{Review} The Next President by Robert Livingstone

ISBN #: 978-0615645988

Page Count: 138

Copyright: May 22, 2012

Publisher: Moore House

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

Will America wake up to a form of government it has never known?

Catherine Cortez, a frustrated journalist, needs one big story before marriage to a U.S. Senator effectively ends her career. She discovers that protests in Cuba, now the "new democracy," signal an impending revolution. She also uncovers evidence that the man poised to become the next President has a hidden agenda to take America further right than it's ever been before: fascism. She makes it her mission to expose him.

Charlene's Review:

Quoted from Mr. Livingstone's author page on Amazon.com: Fascism. The simple definition: collusion between government and industry to create economic stability. In contemporary terms, think bailouts, General Motors. Well intentioned. Perhaps necessary. But dangerous.

The Next President is a tightly spun web of deception. When Catherine takes a job interviewing the president of Cuba, she is suddenly in the middle of a revolution. Her ex-lover, Carlos Perez, is leading an uprising among Cuba's people to overthrow the power of Cuban President, Eduardo Rodriguez, and to stop the U.S. supply of arms. In the thick of it all is U.S. Senator Francis Ellsworth, who supports President Rodriguez, and the World Alliance. Senator Ellsworth is also believed to be the up and coming U.S. President. As Catherine gets closer to the truth, tensions rise, and she finds herself in the fight for her life.

Confused yet? Me, too. Although the premise of the story is readily understood, the mass of characters involved in a scant 132 pages, and perhaps, my own ignorance regarding politics, kept me from getting lost in the story. There is definitely the element of suspense. There is a side story of love, and parental abandonment. There is also organized crime, and a hint of possible things to come for this world. All in all, an eye-opening read, but it left me a bit lost in places. I'd have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.