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David Baldacci

Split Second is the first in the gripping King and Maxwell series by bestselling author David Baldacci.

When something distracts Secret Agent Sean King for a split second, it costs him his career and presidential candidate, Clyde Ritter, his life. But what stole his attention? And why was Ritter shot?

 Eight years later Michelle Maxwell is on the fast track through the ranks of the Secret Service when her career is stopped short: presidential candidate John Bruno is abducted from a funeral home while under her protection.

 The similarity between the two cases drives Michelle to re-open investigations into the Ritter fiasco and join forces with attractive ex-agent King. The pair are determined to get to the bottom of what happened in those critical moments.

 Meanwhile, high-ranking members of the legal system and key witnesses from both cases are going missing. King is losing friends, colleagues and clients fast and his ex-lover, Joan Dillinger, is playing curious games – she wants Sean back, but she also owes him for something . . .

Split Second is followed by Hour Game, Simple Genius, First Family, The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

Scott Brick

Macmillan Digital Audio

King and Maxwell

Split Second

David Baldacci's heart-stopping Hour Game is the second fast-paced thriller in the King and Maxwell series.

Following their collaboration in Split Second, ex-Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have gone into partnership and are investigating the robbery of some secret documents at the residence of the incredibly wealthy Battle family. It seems like a straightforward case of domestic burglary, but soon they begin to suspect links to larger, more terrifying events now shaking the prosperous town of Wrightsburg . . .

 The unidentified corpse of an attractive young woman turns up in the woods; two high school kids, one shot in the back, the other in the face, are found dead in their car; a successful lawyer is discovered stabbed to death in her own home. A serial killer is on the loose. The murderer kills in the manner of famous killers of the past but takes care to leave a stopped watch at the scene of each crime – corresponding to the victim's position on his hit list.

 As the killing spree escalates it seems that the fractured Battle family are somehow involved and Maxwell and King suddenly find themselves racing to solve an intricate puzzle, one that is full of tantalizing clues but barren of solid evidence, and one that is leaving even the FBI confounded. And all the while, the body count is rising . . .

Hour Game is followed by Simple Genius, First Family, The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

Hour Game

In Simple Genius, David Baldacci reintroduces the main characters from bestsellers Split Second and Hour Game. 

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are both haunted by their last case. Realizing that Michelle is teetering on the brink of self-destruction from long-buried demons, Sean arranges therapy for his reluctant partner. But instead of focusing on her recovery, Michelle unearths disturbing secrets in the hospital . . .

Sean accepts a much-needed job. A physicist, Monk Turing, has died in mysterious circumstances near Babbage Town – a secretive establishment populated by an eccentric group of scientists and cryptographers, funded by an anonymous but powerful group. Meanwhile the dead man's young daughter, piano-playing prodigy Viggie, has secrets of her own. But what is the significance of the phrase 'codes and blood'?

Directly across the York River from Babbage Town lies the sinister CIA training ground, Camp Peary, where Monk Turing's body was found. With both the FBI and CIA breathing down Sean's neck, can he discover the truth? And will he be in time to save Michelle from herself?

Simple Genius is followed by First Family, The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

Alex Jennings

Simple Genius

David Baldacci's First Family is the fourth gripping New York Times bestseller in the King and Maxwell series.

When she turned the page and her gaze flickered over the date on top it was as though the lightning outside had somehow grounded right into her. A billion volts of pain, a shriek of anguish you could actually see, and feel, as it pierced her.

 Camp David, USA. A birthday party turns into a nightmare when a child is snatched after the celebrations.

 The First Lady enlists the services of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell to bring the child home safely. But she and King share a past. Years ago he saved her then senator husband from political disaster. And this may not be all that passed between them.

 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.

David Baldacci's smash-hit series continues with The Sixth Man and King and Maxwell.

Ron McLarty

First Family

The fifth book in the heart-stopping King and Maxwell series, The Sixth Man by David Baldacci will keep pulses racing as Sean King and Michelle Maxwell face their greatest challenge yet.

After alleged serial killer Edgar Roy is apprehended and locked away in a psychiatric unit private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy's lawyer-an old friend of Sean King- to look into the case. But their investigation is derailed before it begins: while en route to their first meeting with the lawyer, King and Maxwell discover his dead body.

 A rash of terrifying events begins to unfold and it is up to King and Maxwell to uncover the truth: is Roy a killer or not? But the more they dig into his past, the more they are bombarded with obstacles, half-truths, and dead ends that make filtering the facts nearly impossible. As each new theory brings a new revelation, King and Maxwell will be pushed to the limit. Could this deadly case be the one that leaves the duo permanently parted?

The Sixth Man is followed by the sixth and final book in the King and Maxwell series, King and Maxwell.

Orlagh Cassidy

The Sixth Man

Former Secret Service Agents turned private investigators, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, return in their most surprising, personal and dangerous case to date. King and Maxwell is the explosive finale to David Baldacci's phenomenal series.

King and Maxwell encounter teenager Tyler Wingo when he has just received the tragic news that his soldier father has been killed in Afghanistan. But then Tyler receives an email from his father . . . after his supposed death.

Sean and Michelle are hired to solve the mystery, and their investigation leads to deeper, even more troubling questions. Could Tyler's father really still be alive? Was his mission all that it seemed? Has Tyler's life been a lie, and could he be the next target?

It's clear that King and Maxwell have stumbled upon something even more sinister when those in power seem intent on removing them at any cost. Determined to help and protect Tyler, their search for the truth takes them on a perilous journey which not only puts their lives at risk but arrives at a frightening conclusion.

David Baldacci’s bestselling series of crime novels featuring Sean King and Michelle Maxwell begins with Split Second. King and Maxwell are former Secret Service agents turned private investigators in Washington D.C., and Virginia. Whilst researching his novels, David has been inside the buildings of some of the world's leading intelligence agencies, meeting real-life spies and intelligence leaders. The King and Maxwell series was filmed as a major U.S. television show for TNT.