Review of 'The First Gentleman: A Thriller" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

 

 

This is the third book by James Patterson and Bill Clinton, who collaborated on The President Is Missing and The President's Daughter. The authors make a good team since Patterson has a deft hand with mystery thrillers and Clinton has the inside scoop on politics and the presidency.

In this book the president of the United States, Madeline (Maddie) Parson Wright, is working on a groundbreaking piece of legislation.



President Wright's bill, which she calls The Grand Bargain, would ensure that the U.S. government could meet its ongoing obligations to the people, seize future opportunities, and maintain the capacity to address any threats. Wright is working both sides of the aisle to drum up support for The Grand Bargain, and she's optimistic about getting the legislation passed.



President Wright has other concerns as well. Her husband Cole Wright - The First Gentleman - is being re-scrutinized for decades-old scandals.



When Cole was an undergraduate at Dartmouth, and a champion on the Big Green football team, rumors spread that he raped a girl. The gossip was squashed and the story never made it to the newspapers or digital media.



A few years later, when Cole was a star football player with the The New England Patriots, a cheerleader named Suzanne Bonanno - whom Cole was dating - disappeared. Cole was a suspect, and there were several police investigations, but Cole was cleared of responsibility.



Now an investigative journalist called Garrett Wilson, who's published books about a CIA mole and a female soldier who should have received the Medal of Honor, is penning a book about Cole Wright. Wilson wants to PROVE The First Gentleman is guilty of rape and murder, (presumably) to get justice for the victims.



Wilson's researcher and romantic partner, Black attorney Brea Locke, is taking a sabbatical from her position as a law professor at Yale to help Garrett investigate Cole's past.





As part of their inquiries, Garrett and Brea contact Dartmouth alumni who might know something about the rape rumors. Brea gets in touch with former student journalists, as well as Cole's housemates, who can talk about his behavior. Brea wants to speak to the alleged rape victim, but the girl's identity is hard to unearth.



Regarding the missing cheerleader, Suzanne Bonanno, Brea speaks to the woman's family, and Garrett visits Suzanne's old boyfriend Tony Romero - a gangster who doesn't appreciate the attention. In fact Garrett is beat up for his efforts. Garrett and Brea also try to see the police files regarding Suzanne's disappearance, but EVERY PAGE is missing, which is explained as 'this happens sometimes.'



While Garrett and Brea are collecting information for Garrett's book, they stir up a lot of interest. They're followed; receive threatening phone calls; get ominous messages; are assaulted; have their belongings snatched; etc. Some people believe Cole is guilty, others believe he's innocent, and both sides stick an oar in.

Then, Suzanne Bonanno's remains are discovered, with a wristwatch that once belonged to Cole Wright!!





The upshot is that Cole is put on trial for murder. Thus President Maddie Wright must negotiate her Grand Bargain legislation - and take care of other responsibilities - while her husband is being tried. Maddie does much of this from a secure room in the courthouse.





In the midst of this, the Vice-President is hospitalized with colon cancer; there's infighting and backbiting among members of Maddie's administration; the U.S. threatens China for blockading Philippine fishing grounds; and more. All in all, it's a fraught situation.

Bit by bit, the story approaches a climax, and there are surprising revelations before the perpetrator is unveiled.

The novel rings true vis a vis the political machinations, but the murder mystery is less realistic. The killer's long-range plans are too complicated to ring true, and there are several mysterious characters, such as a gun-toting shooter; a furtive surveiller; a man who calls himself Brother; and more. This makes it hard to figure out who's who.



This novel is the least successful of the three Patterson-Clinton books. The President is Missing and The President's Daughter are exciting thrillers with lots of action. This novel, on the other hand, is slow-moving, repetitive, and lacking in excitement. Also, (for me) the romance between Garrett and Brea is overdone.



That said, I'd probably read another Patterson-Clinton book because the men make an interesting writing team.


James Patterson and Bill Clinton

3 stars

Review of "The Children of Eve: A Charlie Parker Thriller" by John Connolly

In this 22nd book in the 'Charlie Parker' series, the Maine private investigator searches for a missing man. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus.



PI Charlie Parker has a connection to the supernatural world, including his daughter Jennifer, who died as a child. Ghostly Jennifer feels compelled to protect her father, and refuses to go on to the afterlife despite the exhortations of other spirits.



In this book Jennifer visits Charlie while he's asleep, to alert him of inchoate danger. This may have something to do with the fact that Jennifer hears children calling, "the same words repeated like an incantation or a summoning, howling like animals desperate to be found." Jennifer's forecasting is prescient, as Charlie soon discovers.



After attending the sculpture exhibit of his acquaintance Zetta Nadeau, Parker agrees to look for Zetta's missing boyfriend.



Zetta's vanished beau, Wyatt Riggins, is a former military man who's been working in a local marijuana dispensary called BrightBlown. Riggins left without saying goodbye or taking his belongings, but his cell phone - found in a coffee shop - has a text message reading RUN.



Parker discovers that Riggins disappearance is connected with the abduction of four children from the compound of Blas Urrea, a Mexican cartel kingpin.



Urrea wants the children back, and he sends two ruthless killers - Eugene Seeley and La Señora - to retrieve the stolen youngsters.





