Simple Genius
by David Baldacci
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Book Summary Information
Author: David BaldacciEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 044661873X
Number of pages: 576
Publisher: Vision
Book Reviews of Simple Genius
Book Review: Baldacci at his averagest
Summary: 3 Stars
The comfort with reading a David Baldacci book is his relatively predictable output. He never puts out any really great stuff, but he is typically able to avoid sub-par material as well. In Amazon rating terms, he is a three-to-four star author. Simple Genius fits right in with previous Baldacci works, though at the low end of his range.
This novel brings back Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, two former Secret Service agents who have partnered to form their own little private eye agency. As the story opens, Michelle - traumatized by events in an earlier book - has gone borderline suicidal, getting herself in a fight just to try being beaten to death. The police intervene and she merely winds up in the hospital; it financially wipes Sean out trying to keep her out of jail. He convinces her to be voluntarily institutionalized and freelances for a former associate to get some money.
The case he is looking into involves an organization called Babbage Town that is involved with the development of quantum computers, an invention that could threaten all encryption systems. Monk Turing has committed suicide (or was it murder?) and his young daughter - the simple genius of the title - may have crucial clues. The fact that Babbage Town borders a secret CIA compound complicates things, as do some additional, more suspicious deaths.
Meanwhile, Michelle gets entangled in her own messes at the institution, solves them and heads off to help Sean. She is not, however, cured, and the fear of both Sean and her therapist Horatio Barnes is that she will have a breakdown at an inopportune time. Since their investigation threatens to put them in physical peril, this is a valid concern.
The biggest problem with Simple Genius is the rather flat characterization. Sean is likeable enough, but is completely bland. Michelle's psychological crisis is also not that interesting and seems more of a plot device than something that gives her real depth. The supporting characters are a little bit better, and, as always, Baldacci does keep things moving with decent action. If you're the sort who only reads the occasional thriller, than Simple Genius is probably just fine; on the other hand, if you read a lot of them - like I do - you'll see that this is strictly average fare.
Summary of Simple Genius
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 a gauntlet between these two puzzle factories, straight into a furious struggle to exploit a potentially world-shattering discovery--and keep some other secrets underwraps forever...
Former secret service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have seen their lives splinter around them. Michelle lies unconscious ina hospital bed after a night of suicidal violence. And Sean is forced to take on a thankless investigation into the mutder 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 mathematics, 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 ever, he needs Michelle--at her best--to help stop a conspiracy of traitors operating in the shadow of the White House itself.
From Michelle's courageous struggle to defeat her long-buried personal demons to a
centuries-old secret that surfaces in the heat of action, SIMPLE GENIUS pulses with stunning, high-intensity suspense. The heroes of Split Second and Hour Game, David Baldacci's #1 New York Times bestsellers, are back--as you've never seen them before.
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