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Review: The Candidate (Newsmakers #2) by Lis Wiehl with Sebastian Stuart



Blurb from Goodreads:
How far would a candidate go to become President of the United States?

In covering the presidential election campaign, star newsmaker Erica Sparks notices that favored candidate Senator Mike Ortiz seems dependent on his wife to an unnatural degree. Celeste Ortiz is a brilliant and glamorous billionaire who—along with her best friend and confidant Lily Lau—has engineered her husband’s meteoric rise. The White House is within their reach. But the more Erica investigates the Ortizes’ strange relationship, the more intrigued she becomes.

Erica begins an investigation. But everyone material to her probe ends up dead. With each death, her foreboding grows. Is she next? And can she find out in time if the country’s beloved candidate is what he seems . . . or a threat to national security?
My Review:
 
I love politics in books (well, nonfiction books anyway), be they romance or thriller. Sadly, I did not love this book despite it being about a fictional Presidential election as told from a popular anchor, Erica, on the beat of covering the election. I did find Erica to be a bit too smug -- even though she has a checkered past, she really sees herself as this moral champion, unfortunately to the detriment of others. I didn't relate to her at all and I found that many of the things that Erica uncovered in this book were not explained well enough; there were so many loose threads and tangents. Once the "thriller" part of this really took off, I just found it so unbelievable and over the top. I was rolling my eyes in the last chapters and just waiting for this to be over; it also became a bit schmaltzy. This book reminded me of some of the more recent books in the FBI thriller series and, consequently, the books in that series that I am not as fond of.  That being said, this might appeal to some if you like a journalist narrator with her own sense of right and wrong.
The Candidate came out last week on October 4, 2016, and you can purchase HERE.
It's Monday morning and Erica Sparks is in the elevator at GNN headquarters in New York--going up.  She's on her way to a meeting with Mort Silver, the head of the network. Silver called her yesterday and scheduled it.  She isn't sure what his agenda is, but she suspects if has to do with her hopes of moderating on the presidential debates in the fall.

Comments

  1. I can't stand smug characters. Nope. I get turned off very easily on characters like this, and I find sometimes, I'm not very inclined to give the author or the character second chances. Smug irritates me endlessly!

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  2. Sorry this wasn't quite the read for you, I can see why it would have been a hard one though. I don't think it will be the read for me either.

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  3. Bleh! Over-the-top and smug are not words I want describing a thriller. I hadn't heard of this one before today and I doubt I'll pick it up. Sorry it was such a bummer though, Eva.

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  4. This doesn't sound like something I would enjoy since I hate smug characters and excess drama. I gave up on Scandal because of the excess drama but thanks for the review. I hope your reading picks up this week!

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  5. Sorry to hear this was such a letdown. But tbh Erica sounds totally unlikable. Ugh.

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  6. Hmm, you've been reading some dissapointments! Hope you find something that you really enjoy soon!
    Tori @ In Tori Lex

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  7. Eh, I don't think I'll pick this up. If it's over the top, I'll just be rolling my eyes all the time.
    Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews

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  8. It's really hard to love a book when you don't like or related to the main character. Sorry to hear this didn't work, Eva. Great honest review. :)

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