The kidnapping was a complicated affair involving a chain of people, and Seeley and La Señora start with the first miscreant in Mexico. They torture the man for information, then rip out his heart and move on to the next culprit. The string of perpetrators eventually leads Seeley and La Señora to Maine, where a loose conglomeration of criminals and drug distributors have the children.

The American malefactors include a ruthless family called the Dolfes;



Devin Vaughn and his advisor Aldo Bern, who run the BrightBlown dispensary as well as a widespread criminal enterprise;



and an older couple called the Swishers.



Most of the novel follows two threads: the bloody mission of Seeley and La Señora to find the stolen children; and the attempts of the Maine criminals to protect themselves and neutralize the killers. Parker is tangentially involved because he's looking for Wyatt Riggins, who's hiding from Seeley and La Señora.



Along the way Charlie gets beat up and hospitalized, and he receives help from his usual posse: Angel and Louis - two tough birds who like nothing better than killing bad guys;



and Paulie and Tony Fauci - a couple of bruisers who are good at surveillance AND the rough stuff.



This book isn't among the best in the Charlie Parker series, partly because Parker is only marginally involved in the main plot, and - though there are supernatural elements in the story - most of them don't involve Charlie.

On the upside, Parker - who was a loner - is now in a relationship with police detective Sharon Macy;



and Charlie gets a visit from his college-bound daughter Sam, who confides she wants to be a PI like Charlie.



This is one of those mystery series in which the protagonists age over time, and Parker's body is starting to show the effects of repeatedly getting bruised and shot over the years. Fingers crossed that Charlie carries on for a while longer.

I'd recommend the book to fans of the series. For other mystery aficionados, I'd suggest starting with an earlier Charlie Parker novel.

Thanks to Netgalley, John Connolly, and Atria for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5stars

Review of "Now or Never: Thirty One On the Run (A Stephanie Plum Novel) by Janet Evanovich

In this 31st book in the comical 'Stephanie Plum' cozy mystery series, the bail enforcement agent has become engaged to both men in her life.



Stephanie's two fiancés are:

◙ Joe Morelli - a New Jersey cop whom Stephanie's known since childhood. Stephanie feels comfortable hanging out with Morelli and his dog Bob, and Morelli's mother makes the best lasagna in the world.



◙ Ranger - a security expert who taught Stephanie her bond enforcement skills. Ranger watches Stephanie's back and sometimes helps her nab defendants who fail to appear (FTAs).



While Stephanie tries to decide between the two hotties, she has bail jumpers to catch. Stephanie and her sidekick Lula are notoriously inept at picking up fugitives from justice, but the gals always give it a good try.



Lula is flamboyant and fun, with her colorful wigs and too small spandex clothes that show off her bosom and bottom. Don't call Lula fat though, because she'll slug you with her pistol-packing purse.



Stephanie only gets paid when she picks up defendants who are FTA, and she needs money to pay for her new bed, bought to replace the one lost when her apartment was firebombed (again). So Stephanie is anxious to nab some bail jumpers. This time, Stephanie's FTAs are:

◙ Bruno Jug, an aging New Jersey gangster charged with tax evasion, which - as Lula observes - is what the Feds use when they can't prove racketeering, narcotics trafficking, extortion, and murder for hire. Jug is officially a fresh fruit distributor, and rumors say he's getting senile.



◙ Eugene Fleck, 26-year-old man, thought to be 'Robin Hoodie', a good samaritan who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Eugene's fingerprints were found on a stolen UPS truck whose packages were distributed to homeless people.



◙ Jerry Bottles, a 62-year-old plumber who exposes himself to women. When Stephanie and Lula catch up with Bottles, he claims his member is too special to keep hidden away.



◙ Zoran Djordjevic (aka Fang), who thinks he's a vampire. Zoran has been arrested for assaulting women, and several women in his neighborhood are missing.



For the majority of the book, Stephanie and Lula chase down these bail jumpers, who usually manage to get away for one reason or another. Stephanie and Lula do score some swag along the way, like a fruit basket from Bruno Jug;



and Taco Tuesday (with chocolate cake) from Bruno Fleck's mother.





In this tale, the manager of the bail bond office, Connie Rosolli, shows off major research skills to help Stephanie locate FTAs. Connie mines Zillow, Google Earth, real estate sites, credit card records, family histories, and more. Connie even manages to track a helicopter that whisks away Bruno Jug. Very impressive!



And of course, Connie buys donuts for the office every day, which Lula needs to keep going.



As always, Stephanie is in danger, this time from would-be vampire Fang, who shows up at her apartment with a knife. Extra comic relief is provided by Herbert Slovinski, Stephanie's high school classmate whom she encounters at a funeral home viewing. Herbert takes it upon himself to fix up Stephanie's firebombed apartment while he continually (and harmlessly) propositions her. He's a hoot!



All the recurring characters make an appearance in the novel, including scuzzy little Vincent Plum, Grandma Mazur, and Stephanie's mom and dad, all of whom have their entertaining quirks.

By the time the story ends Stephanie has made her romantic choice, and we'll see how that works out.



Recommended to fans of the Stephanie Plum series.

Rating: 3.5 stars