I've lost track of the times I've visited Houston's Murder by the Book, but it's always a pleasure. We had a nearly full house, and I got wound up and spoke for longer than I planned. But it was just as much fun as always--and as always, I loved seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Thanks to MBB for providing a warm welcome, and a special thanks to all who braved the Houston traffic (290 is down to one lane in-and-out of town) and took time out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to come to the bookstore. You are much appreciated!
Bill drove us to Houston yesterday. He was listening to a book on his MP3 player, which gave me time to read. I was engrossed by by The People's House, by David Pepper. I learned about it from last Friday's PBS Newshour, when Judy Woodruff interviewed Pepper. Here are my thoughts on the book:
This chillingly prescient political thriller is one of the best books I've read lately. Written in 2015 before any of the current election-tampering controversy was on our radar, the book centers around an attempt by a Russian oil-and-gas oligarch to elect Republican candidates who will favor a pipeline project--successful, because of gerrymandering. The engaging main character, Jack Sharpe, is a political reporter at the Youngstown Vindicator who just can't let go of a story. There's a large cast of characters and a shifting timeline, so you'll have to pay attention to places and dates, but stay with it--the effort will pay off.
The author, the chair of the Democratic Committee of Ohio, is a political insider who knows where the bodies are buried and how to dig them up. He also has an ax to grind: gerrymandering. (He's right, of course, and we all know it.) Hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I'm already 20 pages into the second in the series and hoping that Pepper has a third in the works.
I don't know for sure, but it looks like this is an author-published book. I'm willing to bet that Pepper will have an agent, a major publisher contract, and maybe a movie deal before the end of this month.
Reading Note: Through a process called “gerrymandering,” guided by precise modeling and mapping, today’s politicians design House district boundaries in a way that predetermines the outcome of almost every election. The net effect? Modern-day elections to the People’s House have almost nothing to do with the people.--David Pepper, The People's House