'The Big Lie': A winning election thriller

Sure, politics makes strange bedfellows but it can also be the foundation for a gripping thriller as James Grippando shows in "The Big Lie," his 16th novel about attorney Jack Swyteck.
Grippando has a knack for targeting current events — sometimes before they happen — that are ripe for fiction. In "The Big Lie," President Malcolm MacLeod barely escaped impeachment for corruption, but that hasn't stopped him from running for a second term.
Although he lost the popular vote, the Republican is leading in the Electoral College. Florida Democratic Sen. Evan Stahl, MacLeod's opponent, refuses to concede and hopes to convince his state's five Republican electors to vote for him. Stahl wants Jack to represent those electors who might break their party's ranks and give him their votes.
Jack focuses on Charlotte Holmes who, given her past with a pro-gun lobbying firm, seems to be the typical MacLeod ally. But Charlotte's switch to Stahl's side puts her life in danger as she endures threats and stalkers, before the danger intensifies.
Grippando adds fake news and adulterous politicians into his plot, which makes "The Big Lie" always feels like an exciting thriller, not a treatise on contemporary concerns. While Grippando pits Republicans against Democrats, he also carefully balances his story by showing each candidate's extreme flaws.
Undecided about which candidate to support this year? Vote for "The Big Lie."