Rating: 
Summary: Baldacci phones this one in
Review: For sake of argument, let's just accept the far fetched premise that the mega-evil "Jackson" can accomplish anything (such as fixing the national lottery), can find out any information about any person, can disguise himself as anyone - even mimicking their voices, and he is a ruthless killer who will eliminate anyone who interferes with his schemes. The heroine, Luann, obviously knows this and rightfully fears Jackson because of this. Yet she explicitly defies Jackson's order never return to the USA. And she does it in grand style by buying a mansion on a huge piece of land in her mother's hometown, and she files a tax return - all under the assumed name that Jackson set up for her! And then she wonders how Jackson found out?!? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Reading this book makes you feel you are watching a bad movie on late-night cable. You know the plot contrived, and the characters are cliches, and the dialogue is ridiculous, yet somehow you just keep watching... It got hard to focus on the pages because I kept rolling my eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: Another WINNER for Baldacci
Review: The reason I love the way David Baldacci writes are many and THE WINNER is another example of a great page-turner. His writing is very compelling--one can become involved in the story on the first page. His books are very thrilling with a lot of twists and turns. There is always an evil villain that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Oftentimes I'll have trouble sleeping if I read Baldacci before going to bed! My heart does so race! My favorite books by this author also have a touch of romance, which fits the bill for my favorite 'happily ever after' books. THE WINNER has all of the above ingredients, I'm happy to say. LuAnn Tyler, a twenty-year old down on her luck mother agrees to help throw the lottery (against her better judgment). The man who makes all of this possible (Mr. Jackson) is an evil genius whose plan slowly unravels ten years later due to a newspaper reporter's inquisitiveness. Mr. Jackson will eliminate anyone who tries to get to close to him. Anyway, you get the picture......
So, if you want to read a wonderful story that will keep you glued to a great book, try THE WINNER--you will be the winner for having read it!
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable events and characters ruin interesting story
Review: The idea is fascinating- what would you do if someone offered you a guaranteed chance to win 100 million and all you had to do was to keep your mouth shut? What would you do? How would you spend the money?Of course nothing is that simple, or you wouldn't have this third rate "thriller." Naturally the person who "wins" is flawed and on the same day she is to buy the winning ticket gets involved with what looks like a murder, with her as the murderer. Of course.
And it goes downhill from there, one unbelievable thing after another happens, stretching even the most open "John Grisham" minded minds. The main villain here continently speaks in "expose," like some James Bond villain, telling his would be victims exactly how he did things. This is lazy writing folks, show, don't "tell."
There are "amazing" coincidences that pop up in the book, connections between characters that you never see coming because they are not necessary to tell the story, people being able to anticipate other's actions- 100% of the time, the list just goes on.
The story also skips a ten year period that would have been interesting and helpful to character development. Instead the ten year period is used as a handy way to explain away an changes in the characters.
Good idea, lazy execution.
Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: Extemely well done! A story that takes twists and turns right up to the end-an end that left me smiling and excited to read another of Baldacci's books. It makes you think -What would I have done given the opportunity? A very nice reading . (A)
Rating: 
Summary: If only I could become a WINNER, I'd jump a the chance...
Review: Read it! Read it! Read it! I really enjoyed this suspense-thriller. The story of LuAnn Tyler was well put together. It was hard to put the book down. Each time I did I wanted to find out what happened next. There were some bits which seemed too sensationalized, like the fight scene in the end between Jackson and LuAnn's boyfriend. We read this book for our book club and those who read it really enjoyed it. I want to read another Balducci book but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Rating:
Summary: The winner strikes out
Review: You might think that fixing a $100 million lottery would be rather difficult, but according to The Winner's antangonist Mr. "Mysterious" Jackson it is quite easy! No other explanation is given on how someone could rig the lottery other than people are easily bribed and - don't you know - the last lottery was corrupt as well! It doesn't matter really, the book suffers from a pretty weak story and one dimensional characters. You get twist after twist - standard fair for a thriller, but nothing that is remotely suprising. The protangonist is your stereotypical big boobed heroine who is not only immensely smart and beautiful, but incredibly strong as well. In one scene she gets into a wood chopping contest with a lumberjack and not only does she quickly start to out pace him, she finishes his pile after he has to rest from over exertion from trying to keep up with her. And she can leap huge buildings in a single bound! Come on Mr. Baldacci how about some flaws in the protangonist, she's supposed to be human right? The antangonist "Mr. Jackson" seems to be modeled after the character "Kaiser Sose" from The Usual Suspects. Except he isn't half as interesting. Indeed he seems to have great power, but the author never bothers to explain much of it so it doesn't feel very authentic. What's even worse about the character perspectives is that the author frequently changes from one person's view to anothers, sometimes in the same paragraph. It gets a little confusing when you are reading Luanne's chapter and suddenly you get another persons point of view regarding LuAnne (usually admiring one of her many attributes). The story is moved along by a bunch of very unlikely coincidences and wild twists that are explained by some wild tall tails. Mr. Donovan the maniac reporter locks onto LuAnne based on the statistic that 75% of all lottery winners go bankrupt. He sees that 12 people straight won the lottery without going bankrupt and decides that's just impossible (a pretty amusing conclusion considering the premise of a lottery fix being pretty easy). He of course remembers LuAnne from the bunch and locks onto her. And where does the 75% bankruptcy statistic come from? I'm not sure, since the actual number varies depending on who you get it from (lottery or opponents of the lottery) but generally it is believed to be much closer to 20-30% (still a very scary statistic). Even with a rate of 75% a stretch of 12 winners probably wouldn't seem THAT unuasual when you are looking over a period of 40-50 years. Certainly not enough to justify the intensity at which he goes after her - the first time he confronts her involves a car chase which just about kills the both of them along with a bystander (who just happens to be some sort of ex-spy and involved with working on LuAnne's security fence). Oh boy. Anyway, I can't recomend this book. Too many predictable turns, bogus explanations, and poor character development.
Rating:
Summary: White Trash Meets Millions
Review: David Baldacci is a truly gifted writer. He has that unique ability to paint a picture such that one can actually picture themselves in the trailer with LuAnn, holding our breaths as we wish her the best in making her escape. I had a hard time putting this book down. In fact, I finished it in two days. After winning her millions and making a successful break, we are re-introduced to LuAnn a decade later. The two LuAnn's are not even comprable--a testimony to what millions and proper tutoring can do! For anyone who enjoys suspensful fiction, this is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: The Book is a Winner
Review: This is a great story because it allows you to think about what you would do in Luann Taylor's (Main Character) situation. The question is: Does she want to win the lottery? She is approached by a strange man who says he can make this happen. She is dirt poor and does not know what to do. This could be her only shot to do something with her life and she can't let it pass her by.
A great read for entertainment and an interesting look at the lottery industry. Baldacci keeps you turning the page until the end.
Rating:
Summary: RAGS TO RICHES
Review: this was a superb book by david baldacci and personally my favorite so far by this author this story keeps with the old adage that there is nothing for free without a catch
Rating:
Summary: Great Beach Reading!
Review: This is the perfect novel to take with you on a relaxing vacation and read at the beach. The book is fast paced and suspenseful with very intriguing characters. The story centers around LuAnn Tyler, a poor desparate woman who is caught in a situation from which there is no escape. Enter a mysterious man by the name of Jackson who offers a way out of her troubles that all of us wish could happen to us. That is, to be assurred of buy the winning ticket in a 100 million dollar lottery. LuAnn is reluctant to do this because she feels it is too "dishonest." Yeah right! Anyway her situation keeps gets to the point where taking Jackson's offer is the only choice. LuAnn retires with the money and disappears for 10 years as to the agreement with Jackson. The story should end there but lo and behold, LuAnn decides to disobey Jackson's orders to disaappear. Of course Jackson is the one person on the planet whose orders you never disobey. Such is the setup for a nail bitting fast-paced tale. I would have rated this book slightly higher but I feel the author went way overboard in portraying Jackson's abilities. He would have us believe that Jackson could make-up himself to passably look like any individual, male or female and also be able to talk like the person. Some of Jackson's abilities and resources go way beyond what even Bruce Wayne (Batman) had.
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