down. ( )