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Jul 10, 2008

Mister Jones rated it:

This is my one and only review of a recently behind the curtain reading of this WAY overrated pop suspense writer. I thought the characters were incredibly shallow; one dimensional, and not one elicited any empathy and/or sympathy on my part. Fine, it's a successful lawyer mom and a successful company executive dad who finds himself involved is some nefarious secretive hush hush fiasco in a corporation, a cover up, and a phony death. Okay you're not holding my interest; in fact, you're boring m More...

7 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2009

Atishay rated it:

The book is a typical David Baldacci thriller with just the right amount of suspense and emotions. I won't explain the plot here, it would be too complicated and long. I won't tell you that this novel enabled me to see shades of Ludlum, Mary Higgins Clark and Patterson - all at the same time.

What I will tell you is that I'm writing the review of this 720 page paperback as the timer on my computer screen says 04:41 hours and that I'd started reading it from my bookmarked page 325 at 0 More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2008

Susan rated it:

I liked Baldacci's first book but I loved this one. It sucked me right in from word one. Plus it's a fat book that just was wonderful all the way through. Sidney Archer is a partner is a high powered law firm representing a successful high tech company in their purchase of another high tech company. Her husband, Jason, is a technical expert at one of the companies. He boards a plane for the West Coast and it's blown to bits by a bomb. Sidney's life blows out of control as the following events un More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Frederick rated it:

I listened to this on CD, read by George Gwidell. The narrator did an excellent job of portraying the characters. I had read this several years ago. Jason Archer is a hotshot computer whiz in a major high tech firm. One day, he goes off for a secret rendezvous on a hush-hush mission. He gets on a plane in Washington DC and flies to Seattle. He was supposed to go to LA, but at the last minute switched with someone who looked like him who went to LA in his place. The plane to LA is sabotaged and More...

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Nov 27, 2010

Andrea rated it:

I liked the book very much; an interesting plot with twists and turns, interesting characters.

The only problem is that Special Agent Lee Sawyer defies the typical description of an FBI agent.

Jason Archer is a rising young executive with Triton Global, a privately held conglomerate. The president, Quentin Rowe, is hot to acquire a company named CyberCom, which will give Triton a massive advantange in AI technology. The chairman of Triton Global, Nathan Gamble, appears t More...

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Mar 25, 2010

Mandy rated it:

This is a really long book at over 700 pages in paperback. I really liked the pace of the story, and the multiple twists that were taken. Infact, I thought I might know who the "bad guy" was, but kept changing my mind, and in the end, I was not totally correct anyway. I like books that surprise like this.

The FBI agent investigating a plane crash has to decide why the plane really went down, who was at fault, why, and who the target was. Also, the reader gets to know a bit m More...

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Jul 04, 2010

Jerry rated it:

Long wait til suspenseful ending, rather preposterous plot...

Maybe our expectations were set a little high after reading the author's great thriller "Absolute Power" and his almost as good "Simple Truth". Unlike those stories where at least we cared about the protagonists and the plot had some cohesion, "Control" takes a awful long time to plod toward a thrilling finale. Unfortunately the events that unfold to get us there are extremely far-fetched, with More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Steve rated it:

Jason Archer is upto something, but you don't know what. The plane he is supposed to be on mysteriously falls from the sky killing everyone on board. The authorities and his employers soon start to blame Jason for sabotaging the aeroplane. His wife Sydney is left to try and pick up the pieces and figure out what's going on.[return][return]Overall, I loved this book. It was a first rate thriller that pushes the right buttons, the pace is fast but not too fast that you get whiplash, and you actua More...

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Oct 22, 2007

cindy rated it:

So, I must confess to loving David Baldacci... but only in audiobook form.

Perfect, mindless entertainment for my daily commute to/from work. One can only take so much NPR, especially during pledge season.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2011

Nana rated it:

Action packed. Corporate lawyer, Sydney Archer is in an important meeting with her client when she gets the phone call that her husband has been killed in an airplane crash. Lee Sawyer (FBI) is called to the scene when a part of a bomb is found in the wing that was blown from the plane. He thought at first the plane was downed to kill the head of the Federal Reserve who took that same flight monthly, or to kill Jason Archer who was on the manifest, but head of security for "the client" More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2011

Sean rated it:

I read this on a recommendation from someone on twitter as a starting point for baldacci. It was the longest of his in the library, as it turns out, which is no bad thing for me given my liking for length.

In tone I was reminded some of a Jack Reacher novel, though there were more characters, corporate entities, banks and technology.

There were a few good twists and turns, but in the main things were a little dry because of a death midway in, which sort of dried things up a bi More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Barry rated it:

Wow. Baldacci grabs hold and doesn't let go. Some of the plot is fairly simplistic and the story is everything ( I mean forget flowery prose or long winded descriptions - just get on with the plot!!) but it's one hell of a roller coaster ride with a bitter sweet ending that's one of his best. My one criticism is with the proof reader - you weren't very good....I hate it when you get a the instead of a than or a thought instead of a though....hopefully the publisher spotted this lazy individual a More...

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Mar 30, 2011

Guera rated it:

I could not put this book down. Awesome writer and enough suspense and almost romans peeking through. The main character could stop running earlier and go for help. There is a stubbornness in her that does not align with her otherwise assertive self. Similarly, the female lawyer main character could pick up FBI agents following her on foot through New York but missed a white van of villains following her through a small town. Slightly less credible but otherwise a gripping novel. Worth reading m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 12, 2009

Linda rated it:

Total Control expands Baldacci's setting from the United States to the global arena. The good guys really aren't all that good and the bad guy tries to justify his actions as "For the good of all". Baldacci successfully blur the lines leaving the reader with choices. The characters of Shaw and James could become his next "couple series". In the beginning neither one was an easy character to like. Baldacci has a way of developing the characters to the point of reader admirat More...

