David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960) is a bestselling American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers. One of the world’s favorite storytellers and a global bestselling author, with twenty-one of his novels making the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. In 2011 he was inducted into the International Crime Writing Hall of Fame. His books are published in over forty-five languages and in more than eighty countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television.

Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them. He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success.

While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write Absolute Power. Published in 1996, it was an international best seller. To date, Baldacci has published 40 best-selling novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.

Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, are the co-founders of the Wish You Well Foundation, which works to combat illiteracy in the United States. Baldacci became involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society after his sister, author Sharon Baldacci, was diagnosed with MS.

Baldacci's first novel, Absolute Power, tells the story of a fictional American president and his Secret Service agents who are willing to commit murder in order to cover up the accidental death of a woman with whom the President was having an affair. It was adapted as a film, Absolute Power (1997), starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman.

Baldacci wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel Wish You Well; the movie was shot on location in southwest Virginia with Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn, Josh Lucas, and Mackenzie Foy in the lead roles.

Baldacci was a consulting producer on King & Maxwell, a TNT television series based on his characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn starred.

The Christmas Train, Baldacci's eighth novel, was adapted in 2017 by Hallmark Channel as a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature presentation. The TV movie starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack and was directed by Ron Oliver.

Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018.

Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 6:20 Man comes a twisting psychological thriller in which two women—one a former detective, the other a dangerous con artist—go head-to-head in an electrifying game of cat and mouse.

Mickey Gibson, single mother and former detective, leads a hectic life similar to that of many moms: juggling the demands of her two small children with the tasks of her job working remotely for ProEye, a global investigation company that hunts down wealthy tax and credit cheats.  

When Mickey gets a call from a colleague named Arlene Robinson, she thinks nothing of Arlene’s unusual request for her to go inventory the vacant home of an arms dealer who cheated ProEye’s clients and fled. That is, until she arrives at the mansion and discovers a dead body in a secret room—and nothing is as it seems.

Not only does the arms dealer not exist, but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Langhorne, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye.  

In the blink of an eye, Gibson has become a prime suspect in a murder investigation—and now her job is on the line until she proves that she was set up.

Before long, Gibson is locked in a battle of wits with a brilliant woman with no name, a hidden past, and unknown motives—whose end game is as mysterious as it is deadly.  

Reviews

"Baldacci keeps the story moving forward with good female main characters...there is redemption. A few of the characters are hard to follow until the end." - Audiobook Store

“Baldacci is at his best in this stand-alone thriller about an ex-cop and single mother who’s drawn into a murder investigation…Baldacci keeps the twists coming fast and furious in this tense page-turner.” - Publishers Weekly

“Two narrators prove twice as nice in this engaging audiobook from a thriller titan. Lisa Flanagan does the heavy lifting, smoothly portraying the female characters…Corey Carthew is kept busy voicing a multitude of male characters, mostly from law enforcement or business…Flanagan and Carthew work together seamlessly to ratchet up the tension. The result is an exciting thrill ride for listeners.” - AudioFile

"David Baldacci is a master storyteller" - Associated Press

"David Baldacci is one of the all-time best thriller authors" - Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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