First Family
by David Baldacci
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Book Reviews of First Family
Book Review: Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are back in action!
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not a big fan of David Baldacci's writing. I've read Absolute Power and the Hour Game and liked them; yet, I seldom pick up a book by him. Go figure. Anyway, Baldacci's newest hardcover is First Family, which brings back Sean King and Michelle Maxwell (Split Second, Hour Game and Simple Genius), who are ex-Secret Service agents now working as private investigators.
In First Family, Sean is a friend of the President's wife, Jane Cox, having helped her and her husband out of an embarrassing situation years before, when Dan Cox was a new and upcoming senator. Now, Jan's sister-in-law (Pam Dutton) is asking for Sean's help. When he and his partner, Michelle Maxwell, arrive at the Dutton house one evening, they discover a kidnapping in play as two masked men knock out the husband, Tuck, kill Pam, and kidnap one of their three children, Willa. Michelle is almost killed while trying to stop the kidnappers from getting away. Later, once the gun smoke has settled and everyone can think straight, the President's wife hires Sean and Michelle to find Willa, thinking that the two investigators will be easier to control than the FBI. You see, the First Family has a closely guarded secret from the past and the kidnapping is just a ploy to get their attention as a wronged father puts his plan for revenge into motion. If that isn't enough, Michelle's mother is murdered in Tennessee. She and Sean have to take time out from the Willa kidnapping to go there and find out what happened. It doesn't take Michelle long to discover that her mom was cheating on her father and that he may have been the one who killed her in a fit of jealousy. The two private investigators are going to have their hands full trying to solve both cases while keeping the First Family happy, the FBI and Secret Service off of their backs, and the life of a little girl in the forefront of their mind.
If it seems like I've given away some of the plot points here, don't worry about it because this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many things going on from daughters on life support, to spousal betrayal, to outward lying to hide the truth, to cold-blooded murder on both sides of the fence, to a father's quest for revenge for what was done to his child by those who are now in power, while another father searches for the killer of his wife, that the reader almost needs a program to keep track of all the subplots. Still, I found the first 173 pages to be slow in action and nearly closed he book down to read something else. Fortunately for me, I stayed with the novel and soon found myself totally engrossed and unable to put the blasted thing down. Let me reiterate that--you have to stay with the story in order to get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If you can do that, then you're in for a treat.
Also, Mr. Baldacci has created two intriguing characters in Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. In many ways they reminded of Dennis Lehane's famous characters from the Patirck Kenzie and Angie Gennaro series with the female character being the more explosive and dangerous of the two. While Sean King is suave, debonair, and utterly professional (at least most of the time), Michelle is a woman tormented by her inner demons due to something that occurred in her childhood with her parents covering it up. This life-changing experience is driving her at a break-neck speed, keeping her barely balanced on the edge of the abyss, and the answers are finally revealed as she searches for the person who murdered her mother. Other great characters abound within the pages of this novel, too. There's Sam Quarry, a man who's tough and a near-genius with his hands at creating things; yet, a person who has a code honor that he tries to follow as his wayward journey propels him to his final confrontation with those who destroyed his child's life. Then, there's Willa, the star of the show, who's young of age, yet wise beyond her years in her capacity to size up a given situation and then attempt to change the outcome. Last, and more importantly, is the First Family, a married couple who have struggled to reach the pinnacle of power within the United States and refuses to allow anyone to take it away from them. They are the true villains of the novel!
The First Family by David Baldacci is a good summer read for those seeking a few hours of popcorn entertainment to escape the drudgery of day-to-day living. As a reader, you'll also hope that the author will bring back Sean King and Michelle Maxwell in the near future for more exciting cases to work on. These are characters you want to learn more about.
Book Review: An exciting thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
David Baldacci is one of my favorite authors, and this novel did not disappoint me notwithstanding all of the negative reviews, which for me are unfounded.
