Political Thriller The Election by Jerome Teel

Attorney Jake Reed has got a good life. A healthy law practice, loving family and wife, nice house on the countryside and a Volvo - what more could he ask for? Sure, his wife Rachael has been mentioning church a lot lately, but as far as Jake is concerned, there's plenty of time to get serious about those things. He's riding a wave of courtroom success, and things are pretty comfortable - no need to worry about a lot of "God stuff".

When troubled Jedediah McClellan lands in his office, demanding to sue a local broker because the bank is foreclosing on their house, his conscience flares up, but what can he really do? The McClellan's have landed on hard times, but they've missed several payments, and it's out of Jake's hands. Jesse Thompson, arbiter of the foreclosure, may be unethical, but the law is clear - there's nothing legal he can do.

When Jed leaves his office enraged, threatening to kill Thompson, Jake writes it off as a desperate man venting, nothing more. However, the following day turns up Jesse Thompson dead on his ranch, shot by a high-powered sniper rifle, and a hangover stricken Jed on the scene. Jake is pierced by guilt: is this his fault? Is a man now dead because he wouldn't take Jed's case?

Something is wrong, though; the rifle recovered in the back of Jed's pickup trip is of military, professional caliber - not something Jed could afford. By his own admission, Jed was recovering from a hard night of drinking - how could a man with a hangover and no military experience hit Jesse Thompson from such an extreme range?

Suspicious, feeling responsible, Jake starts digging, discovering more than he bargained for. All he wants to do is save a friend's life, but the further he digs, the deeper the conspiracy goes - and suddenly Jake finds himself tailed, under surveillance, his family at risk. He's discovered something far more sinister than garden-variety murder - he's unearthed a trail of corruption and evil leading to presidential candidate Ed Burke - a man who would be president, and the most powerful man in the world.

The Election is a sometime engaging political thriller, and author Jerome Teel uses his law background well - the court scenes are the novel's strength, very reminiscent of A Few Good Men and John Grisham's courtroom thrillers. The story starts a little slow, however, and at times the dialogue feels stiff, scripted. However, once past that, the intricate machinations of the Federalists and their plan to hijack the presidency take over, and the novel comes into its best strength when the plot picks up speed, Jake dives into Jed's case, and the wheels of conspiracy grind to full bore.

My only quibble with The Election is Ed Burke's running opponent, Christian candidate Mac Foster. He was too much of an obvious foil to the man who, as the back of the book states, "sold his soul for the Oval Office". It almost feels like the story needs too much to have a good presidential candidate running against the "bad" one. I know this is probably too depressing to consider, maybe too much of a downer for the novel - but as we've unfortunately seen in the last several decades, real politics rarely offers us such stark polarities.

Taken as a whole, however, The Election is a promising new novel from an emerging writer, and John Grisham fans will find a lot to like in Tennessee lawyer Jake Reed - you can easily see him as becoming Teel's legal "Jack Ryan", (from Clancy's Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger), coming back for more drama in the courtroom.

The Election can be purchased at Amazon.com. Visit Jerome Teel's website.