Rating: 
Summary: yuppie mom vs. ex-CIA psychos
Review: This kind of stuff is great for travelling. You plunks down your bucks at the airport lounge; you gets your 700 pages of tough cops, beautiful and spunky women, and not-so-very well hidden goony bad guys. I liked the Lee Sawyer character, and the general premise was okay, but it was far less fun when the book was less about investigation and more about "...now see Sydney run."Although there are a couple of good twists concerning connections between various plot threads, one would have to be comatose to not see the final endgame. Baldacci makes only a couple of half-hearted attempts to distract us from the blaring neon lights that are our villains. The Sydney Archer character became increasingly ridiculous as the story went on. Trying to picture her single-handedly taking on a crew of ex-CIA psychopaths only resulted in cringing. The writing of the final shootout battle was basically nonexistent; instead we felt like we were being rushed to the finale. All-in-all, with reasonably low expectations, one won't be overly disappointed to have this book for layover reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A fast-paced, modern cloak-and-dagger adventure
Review: David Baldacci's Total Control careens on a collision course towards a firey conclusion. This fast-paced, modern mystery grips the reader from the first few pages, then refuses to release their attention until the last few. Baldacci keeps the tone taut with suspense and intrigue, allowing his audience to watch both sides of the story - both hero and villain - as they cat-and-mouse their way across the country. The heroine is an attactive attorney whose husband seems to be mixed up in some less than savory activites at the office. This is complicated by the fact that as an attorney, she represents his company, which throws her into a maelstrom of conflicting interests and circumstantial evidence that makes her look guilty. When her husband goes missing, she single-handedly tries to clear his name, then is thrust against her will into trying to clear her own. With no one on her side, she must covertly attempt to crack this case without aid from her employer (who disowns her), her husband (who cannot be found), and the law (who's looking for her). Baldacci balances the tense plot with break-neck action and a believable emotional side. The heroine makes believable mistakes and can act irrationally when her husband's safety is concerned, sometimes even seeming paralyzed with fear and grief, all while attempting to shield her young daughter from the chaos swirling around them. She also accomplishes herioc things without ever seeming man-ish. (There is a pseudo-sexual tension between her and a grizzly old cop that doesn't quite work, but thankfully Baldacci doesn't slum with so many popular authors who would force them to sleep together.) Baldacci shows some flashes of story-telling brilliance here. Though some may argue this book is far from "high art", it effectively accomplishes its goal: capture Total Control of its audience.
Rating: 
Summary: not bad
Review: I thought this book wasn't bad by today's standards. I like a lot of action in a story, however, and it fell somewhat short in that area. I enjoyed parts of it, especially the last couple of chapters, and any more that's about as good as the mainstream fiction work gets.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting Read
Review: Thought I had run out of good thriller authors to read but when I read Total control I was enlightened. Have since read two other Baldacci novels and have enjoyed all of them. Total Control is a fast paced, interesting story that's both technical and suspenseful without being bland or tedious.
Rating: 
Summary: Puerile writing
Review: The negative reviews by other readers here say it all. This is amateurish writing: The langugage is clumsy, the characeters inconsistent, silly, undeveloped, caricatures. Read something else.
Rating: 
Summary: total control
Review: david baldacci is a truly exciting writer have read two of his titles and will read more, great stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and entertaining
Review: A great read, full of suspence. Was sorry when I finished it!
Rating:
Summary: Totally A Page Turner
Review: From page one I got sucked into this book. I had to force myself to not read it in the evenings because I wanted to save the pages for my lunch breaks. All 692 pages were worth it. It was very suspenseful, believable, and intense. Instantly, I became sympathetic and defensive of the Archers. They seemed like the perfect couple who could do no wrong. Baldacci does a great job building the suspense and keeping you guessing on the outcomes. Even at the end there are a few surprises. The one draw back from this book was trying to keep track of all the characters and their significance with the plot. If you aren't going to read it consistently, you may forget who is who and what has happened. This book is full of information and hidden hints, and if you aren't reading carefully, you will miss out. Otherwise, it was a very entertaining novel. Baldacci is becoming one of my favorite authors. Happy reading! Ü
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: I hardly ever read but this book kept me wanting more and more. It's very good. You should read it if you haven't yet.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: Balducci writes in a simplistic style with few multi-syllable words which may give one the impression he is not especially intellectual, however I think he does this because he has learned in the publishing industry that faster and easier reads sell better. There were flashes of brilliance buried here and there in some turns of phrase. He probably could easily write at a higher level if there was a market for it, but today's standards are what they are. I was slightly annoyed at first at the short sentences and lack of inspired descriptive phraseology, but if the reader has a good imagination, it is easy to fill in the blanks. The story line seemed slow at first, the plot a bit convoluted and murky, but as it developed like a ray of sunshine emerging from a clouded sky, it became more interesting. I felt the character of Jason Archer was a bit two dimensional and his motives unclear so the reader was disinterested in his fate. However, Sydney, his wife and a lawyer with definite conflicts of interest, evolved into a strong protagonist and carried the story well. I found little suspense in general until the last few chapters, but that is normal for many books in this genre. My biggest criticism was the unrealistic fight scenes and gunplay toward the end. Obviously the author has never actually been involved first hand with this type of thing, yet there is no question he created a mood of suspense at that point. Also, no FBI agent would ever be allowed such aberrations from obeying the law during an investigation as did the supposedly experienced character who became infatuated with Sydney. But I did find as I stuck with it, the story became involving, the premise interesting and imaginative, a timely example of corporate greed, skulduggery and blackmail that escalates out of hand. Balducci obviously researched computer skills, knows the corporate jungle fairly well and writes in a relatively clear linear style without those annoying flashbacks that some authors seem to think are necessary. I would reccommend this book to fans of mystery fiction as an entertaining read and worth the effort.
-Barker Reviews
| 
