Split Second - David Baldacci

I'm quite a fan of David Baldacci. He creates carefully crafted thrillers with a distinct political edge to them, novels that are set around the high politics of the US, that usually create fairly plausible political dilemmas and then set out to resolve them in a dramatic way.

So I have to ask - What happened with Split Second? If I were trying to sell this book I would probably talk about a plot that twists and turns so that the reader is kept guessing up to the last minute. All of which is true. But the problem is that sometimes the writer's intention to keep the reader guessing is so transparent that it gets in the way of a good story. It's too complicated, with too many red herrings and false trails and too many references to people whose identity is being concealed from the reader none too artfully. A book of this sort, from an author of the calibre of David Baldacci, shouldn't have characters like, "Buick Man" and "Officer Simmons", and shouldn't have so many occasions when we are left to guess at the flashes of inspiration that sent our hero off in a different direction, that direction also being shrouded in mystery.

So, by the time I reached the classic Baldacci finale, I just wanted to get to the end of the book. And that spoiled it for me. In summary, the plot was just too complicated and artificial, spoiling the overall effect. Had this been my first Baldacci, I might not have been tempted to read more. Luckily it wasn't, and so I'll read on.

You may feel differently. Please comment here if you do. In the meantime I'm giving this particular read 6/10.