DIRTY TRICKS

A young woman comes of age in 1960s Texas in this political chick-lit satire.

Gloria Warren is politically savvy, but not very worldly. Veronica, her fitness-model roommate, is dismayed by Gloria’s poor fashion sense and awful hair. Gloria, however, is more interested in the next election than her next salon visit. In fact, she’s such a political junkie that she’s willing to risk her secretarial job by playing hooky to attend political functions. At a campaign rally, Gloria becomes enamored with Senator Vic Davis, the blond, handsome candidate for the Texas governorship. A week later, Gloria and Vic are introduced at another political function, and she ends up in his hotel room. Poor, naïve Gloria! Everybody knows the senator is a womanizer–especially Harvard-educated reporter Ian Feldman, who appears at Gloria’s door under decidedly flimsy pretenses. Ian has his own motivations–and indeed, each character in the story has something to hide; the coincidences come fast and furious, though not all of them are unwelcome–but he, too, falls for Gloria. Suddenly, everyone wants to sleep with her–what’s a girl to do? On one hand, Ian doesn’t exactly stoke Gloria’s fire, but he’s comfortable and kind. On the other hand, Vic is exhilarating, if selfish. What follows is a fairly standard romance that isn’t nearly as political as the novel’s opening promises it to be. Nonetheless, the story is entertaining and the narrative voice is engaging–despite the superficiality of the premise, readers will be eager to learn Gloria’s fate. Will she choose the dangerous but thrilling Senator Vic, or the safe, uninspiring Ian? Should she listen to her true feelings, or succumb to the practical? The answer is revealed in the unpredictable, strangely satisfying conclusion.

A lighthearted debut with a fitting comic voice and well-constructed plot.