Book Review: The First Counsel

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The First Counsel     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Brad Meltzer
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Political Intrigue
Warner, Jan 2001, $25.95, 479 pp.

Everyone, but especially men, who comes in her orbit (which seems Neptunium in scope) finds the First Daughter Nora Hartson charming and beguiling. White House junior lawyer Michael Garrick is a100 per cent red blooded American and he too cannot resist the lure of Nora. When he gets a date with her, he thinks the world has stopped orbiting.

However, Michael allows Nora to lead him on a merry joy ride. First they ditch the Secret Service before entering a gay bar where they see his boss Edgar Simon. They follow Edgar as he drops off a package containing $40,000, but playing amateur sleuth is not enough for Nora, who rips off $10,000 from the cash.

Not long afterwards, the Feds catch Michael with the illicit loot. He claims it belongs to Simon, who claims it belongs to Michael. When someone murders the White House ethics chief, the evidence points towards Michael, who fights the FBI, the Media, and his boss and peers in what appears to be a futile attempt to keep out of jail because he forgot the first rule of the bureaucracy: Protect your ass.

THE FIRST COUNSEL is an engaging suspense thriller that works because readers will enjoy the insider's look into the White House from a non-presidential viewpoint. The story line is fast-paced and the tension mounts as the audience wonders whether the hero will pull a Houdini or take the fall. By using a lower staffer as the key to the tale, Brad Meltzer provides a fresh perspective on what is a growing sub-genre, murder in the White House.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner