Monday, March 30, 2009

2009 Book 17: Simple Genius






















































Book #:129

Book Title:Simple Genius

Author:David Baldacci

Publisher:Warner Books

Pub. Date:2007

Pages:420

Started:March 25, 2009

Finished:March 30, 2009



Time to Read:5 Days

Back Cover / Inside Flap:"In a world of secrets, human genius is power. And sometimes it is simply deadly...


A three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., two clandestine institutions face each other across a heavily guarded river. One is the world's most unusual laboratory, whose goals and funding are a mystery. The other is an elite CIA training camp shrouded in secrecy. Now a man and a woman are about to run the gauntlet between these two puzzle factories, straight into a furious struggle to exploit a potentially world-shattering discovery - and keep some other secrets under wraps forever...


Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have seen their lives splinter around them. Michelle lies unconscious in a hospital bed after a night of suicidal violence. And Sean is forced to take on a thankless investigation into the murder of a scientist just inside the CIA's razor-wire fence near Williamsburg, Virginia.


Soon he is uncovering layer after layer of disinformation that shields a stunning world filled with elite mathematicians, physicists, war heroes, spies, and deadly field agents. Amid more murder, a seemingly autistic girl's extraordinary genius, and a powerful breakthrough in the realm of classified codes, Sean soon learns enough to put his life at risk. Now more than every, he needs Michelle - at her best - to help stop a conspiracy of traitors operating in the shadow of the White House itself."

Stars:***

Review:I'd really like to give this book 4 stars, but I can't. There are a few things I love, and a few I'm just not thrilled with. First the loves: the characters of Sean and Michelle are fabulously well developed. The autistic child the book flap refers to is a doll who you can't help but fall in love with and around whom the story comes to revolve. But it almost seems like Baldacci is trying to cram too much into this novel - too much action, too many twists and turns, too much intrigue. In the end, it pays off and is sewn back together in a nice tidy package. But along the way, it feels overwhelming at times. But you be the judge...and let me know what you think!



If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

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