The Vote (Five Star First Edition Mystery Series)

Rating:
Summary: Breathless Political Suspense
Review: "The Vote" is a fast-paced political suspense novel that ranks with the best of top-selling mysteries. This tightly-woven, exciting first book by Mr. Patterson is fun and relevant because of the backdrop of the 2004 presidential race, the highly-credible characters, and the vivid details about Washingon and Maryland.

Rating:
Summary: If you like mysteries, you have to buy this book.
Review: Just finished reading T. D. Patterson's book, The Vote. I love mysteries. You won't be able to put it down.
Patterson crafts his story with intricate detail. His knowledge of the Eastern states, Washington DC and Capital Hill, his use of surrounding geographical areas and attractions adds to what the reader sees as the "believability", of his story. It's like Patterson actually knows this area by his intimate descriptions of Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay, even the Rotunda.
Is American history of interest to you? You get a nice dose of history, historical facts and figures, and little known election laws that interweave the plot. It reminds you that elections are decided on electoral votes, not popular votes.
It's an extremely interesting premise, and what's scary is the story really could happen! Maybe we'll see it in a movie one day...
This book is a MUST for all avid mystery readers.

Rating:
Summary: exciting political thriller
Review: The polls agreed that Republican challenger Carl Wardlow would win the White House from Democratic incumbent Benjamin Forsyth. However, the prognosticators proved wrong because Independent candidate Marshall Young took Maryland and Maine. The results are a dead heat in the Electoral College and twenty-four states each for the two prime candidates although the popular vote went to Wardlow by a 53 to 45 percent margin. The election will be decided by the House for the first time in two centuries. Everyone accepts that the forty-eight states that went Democrat or Republican will adhere to the wishes of their voters or lose their office. Thus the election hinges on Maine and Maryland.

Forsyth's key advisor and campaign manager Arch Longstreet will do anything including illegal surveillance and blackmail to insure his man remains in the Oval Office. His prime target is influential Maryland Congressman Trey Stone. Arch's thugs have caught the seemingly clean married Trey in a rendezvous with a friend Laura Weddington although he met with her as a favor only. Now he must decide between having the courage to stand up to his convictions on what is right or allow a do nothing president to use blackmail to continue to not run the country.

This exciting political thriller comes on the heels of the wild 2000 election and the potentially even wilder upcoming 2004 race. The story line is at its best when all the president's men try to strong-arm and sweet talk Trey into supporting Forsyth. Though a subplot involving Trey, his wife, and their daughter adds suspense; that premise also takes away from the powerful look at a tie leading to a House vote on who will become the next president.