David Baldacci

David Baldacci, known by his pseudonym David Baldacci Ford (born August 5, 1960) is an American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers.

Early life and education
David Baldacci was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Henrico High School and earned a B.A. in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C.

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 sold internationally. To date, Baldacci has published 46 novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger readers.

Personal life and philanthropy
Baldacci resides in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his family. He has a daughter and a son.

Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, are the co-founders of 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.

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 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 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, 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 and Rebecca Romijn starred.

The Christmas Train, Baldacci's eighth novel, was adapted in 2017 by Hallmark Channel as a Hallmark Hall of Fame feature presentation. The TV movie starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack and was directed by Ron Oliver.

Baldacci's novel One Summer was adapted in 2021 for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 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.

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 and Katie James series

 * The Whole Truth (2008)
 * Deliver Us From Evil (2010)

John Puller series

 * Zero Day (2011)
 * The Forgotten (2012)
 * The Escape (2014)
 * No Man's Land (2016)
 * John Puller guests in the Atlee Pine thriller Daylight (2020)

Will Robie series

 * The Innocent (2012)
 * The Hit (2013)
 * The Target (2014)
 * The Guilty (2015)
 * End Game (2017)

Amos Decker series

 * 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

 * 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)

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)

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)

Freddy and the French Fries series

 * Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! (Little, Brown and Company, 2005), Baldacci's debut novel 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, 2013), Book 6 in the "Cahills vs. Vespers" series of The 39 Clues books

Vega Jane series

 * The Finisher (Scholastic Press, 2014), published in the U.K. as The Secrets of Sorcery
 * The Keeper (Scholastic Press, 2015), published in the U.K. as The Maze of Monsters
 * The Width of the World (Scholastic Press, 2017), published in the U.K. as The Rebels' Revolt
 * The Stars Below (Scholastic Press, 2019), published in the U.K. as The End of Time

Adaptations

 * Absolute Power (1997 film), starring Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, and Ed Harris
 * King & Maxwell (2013 TV series), starring Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn
 * Wish You Well (2013 film), starring Mackenzie Foy, Josh Lucas, and Ellen Burstyn
 * The Christmas Train (2017 film), starring Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover and Joan Cusack
 * One Summer (2021 film), starring Sam Page, Sarah Drew and Amanda Schull

Interviews

 * Profile in Newsweek, 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