RUNNING WITH THE PRESIDENT

A nurse goes on the run with a shooting victim to thwart a conspiracy in Martin’s novel.

Recently elected President Lance Dumont returns to the steps of the New York State Supreme Court, where he made a promise at the beginning of his campaign to shift “some of our budget from the Pentagon, FBI, Homeland Security, and CIA to local initiatives, like beefing up police salaries, battling homelessness, and dramatically decreasing your taxes.” Soon after he arrives, however, he’s shot in an assassination attempt that kills many bystanders. Was the attack by a militia, or aided by one of the federal government’s intelligence agencies? As the wounded president lies unconscious in a Manhattan hospital surrounded by family members, nurse Doris Machado walks among the bodies at the crime scene, looking for survivors. She finds one, also rendered unconscious, his face swollen from a bullet grazing his head. With no identification, he’s listed by the hospital as John Doe; when he wakes, he has amnesia and is unable to speak or write. Doris finds a card on his person that suggests he’s President Dumont. But if he’s Dumont, then who’s the Secret Service protecting? After John Doe draws two very unusual visitors, Doris sneaks him out of the hospital and hits the road. Meanwhile, Lance’s wife, Rose Dumont, begins to realize that things aren’t what they seem. There’s a taut thriller hidden in these pages, which feature ingenious plot twists, two-faced characters, and world peace hanging in the balance. However, Martin’s unsuccessful character development slows it down. If the novel were a prestige TV series, the strong underlying plot would easily carry it, along with the complex humanity that actors can deliver with a glance. However, on the page, the characters’ internal monologues aren’t nearly as rewarding. Indeed, during these sections, readers won’t feel as if they’re wandering the landscape of a character’s mind; rather, they’ll feel as if they’re walking in circles, waiting for the action to start up again. Even so, sharp turns in the plot and reappearances of forgotten characters manage to keep things surprising.  

An ambitious but overwritten political thriller.