Title: The First Lady
Author: James Patterson
Published: March 2019, Grand Central Publishing
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
From the world's #1 bestselling writer comes a book that takes politics and mixes it with suspense creating a must-read thriller.
Sally Grissom is a top secret service agent in charge of the Presidential Protection team. She knows that something is amiss when she is summoned to a private meeting with the President and his Chief of Staff without any witnesses. But she couldn't have predicted that she'd be forced to take on an investigation surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the First Lady with strict orders to keep it a secret.
The First Lady's absence comes in the wake of the scandalous, public revelation of the president's affair, so at first it seems as though she is simply cutting off all contact as she recuperates at a horse farm in Virginia. What begins as an innocent respite quickly reveals itself as a twisted case when the White House receives a ransom note along with the First Lady's finger. As Sally races against the clock to save the First Lady, she discovers evidence that leads to a troubling conclusion: could the First Lady's abductors come from inside the White House?
***Short & Sweet Reviews are short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books where I have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or for books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not be used for review requests or blog tours.
My thoughts: As I've said before and will say again, I love my James Patterson books, but I've come to realize that they can be hit or miss and when it comes to political thrillers, those are also hit or miss with me. Luckily this one kept me engaged for the most part, but I think that was because I really liked the main female protagonist. She wasn't one for taking anyone's crap and she quickly realized who she could trust and who she couldn't. I love when we see a female lead in what is typically a man's world and that is exactly what Sally Grissom is. I also loved that we see her fighting her own personal battles. She is one tough cookie and I would love to see her in another book or two!
All in all, this was a pretty good book with the usual twists and turns that I've come to expect from a Patterson story and non-stop action. I was able to get through it in an afternoon as I just could not find a place to stop and needed to see just how it was all going to play out.