Hour Game: a novel by David Baldacci

Intriguing but muddled, January 24, 2005****
I have always enjoyed David Baldacci's novels. I found Hour Game less satisfying than its predecessor, Split Second. Baldacci has created an intiguing novel about a serial killer who is killing victims in a manner which replicates the methods of a whole series of serial murderers. Interwoven with this are the complex interpersonal dynamics of a wealthy and dysfunctional Southern family, the Battles. To complicate matters further the author introduces a second murderer who appears to be replicating the work of the first.

Former Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have their hands full as they assist the police in trying to track down the killer. The interplay between their characters adds to the flavour of the novel but romance has not yet blossomed. They have their hands full in trying to avert more murders but they rise to the challenge.

Baldacci has adopted the James Patterson technique of short chapters but it does not seem well suited to this long and complex novel. This time the identity of the villain became clear to me well before the end, largely because the other likely villains had already been killed off. In that respect the author might have been wise to muddy the waters by keeping alive some other viable suspects.