My Reading Nook

The Race by Richard North Patterson is a step in another direction for this talented writer and he shows just how talented he is by this crisp story line, interesting characters and quick pace.

Corey Grace is a decorated war veteran who is charismatic, the Senator from Ohio, divorced, and a dedicated politician who also just so happens to have morals and values. He’s harboring a secret about his brother, is dating a black actress who is a registered Democrat to his Republican and he wants to run for president of the United States of America. The deck is stacked against him.

His opponents are fellow SenatorRob Marotta, a married family man who is Catholic and ultra conservative and the Reverend Bob Christy, a popular evangelical television minister with a large following and lots of money.

The campaign trail is fraught with pitfalls and at one point, Grace fires his campaign manager when he finds out that he is the one digging into Lexie Hart’s past. He wants no taint of underhanded political stunts played by any of his own people. He’s the recipient of more than a few and when someone sets up Christy as a rapist, Grace comes to his defense; an unheard of move by any presidential hopeful.

By the time the Republican National convention meets, they need to rent self storage for the massive amounts of documents they’ve gathered on potential running mates, delegates and how they will vote and it’s a race to the wire to decide who will run on the Republican ticket in the next election.

This is an insight into the world of big league politics — the ugly side as well as the enormous potential for a person of honor to stand above the crowd. The candidates are painted as complex people which no doubt anyone running for the office of President must be.

The Race by Richard North Patterson
Published by Henry Holt and Company 2007
ISBN: 0-312-94517-5