Split Second by David Baldacci

It has been said that television rots the mind while reading enhances it.  Well, thanks to TNT and the new show King and Maxwell, my mind was rotted then enhanced.  I've never read anything by David Baldacci.  I think I unfairly lumped him in with a certain prolific writer (name withheld for my my own protection), who seems to come out with a book a month and writes very short and, to my mind, choppy chapters.  Mr. Baldacci, I apologize!  King and Maxwell is based upon Baldacci's series that starts with Split Second.  Normally I would read the book then watch the show but in this case I watched first, read second.  To be honest I'm glad that I did.  The television show jumps right into the action and gives a few nuggets of background information about the two primary characters, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell.  Both are former Secret Service agents and now work as private detectives.

Split Second begins with the event that ultimately ends Sean King's career with the Secret Service.  The presidential candidate he is guarding is assassinated on King's watch, wounding King in the process.  Eight years later, Secret Service agent Michelle Maxwell's career suffers a similar fate when the candidate she is guarding is kidnapped.  I am not giving away any spoilers because these events happen very quickly in the book. Maxwell is essentially put on administrative leave but she decides to launch her own investigation into the kidnapping.  One of the paths she takes leads her to Sean King.  Over the past eight years he has reinvented himself, going to law school, and opening a fairly successful law practice.  After Maxwell's candidate is kidnapped, people around King start to die.  King and Maxwell join forces to see if what happened to their candidates might be linked.  There are multiple mysteries to be solved in the first book of this series and instead of being confusing it completely held my attention.  Are the two events connected?  Was King the real target the day of the assassination and is that why people all around King are dying?  King and Maxwell have very different personalities and styles but show themselves to be competent investigators.  There is of course the requisite "will they or won't they" vibe in the book, but it does not detract from the story in any way.

I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the TV series having only seen the pilot episode, but I am sold on the books. Perhaps I should write a letter to David Baldacci letting him know that the TV show has made me a fan of his books.  It might go something like this:

Dear Mr. Baldacci,

Thanks to the new TV show King and Maxwell, I was persuaded to pick up a copy of Split Second from my local library.  I'm certainly glad that I did.  I enjoyed the book throughly and look forward to reading more in the series.  The writing is fast-paced, the cases are complicated enough to hold my attention, and the characters are interesting. Additionally, as a woman, I want to thank you for writing competent female characters that don't need a big, strong man to take care of them.

Sincerely,
Amy

Amy~ Adult Services

BFFs & Frenemies

While I find the term "frenemies" objectionable, I admit to enjoying stories about poisonous, nice-to-your-face relationships. Bitter, backstabbing jealousy covered in a thin mask of friendship can make for some delicious conflict in a story. Often, but not always, the characters in these twisted friendships are women, often young, privileged women. So, if like me, you're cursed with wonderfully supportive friends and a dearth of couture, try picking up one of these books, movies, or TV shows and exploring the turmoil beneath the perfect facade.


Movies and TV

• Mean Girls
• Heathers
• Gossip Girl (also books!)
• Revenge

Books

I'm So Happy for You by Lucinda Rosenfeld
Wendy and Daphne have always been friends, and Wendy has always been the successful, stable one. Now Daphne seems to have stumbled into the perfect life, and Wendy is left reeling with jealousy. Rosenfeld's fast-paced and engaging novel is by turns reflective and sassy, with plenty of drama.





Friends Like Us by Lauren Fox
Willa and Jane have been friends and roommates since college, but their Milwaukee apartment becomes crowded when Jane starts dating Willa's friend from high school. Fox's witty and bittersweet exploration of relationships in your 20s will ring true for many New Adults.






More Like Her by Liza Palmer
Ms. Palmer’s novels are about women in the process of confronting their dissatisfaction with their lives and relationships with wit and emotion. While some of her titles are lighter and more romantic, her most recent novel, More Like Her, is somewhat darker. Frannie is convinced that her coworker, Emma, has the perfect life, and that her own is a disappointing mess, but then Frannie finds that Emma isn’t so perfect after all.




Dare Me by Megan Abbott
 Edgar-winning novelist Megan Abbott’s suspenseful, character-driven novels present a feminine perspective on the darker corners of the mystery genre. Dare Me is a fast-paced and disturbing glimpse into the cut-throat dynamics of cheerleading. A new, popular coach upends the power structure of Sutton Grove High School’s squad. Manipulation, revenge, and jealousy all increase the tension of this psychological page-turner.


Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!

Staff Review: Hawkeye: my life as a weapon

 Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon was my first ever "superhero comic." I admit it, I'm a snob. Maybe snob isn't quite the right word because at the same time that I avoided superhero comics, I've been happily consuming superhero cartoons, movies, etc. I was leery for two reasons:

1) With series that have been in publication for decades, with complex relationships, backstories, and alternate universes, it's really hard to know where to start.

2) My perception of superhero comics as just a little sexist, and thus not for me.

Like millions of other people around the globe, I watched and enjoyed Joss Whedon's Avengers movie. Of course, I also left wondering how some dude with a bow and arrows wound up on a superhero team with, well, actual superheroes. Although I was happy enough to see a dude in the role of damsel in distress, until he's needed in the epic final battle, of course.

I didn't think I'd hear anything else about Hawkeye before the inevitable Avengers 2: Out for Vengence (I am making this title up). Except that people whose judgment I trust started talking about The Hawkeye Initiative (link sometimes NSFW), Hawkguy, and Pizza Dog.

Illustration by Noelle "Gingerhaze" Stevenson

The Hawkeye Initiative invites artists to contort Hawkeye into the less practical poses one sometimes finds the female characters in comic books drawn into. It's a humorous take on an issue that, to be fair, is not limited to superhero comics. Add in the fact that Hawkeye is portrayed as a character who would be more than okay with sexy posing to agitate for change, and you've got my attention.

Hawkguy and Pizza Dog are references to the comics written by Matt Fraction and illustrated (primarily) by David Aja. That Aja is not the illustrator for all of the issues is my only real complaint about a book that is otherwise fun.This is a series that pokes fun at the characters and the world they live in. It's almost a mash-up of the quirky slice of life stories I love in graphic novels with crazy heroics and exciting action sequences. In one scene you'll have a rooftop block party, and in another a high speed car chase (with Mini Coopers, of course).

Kate Bishop is my second favorite character, after Pizza Dog.

If, like me, you only know Clint Barton and his alter ego Hawkeye from seeing The Avengers, you won't have any trouble following this story. In fact, if all you know is that Clint Barton is good at shooting arrows and getting himself into trouble, that's enough. Kate Bishop (also a crime fighting archer, and also known as Hawkeye) was an unexpected, but delightfully snarky surprise. Fraction's writing is, as I mentioned, quirky, and the stories tend to play out in somewhat non-linear fashion. Issues often start with Clint in some horrible position, and then back up to show us how he got there.

The fifth issue collected in this volume does veer towards over the top soap opera villainy, but I was able to stumble through without having to look up anyone in Wikipedia. I was also least fond of the art in this issue. I'm sure part of my dislike comes the fact that I'm not accustomed to having the artist on a graphic novel change from chapter to chapter, but it was rather jarring to have the characters look so different. Illustrator Javier Pulido does a fine job, but he's not David Aja.

I might have a bit of an art crush on David Aja. His lines are interesting to look at, and he makes an excellent use of shadows. It's such an interesting balance of flowing precision. There's a great sense of motion, and the characters are so expressive. I found myself coming back to the page where Clint focuses on making a trick shot again and again.

Isn't David Aja's art just the best? *sigh*

~Sarah, Adult Services