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Apr 29, 2010

Joanna rated it:

Wow! This book was in high gear from the beginning, all the way to the very end. This book compares to the movies "the net", and the borne series in that it is an unpredictable, fast paced story with a whole lot of murders. With that having said, it was a well written and captivating story, but quite desturbing. I give it 3 stars for the pure fact that it's only value as a book is for sheer entertainment in a freaky sort of way. Definatly not my taste in genre of good books to read.

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Dec 27, 2011

Macjest rated it:

Although I generally like his books, I can't say the same for this one. It was too long and dragged too much. I put it down for a while and started another book. Also, the resolution at the end, while intriguing, seemed implausible. I just didn't buy that they suddenly started putting all the pieces together without any credible hints or evidence. It was as if the inspiration suddenly hit and then the evidence was put together afterward.

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Feb 17, 2010

John rated it:

One of the better Baldacci books. It was a real page turner from about half way through. It's funny, when he was writing that book, I was just learning to make web pages and to use a computer, in general. And like he says in the Afterward, basically EVERY thing mentioned in the book is obsolete now, 13 years later. 13 amazingly intense technological years. This book is well worth the read.

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Feb 26, 2009

Tania rated it:

Classic corporate espionage tale with really good twists. You don't know who is going to be in the "final confrontation - they have guns on each other - the bad guy explains why he did what he did" scene until very close to the end.

Funny though - it was written in 1997, and part of the plot is a company who has developed a technology that is going to rule the internet for years to come. Basically what the writer describes is a basic search engine.

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Feb 14, 2010

Kurt rated it:

Baldacci's 2nd book, following "Absolute Power." Written in 1997, it centers on cutting-edge computer stuff. Add in a pre-9/11 plane bombing and you have a seriously dated book, in just a decade. Still reading though...

I'm sure this was described as a sophomore slump. After "Absolute Power," I also get the feeling that Baldacci believes Federal agents are some of the stupidist people on earth.

Not, awful, this book just failed on too many levels t

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Jul 01, 2011

Jtp rated it:

Another great book by this author. The twists and turns kept you on your toes wondering what was going to happen next. The ending was a total surprise - I thought I had it all figured out but I didn't have it halfway figured out.

There were a few too many characters and it was difficult remembering at times who was who.

If you are a Baldacchi fan this is a must read.

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Feb 18, 2011

Jody rated it:

Fast paced thriller; twists and turns that were unexpected. I just couldn't put this book down. It ended much differently than I imagined. Definitely one of my favorites! I love David Baldacci!

It did get a bit confusing at times with so many different characters; a few of them may not have been necessary to tell the story. But don't let that stop you from reading this book; it is well worth it!

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Mar 07, 2009

David rated it:

I am recommending this book to all my friends who love a real heart-pounding thriller. I refused to put this book down until I finished it...Total Control has all the verve and excitement of Absolute Power but is infinitely more intriguing. The high-tech aspect of this novel was well researched.

This is pure David Baldacci. There is no filler here. If you want to read an exciting novel that holds your interest with each page this is it.

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Apr 19, 2009

Roberta rated it:

Sound recording. I also read the book and saw the movie. Baldacci is another of my favorite suspense-intrigue authors. His plots are alway absorbing and well crafted. And he had maintained his quality over time. The Camel Club series was a stroke of genius. I'm eager to read the one that just came out this month.

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Oct 01, 2011

Holly rated it:

A page turner, but not really that great. It's the first Baldacci that I've read, and I doubt I'll seek out any of his other books. His writing seems like he is hoping for a movie deal, with clunky scene descriptions meant more to direct a prop master than to eloquently immerse the reader in the story. Worse, some of the storyline was so jarringly implausible that it knocked me out of the suspension of disbelief.

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Dec 26, 2010

Peg rated it:

Another solid, engaging DC-based mystery by Baldacci - with about 2 twists and turns too many for me to track. I admit it, I got lost, and had to depend on the author spelling everything out at the end. Hence, 3 stars only, not the usual four I give Baldacci's suspense novels.

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Jun 04, 2010

Terry rated it:

Oh Boy! He's written a lot of them, but this is definitely his BEST! It's been a long time since I was still wondering who the bad guys/good guys where and how the author would untangle the plot when I was within twenty pages of the end of the book! Truly a good read.

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Nov 04, 2011

J rated it:

I subtracted a star because the list of characters is rather long and can be confusing.

Also, compared with the other standalone novels The Winner and Saving Faith, this book isn't as interesting. I also feel the story could have been told in fewer pages than 517.

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Nov 07, 2011

Linda rated it:

This is one of Baldacci's earlier works and at almost 700 pages is quite long. But the pages go by fast when you get involved in this book. There are many twists and turns and you will be unable to determine who the "bad guys" are till the very end.

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Jun 21, 2011

Mailmanr5 rated it:

An earlier Baldacci effort. I don't like the way too much had to be explained all at once near the end. I prefer the writer to let us discover these individually as the plot unfolds. It's also probably a hundred pages too long. Still a decent read though.

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Aug 13, 2011

Lori rated it:

Sidney Archer is going about her life with a few bumps in the road, but for the most part she is happy and her life is good. But that is about to change in a way that she will never see coming.

I really enjoyed this book - it keep me hooked from the first chapter. The story was set up in a way that keeps you guessing. And just when you think you know what is happening, a new twist crops up. The characters are well developed and believable.

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