Customer Reviews

Hidden Agenda

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a terrific book, full of twists that would be completely unbelievable . . . if they weren't so true-to-life! As usual, Thom Racina sets up a compelling conflict and uses his sharp, remarkable storytelling skills to spin it towards a rewarding resolution. For all of you thriller fans who are tired of getting disappointed by "big" books with "high concept" plots that end up being wordy and poorly written (ie: the bestsellers that publishers hit you with the instant you walk in the big-box stores) look to the tightly evocative writing of Thom Racina for the real thing.

If one reads the Kirkus Review of this book, they would be tempted to pass it by, as they call it "...painfully bad..". Well, that's why it's so much fun. "Hidden Agenda" reads like the script for a tv movie of the week with Jaclyn Smith and Gregory Harrison, with Leslie Nielsen and Dabney Coleman as the villains. But, I have to admit, I really enjoyed this book. It certainly sets no new standards for contemporary fiction, but as an old fashioned, good guys vs. bad guys, political vs. religious fanatics, it's a whopper! We NEED perfect husbands like Steven Patterson; we need gullible heroines like Jonelle Patterson, who works her way up from a child with an alcoholic mother, not to mention a problem of stuttering, to become the most famous newscaster in the world! Sure, the use of real people in fictional roles is quite a manipulative move, but it adds a little color and humor to the goings-on; and the love scenes between Rex and Clay, though brief in number, are outright ridiculous. But, what a fun read. There are several scenes of suspense and you have to wonder---will they make it in time??? The finale is so over the top it's wonderful! Catching the villain right on t.v.! And the epilogue is so woefully predictable, that you almost want to say, "What else?"
Ah, but readers, if you are looking for a way to kill some time and have some fun along the way, grab this one and have fun!
RECOMMENDED

This was an okay book...something to keep you entertained on the long train ride to work. However, a 4 year old could have guessed the ending.

When I bought Hidden Agenda, I was not sure I would read it until the end. It really surprised me, it was a fart turning page book, that I not just read to the end but really had a good time with it.

All books of this type ask the reader for a certain suspension of disbelief. This book asked so much that it generated groaning instead of suspense. A real waste of time. A screed for the author's own political agenda. He can write fairly well, but he obviously can't come up with a remotely plausible plot.

Given everything that has happened in the media and on our political scene AFTER Racina's Hidden Agenda came out - it is chilling in its portrayals. An insider's view of the political scene and the media that surrounds it, nurtures it and feeds off it. Racina's insights and perceptions are amazing.

This was a first time read for one of his books and now have ordered Snow Angel. This is a story of a loving couple/family who are unknowingly caught up in a scheme by several, wealthy, well-connected fellow citizens. It was action packed but without the gore. Kept me going from the beginning and I really didn't know how it was going to be resolved. Excellant read. Highly recommend it. Now, when does his next one come out?

KF: What a great read! When it is flooding outside up to the doorsill like right now in northern California or blizzarding in Montana, pull out this clever, intriguing roller coaster story, light up the fire and sit back for the entire evening. Stay up on a Friday night, get the cocoa cup ready, and read this unusual and unique mystery from beginning to end. Tight writing, sinister plotting - a "swell" romp through a TV news-based story. Raising a question that seems particularly appropriate at this time: Do TV news networks create news, make news to raise ratings and to achieve political ends?

Trying to see if Jonelle and her husband could keep ahead of whoever was trying to kill her was wild and I loved the way the story weaved in and out; they almost get caught, then they get away; it is storytelling at its best. Once they figure out who the bad guys are, the chase is on. I couldn't wait to get through the book to see how everything turned out and I wasn't disappointed. Terrific book. I look forward to his next novel.

The new kid on the TV news block, Network One, hires Jonelle Patterson as their star domestic-trotting reporter. It becomes apparent very quickly that Jonelle seems to be either the luckiest person alive or the greatest jinx known to mankind. As soon as she arrives on a scene, she seems to eyewitness numerous accidental deaths and murders that boosts her show to the top of the ratings game. Americans are fascinated with her ability for finding live disasters.

However, Jonelle's spouse Steven and her producer begin to wonder about the endless coincidences that place Jonelle in the right place at the right time to get a scoop. Steven, who has been editing, her work, soon notices a sinister figure appearing in every tape, which just adds to his suspicion that someone is orchestrating events. When her producer is murdered, Jonelle and Steven have to wonder if there is some diabolical conspiracy behind her success? They begin to investigate, knowing that if they find out what they most fear, they need to figure out what to do with that tidbit of news. They struggle to stay alive tring to figure ot how to pierce the veils of secrecy that surround the truth behind Jonelle's amazing success.

HIDDEN AGENDA is a thrilling tale as well as a condemnation of the TV news by showing how easy the media could manipulate the stories for its own end. Jonelle is an ideal heroine because she is competent yet no superstar, and struggles to accept that her success is caused by the actions of others. The motive behind her success and her Mr. Perfect spouse (not the wrestler) do take a bit away from the smoothness of this terrific but terrifying tale. Think NETWORK updated into the next millennium.

Harriet Klausner