Promises to Keep

President Jack Cassidy slowly recovers from an assassination attempt in Dallas, while fellow politicians battle for power and a lone FBI agent pursues a gunman intent on finishing his job

Adding to the numerous fiction books that have explored the assassination of John F. Kennedynotably Don DeLillo's literary thriller, Libra Bernau's debut novel is a solid, often touching thriller with the familiar characters only thinly disguised. The theme here is the wishful premise: "He didn't die in Dallas." America is thrown into turmoil when charismatic President John Trewlawny Cassidy is shot, but not killed, while riding in a motorcade with his chic wife, Suzanne. As Cassidy starts down the long road to recovery, Vice - President Rance Gardner, a long-faced, ambitious Texan, is elbowing his way toward the top and struggling to run the country. Meantime, Strode, the would-be assassin, is murdered while in custody of the Dallas police. Despite pressure from highly placed sources to drop the case, a young FBI agent who traces Strode's trail backward finds the path littered with corpses and all leads pointing to a massive government conspiracy that even President Cassidy would prefer not to expose. Bernau accurately paints recognizable characters jousting for political power, as well as the tiny domestic details that make up the private lives of such public figures. Sharp-edged cutting between these players and a host of dangerous, shadowy conspirators keeps the tension running high. 100,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dealey Plaza, Dallas, November 22, 1963: President Cassidy is shotbut survives. From 1963 to 1969, Cassidy's younger brother is vice president, Cassidy runs for office again, and the Cassidy influence restricts the build-up of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Meanwhile, a lone FBI agent compiles a file proving that the assassination attempt was the result of an international conspiracy. Interweaving bureaucratic and political episodes with those that focus on the second gunman and his compulsion to complete his assignment, Bernau shapes a suspenseful political thriller in this first novel. However, some of the glimpses at the characters' private lives slow the action and add little to the characterizations. The public's continuing fascination with "Camelot" should create demand.V. Louise Saylor, Eastern Washington Univ. Lib., Cheney
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.