David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The genre came ...

s. His novels are published in over 45 languages and published in over 80 countries, having sold over 130 million copies worldwide.

Early life and education

David Baldacci was born and raised in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He is of Italian descent. He graduated from Henrico High School and earned a B.A. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from Virginia Commonwealth University and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Career

Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them. He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success. While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write '' Absolute Power''. Published in 1996, it was an international best-seller. To date, Baldacci has published 50 novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.

Personal life and philanthropy

Baldacci lives in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

, with his family. He has a daughter and a son. Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, founded the Wish You Well Foundation, which works to combat illiteracy in the United States by funding adult literacy programs. Baldacci became involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society after his sister, author Sharon Baldacci, was diagnosed with MS. In 2008 the Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind. Baldacci has served for more than a decade on the board of trustees of the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2019, he donated $1 million to the home.

Works

Baldacci's first novel, '' Absolute Power'', tells the story of a fictional American president and his

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

agents who are willing to commit murder in order to cover up the accidental death of a woman with whom the President was having an affair. It was adapted as a film, '' Absolute Power'' (1997), starring

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

and Gene Hackman. Baldacci wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel '' Wish You Well''; the movie was shot on location in southwest Virginia with Academy Award winner

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

, Josh Lucas, and Mackenzie Foy in the lead roles. Baldacci was a consulting producer on '' King & Maxwell'', a TNT television series based on his characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell.

Jon Tenney Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's '' The Closer'' and continued in its spin-off '' Major Crimes''. Early life Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mot ...

and

Rebecca Romijn Rebecca Alie O'Connell ( , ; later Romijn-Stamos; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The P ...

starred. '' The Christmas Train'', Baldacci's eighth novel, was adapted in 2017 by Hallmark Channel as a

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

feature presentation. The TV movie starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley,

Danny Glover Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...

and

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...

and was directed by Ron Oliver. Baldacci's novel ''One Summer'' was adapted in 2021 for

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Mystery (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel (HMC) and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM)) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel was spun ...

and starred Sam Page, Sarah Drew and Amanda Schull. Baldacci's novels have been published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales as of 2018.

Bibliography

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series

# '' Split Second'' (2003) # '' Hour Game'' (2004) # '' Simple Genius'' (2007) # '' First Family'' (2009) # '' The Sixth Man'' (2011) # '' King and Maxwell'' (2013)

The Camel Club series

# '' The Camel Club'' (2005) # '' The Collectors'' (2006) # '' Stone Cold'' (2007) # '' Divine Justice'' (2008) # '' Hell's Corner'' (2010)

A. Shaw series

Shaw is an enigmatic intelligence operative. # '' The Whole Truth'' (2008) # '' Deliver Us From Evil'' (2010)

John Puller series

Puller is a US Army veteran and CID military investigator. # '' Zero Day'' (2011) # '' The Forgotten'' (2012) # '' The Escape'' (2014) # '' No Man's Land'' (2016) # ''Daylight'' (2020, Atlee Pine crossover)

Will Robie series

Robie is a seasoned and highly skilled hitman. # '' The Innocent'' (2012) # '' The Hit'' (2013) # '' The Target'' (2014) # '' The Guilty'' (2015) # ''End Game'' (2017)

Amos Decker series

Decker is a veteran police detective turned FBI consultant. He has hyperthymesia which has left him with perfect recall. # '' Memory Man'' (2015) # ''The Last Mile'' (2016) # ''The Fix'' (2017) # ''The Fallen'' (2018) # ''Redemption'' (2019) # ''Walk The Wire'' (2020) # '' Long Shadows'' (2022)

Atlee Pine series

An FBI agent searching for her abducted sister. # ''Long Road to Mercy'' (2018) # ''A Minute to Midnight'' (2019) # ''Daylight'' (2020, John Puller crossover) # ''Mercy'' (2021)

Aloysius Archer series

# ''One Good Deed'' (2019) # ''A Gambling Man'' (2021) # ''Dream Town'' (2022)

Travis Devine series

# ''The 6:20 Man'' (2022) # ''The Edge'' (2023) # ''To Die For'' (2024)

Mickey Gibson series

# ''Simply Lies'' (2023)

Stand-alone novels

* '' Absolute Power'' (1996) * '' Total Control'' (1997) * '' The Winner'' (1998) * '' The Simple Truth'' (1998) * ''Saving Faith'' (1999) * '' Wish You Well'' (2001) * '' Last Man Standing'' (2001) * '' The Christmas Train'' (2003) * '' True Blue'' (2009) * ''One Summer'' (2011) * ''A Calamity of Souls'' (2024) * ''Strangers in Time'' (2025)

Short stories and novellas

* ''Waiting for Santa'' (short story) (2002) * ''No Time Left'' (short story) (2012) * ''Bullseye'' (short story) Will Robie / Camel Club (2014) * ''The Mighty Johns'' also known as ''The Final Play'' (novella) (2021)

For young readers

Freddy and the French Fries series

# ''Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive!'' (

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

, 2005), Baldacci's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

for young readers # ''Freddy and the French Fries: The Mystery of Silas Finklebean'' (Little, Brown and Company, 2006)

The 39 Clues series

* '' Day of Doom'' (

Scholastic Publishing Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

, 2013), Book 6 in the " Cahills vs. Vespers" series of ''The 39 Clues'' books

Vega Jane series

# ''The Finisher'' (

Scholastic Press Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

, 2014), published in the U.K. as ''The Secrets of Sorcery'' # ''The Keeper'' (

, 2015), published in the U.K. as ''The Maze of Monsters'' # ''The Width of the World'' (

, 2017), published in the U.K. as ''The Rebels' Revolt'' # ''The Stars Below'' (

, 2019), published in the U.K. as ''The End of Time''

Adaptations

* ''Absolute Power'' (1997 film), starring

, Gene Hackman, and

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...

* ''King & Maxwell'' (2013 TV series), starring

and

* ''Wish You Well'' (2013 film), starring Mackenzie Foy, Josh Lucas, and

* ''The Christmas Train'' (2017 film), starring Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley,

and

* ''One Summer'' (2021 film), starring Sam Page, Sarah Drew and Amanda Schull

Awards

References

External links

Official website
* *
Freddy and the French Fries
website
David Baldacci at site Goodreads.com

Interviews

Profile
in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', March 2009
Modern Signed Books BlogTalkRadio Interview with Rodger Nichols about No Man's Land October 2016

Modern Signed Books
interviews David Baldacci, May 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldacci, David 1960 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American thriller writers Henrico High School alumni Writers from Richmond, Virginia People from Vienna, Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia Commonwealth University alumni Virginia lawyers Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Virginia Screenwriters from Virginia American people of Italian descent