Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Thriller
Approximate
word count: 210-215,000
words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Aaron
Cooley is a screenwriter and movie producer who works with the well
known director Joel Schumacher as well as a novelist with one other
work, Shaken, Not Stirred,
available. A native of Portland, Oregon, the Ivy League graduate now
lives in Los Angeles.
Description:
“Each
year on the first Monday of October, the Supreme Court reconvenes for
another new term. But this year, the first Monday brings only terror
and tragedy, as six bombs tear through their temple of law, killing
124 people.
Homeland
Security immediately brands Supreme Court Police officer Jason
Lancaster as their prime suspect. Jason must go on the run to find
the persons responsible for the attack – and for the murder of his
fiancée, Supreme Court Marshal Miranda Whitney.
Meanwhile,
former First Lady Rosemarie Irving volunteers to assist the current
President in nominating replacements for the four Justices lost in
the tragedy. Their confirmation hearings will become contentious
battles over some of the most polarizing legal issues of our day:
from abortion to marijuana, from homosexuality to equality for women.
The
quest for the truth will eventually lead Jason Lancaster back to the
White House, and into a face-to-face confrontation with the person he
believes must have planned the bombings: the newly-appointed Chief
Justice of the Court. “
For
those who are into such things, Cooley has taken advantage of his
movie business connections to produce a trailer for Four
Seats starring actorPatrick Wilson.
Appraisal:
I've
never heard the genre of a book described as epic political thriller.
I'm adding that term to my lexicon now, because it is surely an
accurate description of Four
Seats. Epic in the sense
of being long, two or three times the length of a typical thriller,
but also in the sense of covering a lot of ground. Cooley has
released the book as six bite size novellas as well as the complete
series as one volume.
I hate
cliffhangers and had I been reading this as a serial having to wait
for the next installment after being left hanging, I wouldn't have
been happy. However, when read as one (long) book, this actually
worked out well. With the book structured in six parts, it kept the
pace fast and the tension mounting, not only in the short term, but
also the long. I knew it was taking me a long time to read, but it
never felt like it was bogging down.
The
story itself is wide ranging, with several different story threads
that are all intertwined, another factor in keeping things fresh. At
different times it read and felt like a political thriller, a legal
thriller, and even a bit of a dystopian thriller. All of those
thriller subgenres appeal to me. If they do to you as well, this is a
book you should like.
FYI:
Adult
language and some adult situations.
Format/Typo
Issues:
My
review is based on an advance reader's copy, so I can't gauge the
final product in this area.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
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