The Power

Loren Sturdivan, the idealistic widow of a disgraced near-presidential candidate and occasional mistress of her late husband's running mate, schemes for election to New York's highest political office

In this sequel to The Judgment, New York gubernatorial candidate Jon Klyk and his running mate for lieutenant governor, the lovely, socially prominent Loren Sturdivant, are addressing a large audience of labor activists when a crazed accountant dashes into the gathering and shoots Loren in the shoulder. Privately, Loren takes satisfaction in more than just escaping with a minor injury: hungry for all the power she can grab, she counts her scar a PR asset as she cynically schemes her way into the top echelons of government. Former New York State Supreme Court Justice Goldfluss has such a jaundiced view of nearly all politicians that this novel about a would-be American Eva Peron spills over with venom and features a superfluity of unlikely political machinations. Among the unsavory events he describes: a wealthy power broker booting an Assembly minority leader so his son can win a freshman term; a legislator beating a rap as an industrial pollutor but "deservedly" dying from a victim's bullet; a New York governor battling a rigged impeachment meant to advance Loren's power; and AIDS, like the Red Death, sweeping away the vainly power hungry and the reform-minded alike.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.