The First Lady

When an old college friend is found shot to death under strange circumstances, the First Lady finds herself the prime suspect, with her marriage, political future, and freedom at stake, and flees the White House to clear her name and find the true culprit. By the author of The Marilyn Tapes.

The president's wife makes like Nancy Drew in this contrived thriller from Gorman (The Marilyn Tapes). Neglected by her husband, First Lady Claire Hutton turns to her old friend David Hart for chaste companionship. But David then blackmails her, threatening to go public about their secret meetings and to put a lurid spin on them. What's worse, it turns out that Hart's moves are part of a plot engineered by the Rush Limbaugh-like Knox Stansfield, who has never forgiven Claire for dumping him and marrying Matt Hutton. Stansfield, who has been attacking the Hutton Administration on his radio show, kills David just before Claire arrives for a meeting and then frames the First Lady with an incriminating video?forcing the beleaguered Claire to do some sleuthing in order to save herself. Lurid yet predictable, this narrative winds up reading as if it had been constructed at a Hollywood story meeting; the author's machine-gun prose isn't big on originality, either. Most disappointing, however, is the protagonist, who seems to act as she does not because of her psychological makeup, but because of the box Gorman places her in. This novel is plot-driven with a vengeance, but steered by a routine story line, it doesn't take the reader into any new or exciting territory.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Is the First Lady guilty of cold-blooded murder? Claire Hutton, the wife of President Matt Hutton, awakens next to the body of a man, the murder weapon clutched in her hand. The dead man is David Hart, an old college friend who was blackmailing Claire. Claire has obviously been framed, but by whom? As President, Matt has many enemies, none keener than Knox Stansfield, an arch-conserative radio talk show host who is on a one-man campaign to crucify the President. Stansfield, Hart, and the Huttons all attended college together and deep-seated resentments are very much at play. The police are convinced Claire is guilty, and it is up to her and Matt to prove her innocence. Their investigation reveals betrayals at the highest levels, testing the strength of their marriage and family. Gorman's (The Marilyn Tapes, LJ 1/95) writing is tight; he skillfully keeps the story moving to its dramatic denouement. Recommended for large fiction collections.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This fast-paced political thriller moves in and around the White House and Washington, D.C., with seasoned ease. When the devoted wife of President Matt Hutton is accused of committing murder to cover up a clandestine affair, the entire nation lapses into shock. Uncertain how to proceed under such bizarre and unexpected circumstances, the authorities are initially slow to respond. Seizing the opportunity to prove her innocence and salvage the remnants of her husband's shattered presidency, Claire Hutton ditches her Secret Service agents, dons a disguise, and begins conducting her own investigation. After she begins to suspect her best friend and chief of staff is in league with a rabidly conservative radio talk show host intent on destroying Matt's political career, the First Lady hatches her own ingenious plot to expose the real culprit over the airwaves. An irresistible, action-packed page-turner. Margaret Flanagan