THE ELECTION OF 2028

Stout (Night of the Devil, 2016, etc.) offers a thriller that dramatizes potential pitfalls of the United States’ electoral college system.

In 2028, the two main presidential candidates—Republican Robert Sinclair, the governor of Texas, and Ramon Alvarez, a Democrat from California—have vastly different ideological bearings. Also, the stakes are high, as Justice Herman Lodge, a swing vote on the Supreme Court, is poised to retire. Although Alvarez dominates the popular vote, the electoral vote contest is razor-thin and could hinge on Ohio. If Sinclair manages to win that state, the race could tie, sending the decision to the House of Representatives. Billionaire Malcolm Varick tries to fix the race by having Ohio Democratic electors killed and replaced with faithless ones. He also tries to eliminate a young law clerk who’s rumored to wield considerable influence over Justice Lodge. When Rashad Bennett, a top Democratic political operative, and his wife, Laura, are targeted, retired police officer Jim Blades gets involved, as he knows Laura personally from an old case. FBI agent Jerome Hubbard asks Blades to assist in the investigation. One of the assassins, Steven West, is a deeply troubled man who becomes a liability to Varick, so his security chief decides to eliminate him; meanwhile, Blades is hot on West’s trail. Stout ambitiously braids together several dramatic plot threads, involving murder, political intrigue, and the possibility of constitutional crisis, into a seamless whole. There’s no shortage of legalese—indeed, the main plotline hinges on a precise understanding of the electoral college system’s obscure structure—but Stout cleverly lets TV talking heads explain the constitutional and political details, with the occasional assist from a barroom lawyer. This is a timely book, given the obvious parallels to today’s contentious political environment, but Stout avoids simple partisanship or overwrought proselytizing. This is first and foremost a thriller, and as such, it doesn’t disappoint.

An intelligent, eventful crime story, coupled with complex political drama.