Bathtub Reading

Political Intrigue for Father's Day

Wendy Webb

In honor of Father’s Day, I picked three political thrillers based in Washington D.C., that I think will especially appeal to men and anyone else who loves intrigue, twists and turns, and political suspense.

 

 

Executive Privilege

Philip Margolin  (2009, Harper)

When private detective Dana Cutler begins investigating the death of a young woman at the hands of a serial killer called “the D.C. Ripper, ” she has no idea it will lead her straight to the White House. But in the course of her investigation, Cutler discovers this disturbing fact: the murdered woman had a clandestine meeting with none other than Christopher Farrington, the President of the United States, the day before her body was found. Meanwhile, a junior law associate, Brad Miller, is stunned by the death row revelations of a convicted serial killer. Though he accepts responsibility for a string of murders, the killer swears he was framed for one of them — the death of a teenaged babysitter… who worked for then-Governor Farrington. Cutler and Miller realize they possess terrifying evidence that suggests the unthinkable — someone at the very highest level of government, perhaps the President himself, is a serial killer.

 

First Family

David Baldacci (2009, Grand Central Publishing)

David Baldacci is one of the masters of Washington intrigue. In this taut thriller, a children’s birthday party held at the presidential retreat of Camp David ends with a terrifying abduction, which immediately turns into a national security nightmare. Enter familiar Baldacci characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, former Secret Service agents-turned private investigators who keep finding themselves in the midst of political intrigue. We learn that, some years ago, Sean King saved the president, then a senator, from political investigations. Although the FBI is involved in the search for the abducted child, the First Lady trusts Sean and thinks he can do the job, so she calls upon he and Michelle to enter the fray — something the FBI isn’t exactly thrilled about. As they pull out all the stops to rescue the child, forces align against them and they have trouble knowing who is friend or foe.

 

House Rules

Mike Lawson (2008, Atlantic Monthly Press)

Lawson’s thrillers are filled with the kind of behind-closed-doors Washington political intrigue that I can’t get enough of. This book is the third in a series starring Joe DeMarco, a top aide for the powerful Speaker of the House. After a series of failed attempts to attack the Capitol by Islamic terrorists causes the nation to panic, the Speaker asks Joe to investigate the possibility that the attacks may have been generated closer to home than it appears. DeMarco immediately zeroes in on a piece of controversial, high-profile legislation that is decidedly anti-Islamic, which is being put forth by a loudmouth junior senator from Virginia. The legislation is an attempt to deport all non-citizen Muslims and run extensive background checks on all Muslim Americans, which, in light of the attacks, is getting a lot of support. This is a fascinating page-turner filled with political intrigue, suspense and danger.

 

This article appears in its entirety in the July 2008 issue of Duluth~Superior Magazine.
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