An abduction...a trail of disturbing clues... Politics are about to become deadly. As the controversial mayor of the beautiful coastal community of Santa Rita, Madison 'Maddy' Glenn likes to face things head-on. But nothing can prepare her for a hostile visit from the chief of police---or his terrible news. Lisa Truccoli, Maddy's friend and the treasurer of her last campaign, has been kidnapped. All that remains at the crime scene is a shocking clue...with Maddy's name on it. The ensuing hunt for answers only turns up more sinister clues in a terrifying game the abductor wants to play...with Maddy. Caught between a haunting past and a dangerous present, Maddy finds the walls that keep her from faith beginning to crumble. The stakes turn lethal with a second abduction and a clue that reveals inside information about Maddy's run for Congress---a decision she has not made yet. Someone is going to dangerous lengths to make the choice for her...but it is a choice she'll survive?
The Incumbent
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Alton Gansky (www.altongansky.com) has written a number of other novels, including Zero-G, Finder's Fee, Director's Cut, Before Another Dies, The Prodigy, and the J. D. Stanton mystery series. He also writes nonfiction books that explore the mysteries of faith, the Bible, and God. He and his wife, Becky, have three adult children and live in Southern California.
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The Incumbent Copyright 2004 by Alton L. Gansky Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gansky, Alton. The incumbent / Alton Gansky. p. cm. ISBN 0-310-24958-9 (softcover) 1. Political campaigns---Fiction. 2. Female friendship---Fiction. 3. Missing persons---Fiction. 4. Women mayors---Fiction. 5. California---Fiction. 6. Abduction---Fiction. I. Title. PS3557.A5195I53 2004 813'.54---dc22 2004012892 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means---electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other---except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Michelle Espinoza Printed in the United States of America 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 /.DC/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 c h a p t e r There were five of us, four members of the council and me, Mayor Madison Glenn. I seldom use the name Madison except on legal documents and even then only with reluctance. My father told me it was a good name, 'strong, decisive, and majestic.' It was my misfortune to be born while my father, a history professor at the University of Santa Barbara, was reading a biography on James Madison. Dad got a good read; I was stuck with the name. I'm thankful that he wasn't reading a bio of Ulysses S. Grant. It took years of gentle nagging, but now even he calls me Maddy. Santa Rita is the place I call home, as do roughly 125,000 other people. A small city by most standards, it is large enough to provide everything a person needs: hospital, college, nice homes, wide streets, and an eye-popping view. Located on the ocean shore, eighty miles north of Los Angeles and just south of Santa Barbara, Santa Rita sits like a jewel against the usually brown coastal mountains. The azure Pacific waters glitter in the sunlight, cool the city in the day, and provide a warm blanket of air in the evening. Every day is picture-postcard material. To tourists Santa Rita is Eden; to the rest of us it is home. The Chamber of Commerce promotes our town as 'California's Heaven.' On most days I agree; on others I can't help but notice that a little hell oozes across our borders. When I had left my office to make my way to the council chamber, the sun had already set and a slab of gray clouds had rolled in, veiling the stars and moon. An easy drizzle had begun to streak my window, sending sinuous veins of water coursing from header to sill. I hoped this was not an omen. I've been the city's mayor for two years---two challenging years. I am the town's first elected mayor. Before the election twenty-four months ago, the mayor was selected from sitting council members, as with most cities our size. Last election, however, was different. Candidates ran at large, the first time since 1851, when our town incorporated. It was a hot race, full of contestants, each certain they were the best person for the job and that any other candidate would lead the city into utter ruin and degradation. I won. I don't know how, but when they counted the last ballot, my name was on top. Perhaps it was because I had already served two four-year terms on the council. Or maybe it was because I was the only woman in a contest of six wanna-bes. Two of the other candidates sat at the bench with me. Larry Wu, an accountant of Chinese descent, had come in third. He was a gracious loser and the least problematic member of the city government. Larry had spent his childhood in Texas and came to Santa Rita when his father's firm transferred him. I'd known Larry for six years but still struggled to reconcile his Asian face with his southern accent. Jon Adler had also fought hard for the seat. He had money and outspent me on the campaign two-to-one. A lanky attorney, he treated the campaign like the criminal cases he tried before local judges. He attacked the other candidates with the flair and joy of a hunter blasting pheasants out of the sky. He paid little attention to me, assuming I was the dark horse of the group. He shredded poor Larry. They were able to remain on the council, since their seats were not up for election for another two years. That was two years ago. Both men were once again pressing the flesh, making promises, and leveling accusations. The chamber was quiet and attendance sparse. When controversial matters are on the agenda, the darkly paneled halls can hold up to 250 agitated, and often