The novel reprises two characters from an earlier novel Simple Genius--Michelle Maxwell and Sean King, who are both former Secret Service Agents and now partners in a detective agency; however reading the earlier novel is completely unnecessary for this novel. They are asked by the wife of the First Lady's brother to come to her house to discuss a matter that she has not revealed. They arrive to find themselves in the midst of a kidnapping of the eldest daughter Willa, and engage in a gun battle with the kidnappers, who manage to escape with Willa. They then discover that Willa's mother, who was to be their client, has been murdered, and that her husband and two other children are all unconscious, though they survive.
As Michelle and Sean spend the rest of the novel trying to find Willa at the request of the First Lady, whom Sean knows from an episode years earlier involving the President when he was a newly elected Senator, they find themselves embroiled in a complex--but wholly believable--web of deceit and lies by the First Family that are related to the kidnapping. As is often true with Baldacci, things are not always what they seem.
The mastermind of the kidnapping is a man called Sam Quarry, who cannot easily be classified as good or evil and is a fascinating character.
As a subplot, Michelle's mother is murdered, and she and Sean seek to solve that crime as well. Although some readers might consider this an unnecessary distraction, it enables Baldacci to explore the relationships between Michelle and her father (a retired cop who was Michelle's role model growing up) and the rest of her family. During the murder investigation of her mother Michelle gains insights into her own difficulties in forming personal relationships, in particular with her partner Sean King, by revisiting troubling incidents from her past.
The novel provides some interesting insights into a Native American tribe known as the Kosati, the inner workings of the Secret Service, and the boundless ambitions of politicians. The action is nonstop, and while the novel has a semi "Hollywood ending," I found it to be both realistic and plausible.
This novel will not only entertain you, but also make you wonder just what you would do if you were confronted with the circumstances in which Sam Quarry finds himself. Baldacci has written another winner.
Finally a word for Kindle owners. You need to wait two weeks after any new novel comes out for the price to drop to $9.99, which is what I paid; if you want to buy it sooner, you will pay more. But please stop giving negative reviews to novels based on your experience with Kindle prices, especially since it is quite simple to buy all new novels for just $9.99 if you don't insist on downloading them immediately when they come out
Book Review: Sean and Michelle Reunite
Summary: 4 Stars
I wish that Amazon would go back to old way of rating where you could give ¼ or ½ stars I would have given it 4 ½, but since I can't I'll rate on the low side.
I was ready for this novel, which reunites Sean King and Michelle Maxwell for the third time. In the last novel, Michelle was working with a wonderful psychiatrist, Horatio Barnes to deal with many issues. In the first chapter, Michelle breaks into his office to steal her file so she can see what she has said under hypnosis. I'm not going to give anything away, but if you are hoping to see more of "mid guru, Horatio Barnes you will be disappointed.
Although this novel has been given bad reviews, I really like it because it tells many stories. In this novel, you find a father haunted by his daughter's vegetative state due to a botched back-alley abortion. He lives in an ate-bellum house in rural Alabama, with his housekeeper Ruth and her son, Gabriel. Gabriel is a very smart 12-year-old African-American boy who he loves like a son and in many ways, Gabriel is his best friend; in my opinion, this is as much Mr.' Sam and Gabriel's story, as it is the titled characters.
When the president's niece his kidnapped the First Lady asks her friend, Sean King to find her niece, which infuriates the FBI agents handling the case. The author tells his partner and friend Michelle Maxwell how he came to meet the First Lady and why she trusts him so much. He comes to realize that the First Lady is using their trust and friendship to suit her own desires.
During the case, Michelle's mother dies and when she comes home from the funeral it soon becomes clear that the story her father his telling about how his wife died is not corroborated by the evidence. She knows that her father is hiding something and is afraid he may have killed his wife. Sean comes to Nashville to support Michelle and she shares her suspicions. They end up investigating two cases, hundred of miles apart at the same time.
In reality, many politicians or anyone with enough money and power are never held accountable (Chappaquiddick is called to mind), for their past and present actions. Here the author tells of an uneducated father who pieces together events decades old over time and seeks revenge on the people who harmed his beloved daughter. He aims to make them pay and he does not care how powerful they are.
While Horatio Barnes is not in the story, Michelle is forced to work on her issues with the death of her mother. In dong so she becomes a softer more caring woman who is finally able to open her heart to love on many different levels. I am forward to the continuation of the three characters in another novel.
Book Review: Good for a rainy Sunday...
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a sucker for any book by David Baldacci. I enjoy them all--even though some of them (especially the Camel Club series) have been a bit lame lately. I was happy to see
Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are back in First Family. The two are former Secret Service agents who now run their own private investigation business. This is Baldacci's forth book using King and Maxwell. If you like Baldacci and can get past the fact that the FBI and the Secret Service would allow two independent PIs to assist in an important investigation, then you'll enjoy First Family.
Hours after a birthday party thrown in her honor at Camp David, 12 year-old Willa Dutton is kidnapped from her home. Willa is the niece of President and First Lady Dan and Jane Cox. Pam Dutton, Willa's mother, is killed in executing the kidnapping. An unrelated woman, Diane Wohl, is also kidnapped. King and Maxwell had just arrived at Dutton's house as the two kidnappers were making their escape. Pam Dutton wanted to hire the two for an unspecified job. Because King has a past with Jane Cox, the first lady insists that King and Maxwell be included in the official investigation (being orchestrated by the FBI and the Secret Service). From the very beginning, it is obvious to King and Maxwell that they are being misled by the first family. Do they really want to find Willa? Is there something from their past that they are hiding?
The man orchestrating the kidnappings is the most unusual man. Sam Quarry is an old farmer and Viet Nam veteran whose Alabama plantation, Atlee, was in his family for 200 years. His complicated scheme is to avenge a wrong done to his daughter 14 years ago. In many ways, he is a kind man. Law enforcement aren't sure what Quarry wants for the return of his victims, but it is possible that whatever he wants may destroy the president.
I always enjoy Baldacci's writing and in First Family, he's right-on in regards to the presidency. "Life in the bubble. Sean knew it well. Every move treated to the closest scrutiny, sucking the breath right out of you. And yet some spent hundreds of millions of bucks and devoted years of their life to getting to that bubble. Was that insanity, narcissism, or elements of both hidden under the excuse of public service?" First Lady Jane Cox "watched every word she said, calculated every movement she made, diagrammed every physical, spiritual, and emotional action she ever contemplated. And the only price she had to pay for that was to give up all hopes of actually remaining human."
First Family is one of those mysteries that is totally engrossing. One rainy Sunday, I couldn't put it down.
Book Review: Simply ingenious
Summary: 4 Stars
David Baldacci is a very good author who, while prolific, has not yet joined the inner circles of the best mystery writers. If First Family is any indication he is trying, but hasn't made his move.
Michael Connely has repeatedly emphasized that good mysteries are really about something else. Elmore Leonard has taught writers to humanize their villains by giving them a hobby (hilariously spoofed by Carl Hiaasen in Skinny Dip who had a bad guy collect highway memorial markers commemorating DUI victims). Baldacci has taken all of this to heart, and therein lies the problem.
Our heroes private eyes Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, last seen in Simple Genius have a meeting with the sister-in-law of the President of the United Sates, arriving just in time to run into her murderers who were in the process of kidnapping their oldest twelve year old daughter. This child is so precious she is not only beloved by the First Lady, her aunt, but ultimately by the mastermind and head kidnapper himself.
From there the plot screams off in several different directions at once. Our villain is revealed to be a loving dad, and the First Lady's brother a philandering cad. So much for hobbies. Sean chases down a couple of leads which turn out to be dead ends but not before adding some bulk to this volume. Michelle for her part has to cope with the unexpected death of her mother in a subplot that has absolutely nothing to do with the basic plot,
On the issues front the book addresses in no particular order, slavery, racism against Native Americans, infidelity, education, home schooling, Vietnam, Iraq, abortion, Presidential campaigns, government contracting, the inadequacies of the US Postal Service, motherhood, prostitution and golf.
Much of this is over the top and adds little to an ingenious plot. It gets a four because even with all that distraction Baldacci is an excellent storyteller. But he needs to find fewer but deeper themes. Perhaps then he will join Connely and Leonard in the inner circle.