Steven Wright (6)

Book on CD performed by Glenn Davis

Andre Ross has made a mistake. And it may end his career as a hotshot political consultant. But, his mentor agrees to give him one more chance. Sent to a backwater community in South Carolina, he’s tasked with passing an initiative that no one has even considered. He has an assistant (who is the partner’s grandson, and completely green) and a limited budget. But he KNOWS how to do this.

Dre is something of an enigma. He’s clearly intelligent and well-informed. He is a professional whose middle name may as well be “cutthroat,” and will take whichever side is paying his salary. He’s also deeply troubled. The fact that he’s a black man in a blue-collar white community in the deep south doesn’t deter him, though that does pose some challenges. As the novel progresses the reader begins to see signs that Dre isn’t so sure this is the right path for him. He seems to be falling apart. Will his conscience, long silenced, win out? Will he win this election? Will he keep his job? Does he want to?

I found this riveting and informative. I could not help but think of our current political climate and the way the populace is manipulated by the message. A tweak here, a slightly different phrasing there, a negative connotation “accidentally” floated onto the local gossip mill, a charismatic young woman whom everyone knows is a “good person” … and you have everyone ready to vote against their own best interest and in favor of the candidate or position least likely to actually benefit them.

Glenn Davis does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and differentiated the characters sufficiently that it was always clear who was speaking.… (more)

I'm not opposed to unlikeable characters, but when every person you meet in a novel is a mess, it's tough to maintain interest. Here, Dre Ross, a Black political operative/lobbyist has made a deadly mistake in his burgeoning career (inexplicably, no details on the screwup) and is given one more assignment by his wealthy white mentor, who owns the K Street shop. It's to get approval for a mining operation in Carthage, a lovely, unspoiled South Carolina hamlet, by tying in some nonsense about displaying the Bill of Rights in every public building, and by scapegoating the only elected official with a brain and a heart. Dre's partner Brendan is the grandson of his mentor, but he quits when Dre rejects his offer of friendship and when his loathing of the corruption that lies at the heart of the entire enterprise defeats him. Dre, who had also been painfully rejected by his girlfriend (how much misery is enough?), is completely unable to make any friends, due to his deep knowledge of the impact of racism, his miserable childhood, and his own suspicious nature. Enter a white evangelical couple who Dre hires as local operatives and who bloom under his tutelage. He does not want to like them or to do anything but scoff at their gullibility and their naïve ways, but they truly adore him and he is still unable to accept their kindness. Everything is rotten in the state of South Carolina for Dre.… (more)