The President's Daughter

Full Out Flack Jacket Excitement

Well, James Patterson and Bill Clinton have done it again! Actually, I think The President's Daughter is better than the previous book. I started reading it about 6 hours ago and could. not. put. it. down.

President Matt Keating, his wife Samantha and their daughter Mel, are just finishing his single term in office. Ousted by a tough, political opponent, his former Vice President Pamela Barnes, Keating and family try to disappear into private life.

Relaxing with his daughter in the mountains of New Hampshire, an ugly spector from his days in office, jihad terrorist Asim Al-Hasheed threatens to disrupt his peaceful life.

Speeding through the politics of being an ex-president, the bureaucracy of the Secret show more Service, the horrifying dangers of domestic and foreign terrorism and a families love and fear for their daughter, this book covers a lot of ground.

There was rarely a time when my heart wasn't in my throat. Both authors are gifted in writing with engaging detail, the ability to draw you in and make you feel deeply for each character and absolutely sweep you up in excitement.

The President's Daughter is one of the best reads of the year. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written, fast-paced thriller. show less

Matthew Keating wanted to serve a second term as POTUS, but his mission against one of the evilest terrorists went disastrously wrong and cost him the presidency. Now, he is doing more or less nothing apart from fishing and not so much enjoying himself. When his daughter Mel is abducted by IS terrorist Asim Al-Asheed who wants to revenge his wife and daughters, ex SEAL Matt takes it personal. Since the official agencies totally fail to rescue the girl, he decides to become active himself to get her back. He is still well-connected and secretly sets up a small team to do what a father has to do.

The second cooperation between former President Bill Clinton and well-known crime writer James Patterson is a fast-paced mixture of political and show more spy thriller which also gives deep insight in how the different national agencies work with and against each other. The thriller brilliantly shows that politics can be a nasty business where personal agendas at times conflict with national interests and ethics. Also, since the end of the Cold War, the lines between confronting enemies have become blurred and the world is a much more complex place with several stakeholders all acting and interfering simultaneously.

First and foremost, the novel lives on the protagonist Matt Keating who tries to free his daughter. Even though we first meet him in the role of the president, his former occupation as a member of the US SEALs is a much more formative aspect of his character. When he learns of is successor’s unwillingness of helping to liberate his daughter, he reactivates his knowledge and connections to rescue her on his own. Admittedly, I doubt how realistic this might be, however, it certainly makes a good action-loaded plot. The daughter, too, is a tough cookie, even though raised in a rather comfortable position, she is courageous and has a strong will to survive which gives her more power than was to be expected.

What I found most interesting, however, was not just the war between the terrorist and the USA but how China meddles and how conflicting interests endanger civilians which are nothing more than collateral damage. Ironically, it is a private affair that leads to the downfall of the current president – highly likely in our times.

Great entertainment which surely also works quite well on the screen since it incorporates the core virtues of bravery, persistence, teamwork and love. show less

> In my go bag are a SIG Sauer 9mm P226 pistol and a disassembled Colt M4 automatic rifle, with a TAWS 32 thermal sight, and plenty of ammunition for both. I’m an ex-POTUS now. And I’m also a father who’s willing to go anywhere, and kill anyone involved, to get his daughter back.

It's a fine thriller, although so rah-rah USA that it backfires and makes the heroes seem morally bankrupt. Compared to "The President is Missing," though, I had a harder time seeing what Clinton brought to the table in this collaboration. I could see this being written without Clinton's involvement, and that takes away a main selling point for me.

Much better than the first cooperation between James Patterson and Bill Clinton ("The President is Missing"). This one is much more intense, the plot is fast-moving, and Clinton's input is clearly felt: the keen observations of how the President's (and ex-President's) secret detail operates - a lot of it was new to me. Also - poignant description of White House politics, as well as an interesting side step into China's political dealings. Somewhere around the midpoint in the book (the critical moment - the readers will know what I mean), it became predictable for a moment and was disappointing, but then quickly developed into an unforeseen situation. A good page-turner.

Like a script for a straight to VHS film starring a well-past-his-prime Steven Seagal. Deliberately and stubbornly cliche, pandering to the target audience. Almost like a book for people who don't like to read books. Passages from the main character's POV are in first person present tense, which I found distracting. Maybe it's common in this urgent/thriller genre?
Not the kind of book for me at all, so take the rating with a grain of salt.

Nineteen-year-old Dartmouth college student Melanie [Mel] Keating, the daughter [and only child] of former president Matthew Keating and his professor-archaeologist wife Samantha, is kidnapped by Asim Al-Asheed, a sadistic Islamic terrorist obsessed with revenge. When the administration of the current president, Pamela Barnes, shows little interest in actually making any effort to rescue the girl, Keating, a Navy SEAL prior to his foray into the political arena, calls in some favors and sets out to rescue his daughter himself.

Will Keating find a way to thwart Al-Asheed’s murderous plans and bring his daughter home?

Readers should employ their willing suspension of disbelief and settle in for an action-packed thrill ride with political show more machinations [both in Washington and elsewhere] providing the terrifying tension. Patterson’s signature short chapters work to keep the story moving forward at an uber-brisk pace while the “insider’s access” to the political landscape adds its own special terror to the telling of the tale.

Although there is no shortage of clichés to march along with the expected denunciation of the Washington bureaucracy, the unfolding narrative still manages to create an empathetic heroine in Mel while keeping the readers engaged and the pages turning. This perfectly paced adventure promises to tug at the readers' emotions as it unapologetically ratchets the suspense up into the stratosphere. “The President’s Daughter” is a guilty pleasure book for readers everywhere.

Recommended. show less

Really enjoyed it - will definitely circle back to the first one. In retrospect, I really appreciated the shock in the middle of the book when the authors seemingly broke the cardinal rule of the genre by killing off Mel...but the story lost a star because there was no good explanation as to why Asim made the choice that he did about "moving the operation to Libya" (yeah, I know the review is hidden because of the spoilers, but there are spoilers and then there are spoilers...)