Search - First Family (Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, Bk 4)

The central premise is that a child who is part of the extended family of the President and First Lady is kidnapped. The First Lady approaches a trusted PI, who once helped her out, to conduct his own investigation. While determining what happened and theorizing about possible motives of the kidnapper, he and his partner proceed in the face of FBI and Secret Service resistance. During the same timeframe, his partner has to deal with problems within her own family.

It's a fast read and enjoyable, but I'm glad I got it from the library. So much about the timeframe and what the protagonists do simply do not make sense. When the partner's attention was understandably diverted, I would have thought that the novel would have focused solely on his search for the child, but instead the novel shows his attention divided between the search and the support he offers to his partner. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief that both were possible. There were other instances as well.

I did finish the book in one night, and I did enjoy it - but it's the equivalent of an action movie that is fun to watch, but doesn't result in a lot of reflection and is pretty much forgotten once you leave the theater.

As all of Mr. Baldacci's books there were more than enough twist plots and surprises to keep me interested. "First Family" was an excellent read and left me wanting a few more hundred pages. I would recommend "First Family" over any other thrillers that have been recently released.

Exciting from the very beginning of the book! We are with Michelle and Sean in this book by David Baldacci. The First Lady's niece is brutally kidnapped from her home and the child's mother is murdered. The First Lady calls on Sean, a friend from long ago, to hire he and Michelle to find her. Sean and Michelle face the ire of the Secret Service and FBI for their involvement but they are determined to find the 12 year old. Ugly secrets in the First Family's past come to haunt them as the case gets closer to being solved. Just how far will the First Lady go to protect her husband? Excellent book - kept me glued to the chair in order to find out what happens next!

Sean and Michelle are in fine form, whether they are mingling with Washington's political greats or frantically entering an abandoned mine deep underground; they are on the trail of an abducted little girl. Throw in a little history of an early Indian tribe, and you have a great thriller. Makes you want to skip other obligations and do nothing but read. Enjoyed very much.

Staying in character, Baldacci keeps you on your toes til the very end when you learn the whole story behind the kidnapping of the First Lady's niece. What did not surprise me was the lengths politicians will go to, to protect their career. As always, excellent book!

This was baldacci's best. I could not put it down.