loud, citizens. This night was low-key. The agenda was routine, with only one item of business that was close to contentious: an appeal for a conditional use permitfor a local church that wanted to move to a new site. Four people, three men and one woman, sat together close to the aisle. They were whispering to each other. I assumed they represented the church. Across the aisle that bisected the chamber sat Sue Holton, chairperson of the Planning Commission. She was there to speak against the appeal. Santa Rita has only one newspaper, a daily called the Register. They had sent one reporter, who sat three rows back, head in hand. He looked ready to doze. Hard day at the computer, I assumed. I let my eyes drift to the back wall of the chamber. It faces the concrete plaza and fountain that greets any of the public who make their way to the seat of their city government. The lights of the chamber reflected off the glass, making it difficult to see outside, but I could tell the drizzle had turned to rain. I could also see a man enter the lobby. He paused and brushed the rain from his suit coat as if he could sweep the water away like dust. I forced my thoughts to the task before me. I am punctilious when it comes to time. Any meeting that starts late is off to a bad start. We were all present and accounted for and thus there was no reason for delay. In one minute, at precisely 7:00, I would call the meeting to order. The agenda for our session was light, and with a little luck we could be done in less than sixty minutes. That was fine with me. I had a double-chocolate brownie waiting on the kitchen counter at home. It had been a demanding day. A double-chocolate brownie was my due. On the counter before me was a small digital clock with bright red numerals: 6:59 turned to 7:00. As I raised my gavel, the man in the lobby stepped through the back doors of the chamber. In full light I could see it was Bill Webb. He took two steps and raised a hand, mouthing the words, 'Hold it.' I lowered the small oak mallet. This had better be important. Bill Webb was our chief of police and a fixture in the city. He marched to the platform, then sprinted up the few steps to the bench. This was unusual. You don't just dash up the steps to where the council sits---even if you're the police chief. He leaned over my right shoulder. 'I need to speak to you.' His breath smelled of peppermint. He had quit smoking the year before and had replaced one oral fixation with another. 'I was about to start the meeting; can't it wait?' 'No.' 'What can be so important that it can't---' 'There's been a crime. It involves Lisa Truccoli.' My stomach sank. 'What? How?' 'I want to talk to you. Privately. Now.' 'Of course.' I turned my attention back to the chamber. 'The meeting will stand in recess for ten minutes.' 'Wait a minute,' Jon Adler said. 'You can't recess a meeting that hasn't been called to order.' He was being his usual tedious self. I picked up the gavel and smacked it down. 'This meeting of the Santa Rita City Council is
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More About the Author
Alton Gansky (www.altongansky.com) has written a number of other novels, including Zero-G, Finder's Fee, Director's Cut, Before Another Dies, The Prodigy, and the J. D. Stanton mystery series. He also writes nonfiction books that explore the mysteries of faith, the Bible, and God. He and his wife, Becky, have three adult children and live in Southern California.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Started out so good but...,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Incumbent (The Madison Glenn Series #1) (Paperback)
I have read everything Alton Gansky has written, and he is one of my very favorite authors. His remarkable imagination has led to some truly outstanding novels. This book was different from his others. The protagonist is a woman--"Maddy," the mayor of a small town. The first problem I had was in the way this main character was portrayed. Gansky seems to think that the only thing women do is cry and hug one another. There were so many tears and embraces that it finally turned me off big time. I would not be able to stand being around such an emotional person. But of course I kept reading, because the plot had really gripped me. I waded through all the tears to find out what would happen next. The mystery of who was abducting Maddy's campaign workers, and why, was built up nicely. Obviously someone wanted to destroy Maddy's political future to keep her from running for a higher office. At least, that is what seemed obvious by the story line. I started to really get into the book and couldn't wait to see how the story would resolve itself. Then, all of a sudden at the end, the story took such a ridiculous and unbelievable turn that I was left very disappointed. Folks, I hate to write negative things in a review; ESPECIALLY when it's a book by one of my very favorite authors. But This book simply does not stack up to the writer's ability. I hope Gansky turns back to writing the Stanton books, or ANY of his previous characters instead of this one. I give it 3 stars because of how well written it is up until the absurd ending. If you are a Gansky fan who would never miss one of his books, go ahead. But if you haven't read his books before, don't start with this one--the others are all much better!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A story with maximum suspense and strong Christian themes,
By FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Incumbent (The Madison Glenn Series #1) (Paperback)
In THE INCUMBENT, as in some of his previous novels (THE PRODIGY, DARK MOON), author Alton Gansky shows that he knows how to set up a story with maximum suspense while incorporating strong Christian themes, to the continuing delight of his faith fiction readers.
