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King & Maxwell Reading Order.

Quick Answer

Start with Split Second (2003).

A crime novel series by David Baldacci featuring two main protagonists, former Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell.

Where to start

Start with Split Second (2003).

Community Consensus

Low Debate

"The provided Reddit comments do not contain any discussion, recommendations, or information regarding the "King and Maxwell" reading order. The comments focus heavily on other series, particularly Discworld (recommending starting points like Mort, Guards, Guards, Witches Abroad, or Going Postal instead of The Color of Magic), The Locked Tomb (Gideon, Harrow, Nona the Ninth), and general reading lists/Bingo cards."

Key Reddit Advice

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Complete Series Reading Order

Publication Reading Order6 Titles

Why Publication Order?We recommend reading in Publication Order (default). This follows the author's release schedule, ensuring you experience plot twists, character growth, and world-building exactly as intended without spoilers.
Best Start Here
1

Split Second

Pub: 2003

Two Secret Service agents—one disgraced, one haunted—are forced together to investigate a series of mysterious assassinations linked to their past failures.

2

Hour Game

Pub: 2004

Plot details hidden until you finish "Split Second".

He's copying famous serial killers and the game has just begun. A woman is found murdered in the woods. It seems like a simple case but it soon escalates into a terrible nightmare. Someone is replicating the killing styles of the most infamous murderers of all time. No one knows this criminal's motives...or who will die next. Two ex-Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, have been hired to defend a man's innocence in a burglary involving an aristocratic, dysfunctional family. Then a series of secrets leads the partners right into the frantic hunt that is confounding even the FBI. Now King and Maxwell are playing the Hour Game, uncovering one horrifying revelation after another and putting their lives in danger. For the closer they get to the truth, the closer they get to the most shocking surprise of all.

3

Simple Genius

Pub: 2007

Plot details hidden until you finish "Hour Game".

Two private investigators probe mysterious deaths at a high-tech government campus, uncovering a terrifying classified secret that jeopardizes national security.

4

First Family

Pub: 2009

Plot details hidden until you finish "Simple Genius".

Following the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Simple Genius, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell return in David Baldacci's most heart-pounding thriller to date . . . FIRST FAMILYIt began with what seemed like an ordinary children's birthday party. Friends and family gathered to celebrate. There were balloons and cake, games and gifts. This party, however, was far from ordinary. It was held at Camp David, the presidential retreat. And it ended with a daring kidnapping . . . which immediately turned into a national security nightmare. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell were not looking to become involved. As former Secret Service agents turned private investigators, they had no reason to be. The FBI doesn't want them interfering. But years ago, Sean King saved the First Lady's husband, then a senator, from political disaster. Now, Sean is the one person the First Lady trusts, and she presses Sean and Michelle into the desperate search to rescue the abducted child. With Michelle still battling her own demons, and forces aligned on all sides against her and Sean, the two are pushed to the absolute limit. In the race to save an innocent victim, the line between friend and foe will become impossible to define . . . or defend.

5

The Sixth Man

Pub: 2011

Plot details hidden until you finish "First Family".

Edgar Roy – an alleged serial killer – is awaiting trial. He faces almost certain conviction. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called in by Roy’s attorney, Sean’s old friend and mentor Ted Bergin, to help work the case. But their investigation is derailed when Sean and Michelle find Bergin murdered. It is now up to them to ask the questions no one seems to want answered: Is Roy a killer? Who murdered Bergin? The more they dig into Roy’s past, the more they encounter obstacles, half-truths, dead-ends, false friends, and escalating threats from every direction. Their persistence puts them on a collision course with the highest levels of the government and the darkest corners of power. In a terrifying confrontation that will push Sean and Michelle to their limits, the duo may be permanently parted.

6

King and Maxwell

Pub: 2013

Plot details hidden until you finish "The Sixth Man".

"Sean King and Michelle Maxwell return in the latest blockbuster thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. Watch King & Maxwell, TNT's new series based on David Baldacci's blockbuster novels, on Mondays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) "--

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Frequently Asked Questions

What order should I read King & Maxwell in?

Start with Split Second (2003).

How many books are in King & Maxwell?

6 main books, published 2003–2013.

Can I read King & Maxwell out of order?

It's best not to. The books build on each other, so reading out of order spoils earlier twists.

Has King & Maxwell been adapted for TV or film?

TNT's King & Maxwell (2013).