Absolute Power

In a heavily guarded mansion in a posh Virginia suburb, a man and a woman start to make love, trapping Luther Whitney, a career break-in artist, behind a secret wall. Then the passion turns deadly, and Luther is running into the night. Because what he has just seen is a brutal murder involving Alan Richmond, the president of the United States, the man with...Absolute Power. Amazon.com Review Can the President get away with murder? The fictional answer to this question results in a fast-paced page turner that combines political intrigue with gritty, hard-boiled suspense From Publishers Weekly Casting the president of the United States as a crazed villain isn’t a new idea. Fletcher Knebel worked it 30 years ago, in Night of Camp David but in this sizzler of a first novel, Baldacci, a D.C. attorney, proves that the premise still has long legs. The action begins when a grizzled professional cat burglar gets trapped inside the bedroom closet of one of the world’s richest men, only to witness, through a one-way mirror, two Secret Service agents kill the billionaire’s trampy young wife as she tries to fight off the drunken sexual advances of the nation’s chief executive. Running for his life, but not before he picks up a bloodstained letter opener that puts the president at the scene of the crime, the burglar becomes the target of a clandestine manhunt orchestrated by leading members of the executive branch. Meanwhile, Jack Graham, once a public defender and now a high-powered corporate attorney, gets drawn into the case because the on-the-lam burglar just happens to be the father of his former financee, a crusading Virginia prosecutor. Embroidering the narrative through assorted plot whorls are the hero’s broken romance; his conflict over selling out for financial success; the prosecutor’s confused love-hate for her burglar father; the relentless investigation by a northern Virginia career cop; the dilemma of government agents trapped in a moral catch-22; the amoral ambitions of a sexy White House Chief of Staff; and the old burglar’s determination to bring down the ruthless president. Meanwhile, lurking at the novel’s center like a venomous spider is the sociopathic president. Baldacci doesn’t peer too deeply into his characters’ souls, and his prose is merely functional?in both respects, he’s much closer to Grisham than to, say, Forsyth; but he’s also a first-rate storyteller who grabs readers by their lapels right away and won’t let go until they’ve finished his enthralling yarn. Major ad/promo; BOMC alternate; film rights sold to Castle Rock; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A first novel in the tradition of John Grisham, this major bestseller is a page-turner filled with murder, honor, loyalty, and betrayal and tells the tale of a young attorney who goes toe-to-toe with the White House to answer one question: Just how much can the president get away with? Can he get away with murder?

Publishers Weekly

Casting the president of the United States as a crazed villain isn't a new idea-Fletcher Knebel worked it 30 years ago, in Night of Camp David-but in this sizzler of a first novel, Baldacci, a D.C. attorney, proves that the premise still has long legs. The action begins when a grizzled professional cat burglar gets trapped inside the bedroom closet of one of the world's richest men, only to witness, through a one-way mirror, two Secret Service agents kill the billionaire's trampy young wife as she tries to fight off the drunken sexual advances of the nation's chief executive. Running for his life, but not before he picks up a bloodstained letter opener that puts the president at the scene of the crime, the burglar becomes the target of a clandestine manhunt orchestrated by leading members of the executive branch. Meanwhile, Jack Graham, once a public defender and now a high-powered corporate attorney, gets drawn into the case because the on-the-lam burglar just happens to be the father of his former finance, a crusading Virginia prosecutor. Embroidering the narrative through assorted plot whorls are the hero's broken romance; his conflict over selling out for financial success; the prosecutor's confused love-hate for her burglar father; the relentless investigation by a northern Virginia career cop; the dilemma of government agents trapped in a moral catch-22; the amoral ambitions of a sexy White House Chief of Staff; and the old burglar's determination to bring down the ruthless president. Meanwhile, lurking at the novel's center like a venomous spider is the sociopathic president. Baldacci doesn't peer too deeply into his characters' souls, and his prose is merely functional-in both respects, he's much closer to Grisham than to, say, Forsyth; but he's also a first-rate storyteller who grabs readers by their lapels right away and won't let go until they've finished his enthralling yarn. Major ad/promo; BOMC alternate; film rights sold to Castle Rock; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook. (Jan.)

In a heavily guarded mansion in a posh Virginia suburb, a man and a woman are about to embark on a night of passion, trapping an unsuspecting burglar behind a secret wall. Then the lovemaking turns deadly, and the witness is running into the night. Because what he has just seen is a brutal slaying involving the president of the United States. Luther Whitney is the career break-in artist who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alan Richmond is the charming U.S. president with the power to commit any crime. And Jack Graham is the young attorney caught in a vortex between absolute truth and...Absolute Power. In the midst of burgling a lavish mansion belonging to a prominent billionaire, Luther Whitney, an aging crook, is shocked to find the President of the United States in a lustful embrace with the billionaire's wife. However, when the president becomes violent with his lover, prompting Secret Service agents to murder her in cold blood, Luther finds himself running for his life. Now, to clear his name, Luther must expose the most powerful man in the world A burglar, trapped behind a secret wall, witnesses the murder of a woman by the president of the U.S., setting a course of events that pits individuals against the government