In the small southern California coastal town of Santa Rita, Mayor Madison "Maddy" Glenn watches as those who worked on her campaign begin disappearing one by one --- with only a few drops of blood left behind in symmetrical patterns and carefully arranged to point toward her as the reason for the kidnappings. But why has the perpetrator gone after her friends, and not the mayor herself? As the attractive (and single) detective Judson West tells her, "My guess is, they want something from you." Soon, she is riddled by guilt: "I was feeling like the reincarnation of Typhoid Mary," muses Maddy. As the story unfolds, any association with the mayor seems to be an invitation to murder, assault, or abduction. Unable to know whom to trust, the attractive widow takes in Celeste Truccoli, the 19-year-old daughter of one of her friends who has disappeared. When it soon becomes apparent that anyone she loves is in danger, Maddy's mother and father also move in, and Gansky paints them both as engaging, loveable parents. Back at the office, Randi Portman, Maddy's able personal assistant, keeps things running smoothly while pushing the Mayor to up the ante and run for Congresswoman at the next election. When Celeste's estranged father jets in for reasons never fully explained and begins having Maddy and Celeste followed, chaos ensues. Dr. Jerry Thomas, a middle-aged divorcee who has known Maddy for years, adds another dollop of possible romantic intrigue to the tale. Gansky does a good job writing in first person as a woman, and is adept at laying many false rabbit trails for the reader to follow. He also writes some nice descriptions of the beautiful southern California landscape where the story unfolds (although he has a fondness for the word "azure"). He occasionally overdescribes (flames in a fireplace "dance like leprechauns on St. Paddy's day" and tears "broke through like Huns attacking a village"). He sometimes falls back on the overused novelist's device of describing his characters appearance as they see themselves reflected in a window or a mirror. Gansky also occasionally "tells" rather than "shows" ("The pier is a place of constant activity..."). He also makes many of his sentences the same length, rather than varying the length for the enjoyment of the reader. Readers may also find themselves confused when the plot ending revolves around a fire ant bite that seemingly happens on a boat at sea (or happens at a location where there is a security camera close by). Yet all of these are blips in what is a genuinely enjoyable suspense novel. Gansky knows how to keep his readers guessing, and the device of the blood drops he uses to frame his story around will have a chilling effect on the reader. Although some conversion scenes feel a little heavy-handed rather than flowing seamlessly into the story, the redemptive conclusion of the novel has some nice twists and surprises. This fast-paced tale of intrigue in a small southern California coastal town is an enjoyable one for faith fiction fans. --- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby (phrelanzer@aol.com)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
We all talk...,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Incumbent (Kindle Edition)
Why is decent, normal sounding dialogue so hard to recreate? I'm not even done with the book but after all the typos and bad dialogue, I can't wait to get to the library and find something else. "you'll loose all your money," for example, and "you'll like her. She's smart and pretty." yes, when discussing my friends with other friends that haven't met, I always tell them how attractive the other is upfront. Not intriguing, or very good but it's free so try it for yourself!
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