Rating: 
Summary: Exciting and engaging!
Review: Baldacci definitely has a hold on the ability to keep a reader guessing! While I might take him to task about the incredible (if truly believable) powers of the main character LuAnn, his creation of Jackson, the nemesis, is simply scrumptious. Baldacci weaves a tale that is both fun to read and heart-pounding at the same time. I enjoyed this as much or more than "Total Control". I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: The book was umm, adequate.
Review: I almost put the book down when I read that LuAnn, the heroine, bested a man splitting firewood, (who had done it all his life) and left him panting for breath. It would have been more believable, although the author makes sure you know she has incredible physical strength, if it had been a man who was in good physical shape, but hadn't done it all his life. Not to say the book is not a good one. Parts are brilliant, inventive and suspenseful, but LuAnn is just a bit too much a super-hero woman and digesting her just gives me an upset tummy.
Rating: 
Summary: Baldacci Disappoints!
Review: It seems each of Baldacci's books is half as good as his previous effort. With a predictable storyline and shallow unbelievable characters, The Winner would have you believe that someone could fix a national lottery only to have someone else claim the prize. The entire F.B.I. is unable to solve any aspect of the case but a newspaper reporter acting alone solves it 10 years after the fact in a month or two. The only reason ther is a book at all is because the main character (LuAnne)decides that even with 100 million dollars, she must return to the United States from overseas to live in the town where mother was born. While I understand you must suspend belief for this type of fiction, Baldacci asked too much of me this time around.
Rating:
Summary: The saga of an all-too-human everyday heroine!
Review: This is a "Baldacci Best". It's even more riveting than "Absolute Power". I stayed on the edge of my seat with LuAnn/Catherine every step of the way. The idea of winning the lottery is everyone's dream so we all relate to the idea as well as the ideals--and probably would be all too susceptible to the same weaknesses as our characters. We know LuAnn is strong, both physically and emotionally but it would have been nice to see here in a more prominent use of those strengths. Perhaps in the movie... It's great to have the "good" guy and the "little" guy triumph! All the traditional characters are there--the ultimate bad guy, the kindly uncle, the smart kid, the hero on the white horse, and the tough, human heroine. Baldacci gives it all to us in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow at the begining, but picks up eventually
Review: It was O.K. The first 200 pages were interesting but lacked the suspense of Baldacci's others. However, it did eventually pick up, and the last 250 pages were VERY good. Overall, it is worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: The Winner is a worthy successor to Absolute Power
Review: Absolute Power was an enjoyable quick read and much better than the movie. Total Control was a relative disappointment and I passed by Baldacci's "latest" for a few weeks as a result. That was my loss. The Winner is a most enjoyable quick read and, properly handled by "Hollywood", will gross more than Absolute Power. The antagonist is loosely but effectively borrowed from "The Usual Suspects". Kevin Spacey, call your agent. "Mr. Jackson" is every bit as able and evil as Kaiser Soze (sp?), but more believable. The protagonist is superwoman: so attractive, so troubled, so good, so intelligent, so athletic, so motherly, so decent, so... So what if she is absolutely unbelievable. The suspension of disbelief has always been required by all fiction media, don't deny Baldacci his LuAnn any more than you would deny Fleming his Bond or Clancy his Ryan. Bottom line: a very good, very quick read.
Rating: 
Summary: Outrageous Plot
Review: "The Winner" makes for compelling reading. But once you are through with the book, it is difficult to shrug off the feeling of having been cheated. It is for sure a sizzling read. You keep turning the pages, almost breathlessly wanting to know what happens next and that, after all, is what a good thriller should be. Except that in this case the plot ios so outrageous--one individual fixing the US government lottery--that you want to the ask sue the author for taking his readers for a ride. That Martin Riggs character and also Charlie are both utterly boring people, hanging around LuAnn Tyler like faithful poodles. LuAnn herself is an interesting creation. Committed to her daughter and wallowing in poverty and an absuive relationship and accepting an offer that few would refuse. Interesting enough woman. But the whole intrigue that she gets caught in, with all the close shaves and the coincidences, is so contrived that you can't really feel good about the book. But Baldacci, without resorting to explicit sex scenes, does create the portrait of a really leggy, sexy women. Just that kept me reading on!
Rating:
Summary: Baldacci is a Winner...
Review: I was recently referred to "The Winner" by a friend of mine, and I'm glad I gave Baldacci a try. I am normally hesitant to read books like this, as the "thriller" genre is very hit-or-miss in my opinion. This one caught me off guard... in a good way. Baldacci wastes no paper telling his tale. Every chapter and every scene is relevant to the story, and there is very little filler added to this novel. The characters are not quite as well drawn as you might find in other novels, however this didn't bother me very much... in fact, I find that for this kind of story the characters don't need to be overcomplicated. Their motivations are clear-cut, and made sense to me for the most part (The only exception to this would be the Charlie character's decision to remain with LuAnn throughout the book... I suppose it can be chalked up to Charlie's drifter tendencies.). As usual, I found myself rooting for the bad guy, who is quite well-realized and "made" this book for me. All in all, the plot twists and crisp writing made this book and Baldacci a welcome addition to my collection. Baldacci is easily an equal talent to Grisham, however I would have to draw the line before I award him Ludlum status...
Rating:
Summary: An absolute thrill ride. One of Baldacci's best!
Review: David Baldacci set the bar high for himself with his first huge hit, ABSOLUTE POWER (which later became a movie starring Clint Eastwood). He also reaches that bar with this effort, THE WINNER. Combining a plot not previously explored in popular fiction with believable characters and great writing, Baldacci produces a book worthy of a future screenplay.The heroine, LuAnn Tyler, is a young Southern woman who receives an offer she can't refuse...an offer to win millions of dollars in a lottery that is fixed. The offer is made by a mysterious man named Jackson. As the novel progresses, Jackson develops into one of the most brilliant, calculating antagonists of recent memory. The man seems unstoppable! LuAnn's bodyguard Charlie is a constantly important character as is Matt Riggs, who is thrust into LuAnn's life by random chance. As the novel progresses, it thrives not only on the lottery scam but also LuAnn's love for her daughter and her desire to protect her at any cost...and it plays into the hands of the reader, making you ask yourself if YOU would make the same decisions and take the same risks as she had. This added element really adds to the reading experience. All in all, this is Baldacci's best work since Absolute Power. Hopefully, the trend will continue in his future works.
Rating:
Summary: Give me a Break
Review: Yeah right, let me win 100 million tax free. No problem I can live in another country.
I actually liked Jackson,(Jack's son)he was cool. I didn't like the stupidity of some of the other characters, like his sister.
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