Book Reviews
The novel's lack of suspense may result from the fact that Jack, its apparent hero, remains at the periphery of the story until it is nearly over. Absolute Power is also not helped by the lamentable familiarity of many of its characters, from the thief with a deep sense of honor to the former public defender who can't quite make the materialistic leap to corporate law.... Mr. Baldacci, a Washington-based attorney, brings an insider's savvy to his tale of unfolding political scandal, but tighter plotting would have helped him even more.
Jean Hanff Korelitz - New York Times
For any thriller to truly thrill, the plot, action and characters must cohere in a way that doesn't prompt that "oh-yeah-right" feeling—at least not too often. With this much anticipated first novel, Absolute Power, David Baldacci manages that trick. The latest lawyer-turned-novelist sensation delivers a well-paced, intricate book that just might catapult him into the front ranks of commercial fiction writers.... Deftly rendered by Baldacci, the story keeps the pages turning—fast.
USA Today
[A] sizzler of a first novel.... Baldacci doesn't peer too deeply into his characters' souls, and his prose is merely functional...but he's also a first-rate storyteller who grabs readers by their lapels right away and won't let go.
Publishers Weekly
Baldacci's first novel could stand some polishing in plot and story structure. Here's the premise: the wick-dipping president gets into a drunken knife fight with his mistress; the Secret Service rescues him but kills her; and scandal will erupt unless all witnesses are eliminated. —Gilbert Taylor
Booklist
Expect to see lots of this first-time novelist.... Absolute Power is already catching fire.... [A] page-turning thriller.... Baldacci combines all the needed elements: power, money, sex, intrigue, thwarted love, a few heroes, and more than a few villains. —Rebecca S. Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights
Library Journal