Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Our group read lead forHour Game is Shannon. Look forward to an intro to the books and the author, and to a cracking discussion.

As usual, please note we discuss all aspects of the books we read - the plots, the characters, the settings and so on - on our discussions threads. Hence the discussion threads will contain spoilers from the start. if you haven't finished the book yet be careful not to read others' posts until the end.



Summary: A woman is found murdered in the woods. It seems like a simple case but it soon escalates into a terrible nightmare. Someone is replicating the killing styles of the most infamous murderers of all time. No one knows this criminal's motives...or who will die next.

Two ex-Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, have been hired to defend a man's innocence in a burglary involving an aristocratic family. Then a series of secrets leads the partners right into the frantic hunt that is confounding even the FBI. Now King and Maxwell are playing the Hour Game, uncovering one horrifying revelation after another and putting their lives in danger. For the closer they get to the truth, the closer they get to the most shocking surprise of all.

First of all, this is the first time I'm taking part in a Group Read discussion, so please be patient with me. I read this book back in 2009 and immensely loved reading it. I just thought I should give a brief introduction about the series here, as I am a big fan of King and Maxwell novels. Again, bear with me if I repeat some facts that are obvious from the GR pages of this book.

King and Maxwell are a pair of ex-Secret Service agents who now run a private detective agency. This is the second book in the series, the first is Split Second. In the first book, we learn how the duo meet and eventually end up working together. Sean King, as a Secret Service agent, allowed his attention to wander for a split second, an error that resulted in the death of the presidential candidate he had been protecting. After leaving the service, he went to law school and became a lawyer. However, the mystery behind the assassination was never completely solved. The first book starts some eight years after this incident when something similar happens with Michelle. Michelle Maxwell “lost” the politician she was supposed to protect when the politician vanished behind closed doors while comforting a grieving widow. She seeks out King in this time of distress and the two bond while solving both cases; King's 8-year old one and Maxwell's current one.

Also, TNT commissioned a TV series about the duo this year called "King and Maxwell", but it got cancelled after one season only. I have watched the pilot and liked it. I plan on watching the whole season after I am done re-reading the entire series from book one. However, the pilot deals with the third book in the series Simple Genius; so don''t watch the series yet if you plan on reading the book first. If you liked this book, I would recommend you to read Simple Genius, as I believe it is the best book in the whole series.

I am upset about the cancellation of MAXWELL & KING also.

I want to get the new audiobook, but I am not happy about the narrator. His voice grates on me after a while.

Just read the book i loved it.

Also i am pissed they cancell Maxwell & King the series was very good lot better then half tnt shows

David Barducci Hour Game

This book was very hard to put down. Definite keeper. This is the first time that I have read anything by this author. I will definitely read more.

This was the second book in the King & Maxwell series and was the one that made me want to read the rest.

Hmm I could not get into this book. It just seemed to drag along. This was the first David Balducci book I have read.

It was hard to get into, but I got very involved with the characters. I liked the story line and I would read more of the King & Maxwell series. Sometimes I forgot that Michelle's last name was Maxwell because a lot of references to her were by her first name and he was referred to by his Last name; that was sort of confusing. But other than that, I liked it. :)

I read this quite some time ago and really enjoyed. I have enjoyed nearly all of the Balducci books that I have read, but could not get into The Camel Club.

I agree with Stephanie. It was my first Baldacci and definitely not my last. I loved his writing style and the characterization. It was fascinating to read about the murderer's introspection and planning. The setting with varied scenes was also interesting.

I look forward to reading more with King & Maxwell. =)