Sunday Books & Culture - Thriller
Penny Parrish reviews Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s political thriller “The First Gentleman”
THE FIRST GENTLEMAN
By Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Published by Little, Brown & Company (June 2, 2025)
Hardcover $22.50
Audiobook $14.95
Reviewed by Penny A Parrish
There are several things I like about this book. First, it is a real page-turner with some wicked twists and turns. Second, most of the chapters are less than four pages long, so it’s easy to stop reading almost anywhere. Third, it ends with some “hypothetical” plans for our country that I really wish would come true.
Readers meet Garrett Wilson, an investigative journalist and his partner Brea Cooke, an attorney. They’re working on a book about the murder of a New England Patriot’s cheerleader named Suzanne Bonnano. She’s been dead for 17 years, an unsolved crime with no body, no witnesses, and no closure.
The corker is that Garrett and Brea believe the murder was committed by her then-boyfriend Cole Wright. He played for the Patriots for three years until an injury ended his career. The players and cheerleaders were not allowed to date, so they hid their relationship. But he was apparently the last person to see her on the night she disappeared.
By the way, Cole happens to be The First Gentleman, married to Madeline Parson who is the President of the United States. They and their friend Burton Pearce met at Dartmouth College, and all three ended up working together in the White House.
Garrett and Brea uncover damning evidence against Cole. But too often their sources end up disappearing or dying. Someone does NOT want this story out. But someone else DOES. It’s difficult to figure out which characters are helping or hindering the writers. Bodies, fresh and old, turn up. Tangible leads turn out to be duds. Unexpected clues appear from nowhere.
When Cole goes on trial for murder, his wife – the President – is trying to get her Grand Bargain legislation passed. Chapter 139 (yes, there are 139 chapters in this book), details her plan for the Country. It includes saving Social Security, vetting immigrants and giving them work permits to help the economy in various states where they are needed and wanted, and bringing down the price of prescription drugs. As I read this, I wished it were non-fiction rather than a novel…
I figured out who committed the murder halfway through this thick book (but there is a LOT of blank space with these short chapters, so it’s a pretty quick read). This is the third book that Clinton and Patterson have written together. I may go back and read the first two in front of a cozy fire next winter.
Penny A Parrish is a local writer and photographer. You can see her pictures at www.PennyAParrishPhotography.com
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