The Candidate - Book Review

If you think this election season has been crazy, just wait until you read about the one in Lis Wiehl's latest novel (written with Sebastian Stuart) called The Candidate. There are bombs, murder-suicides, and people who aren't what they seem.

Erica Sparks is a popular journalist with her own show on the cable news network GNN. She prides herself on having integrity and doing her job the right way no matter what. Her network sends her to cover the Democratic candidates for president. It's a routine job, right? But Erica soon becomes embroiled in something bigger and her journalistic instincts just can't let it go. There's just something off about candidate Mike Ortiz.

The more Erica seeks, the more unsettling her feelings about Ortiz. But how far will she go if it puts not only herself but her daughter and her new beau in jeopardy, too?

This book is part of a series called Newsmakers, and I haven't read any of those, so I don't know what they are about, but I did feel like maybe they covered some backstory that would have been helpful for me to know. A few times in the beginning of the book, references were made to Erica's earlier life and some investigation she lead at GNN, but I had no idea what any of it meant. (It was further explained as I continued reading the book.)

But still, this was a really fascinating read with a lot of different elements and storylines. I was a bit skeptical at first because the author is a commentator for the Fox News Channel, so I expected it to be full of things that offended me. Not the case! (My favorite part: when the author throws in a random insult to Donald Trump.) But if descriptions of violent acts offend you, then you might want to steer clear of this book or ask me what pages those parts are on so you can mark them as pages to skip over.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”