Presidential Deal [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Harper (1998)
• ASIN: B001E31NKI
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars RAT-A-TAT ACTION - A WALLOPING GOOD READ, February 7, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presidential Deal (Mass Market Paperback)

For those who like their adventure dark, their plots ingenious, and action rapid rat-a-tat, Les Standiford has shown he's your man. He doesn't disappoint in his sixth time out - Presidential Deal.

In this pulse-pounding Miami based thriller builder/detective John Deal again takes center stage, this time finding himself the hapless victim in high-level terrorism so audacious that it burdens acceptance. Yet, despite the author's far-out premise, he draws his characters so credibly and paints scenes with such an authentic brush that it is all scarily believable.

When Deal and his pal, retired homicide detective Vernon Driscoll, are peacefully cruising Biscayne Bay in a "forty-five-foot Bayliner with a flying bridge and a patched up hull," they spy what appears to be masses of bobbing debris. It is human flotsam - some 20 Cuban refugees tossed overboard by the scuzzy pirates they've paid to ferry them to the United States and freedom. For rescuing them Deal is to be awarded a National Medal of Valor.

Rather than a Rose Garden ceremony, the presentation is moved to Miami so that President Frank Sheldon, in a reelection move, can meet with Jorge Vas, leader of the Florida emigre community. At the last minute, Linda Sheldon is called upon to substitute for her husband in presenting medals to Deal and the other awardees.

Rather than a stars-and-stripes event to which the nation can look with pride, the country is shocked by a blood bath as terrorists disguised as Miami policemen strafe the honorees and the audience. When the smoke clears and the bodies are counted, the First Lady and John Deal are both found missing, an abduction planned by Angel Salazar, a soulless sadist whose loyalties are up for grabs but at the moment bought by " a group without a history, without a face."

Spirited to an unknown tropical island the pair are tossed into a dirty raw cinderblock structure with a corrugated tin roof. Once there, the brutality they endure at the hands of their captors is not enough, the island is soon slapped by a tree crushing hurricane. Although earlier on Deal had said, "Tell them I'm not Arnold Schwarzenegger," he exhibits strength's that would surpass Arnie's as he saves Linda and himself from the storm.

While all military and civilian investigators are searching for the First Lady, it seems that nobody cares about Deal save for Driscoll, who is convinced his friends and Linda Sheldon are being held captive together. Driscoll tries to track the suppliers of the contraband police uniforms by calling in some chits and using force on some underground characters he once knew. They, especially Ray Brisa, are standout characters, rendered with sharp and knowing pen.

Of course, Deal and the First Lady are going to make it but what they have to go through to get there makes a first-rate thriller. Disturbing, frightening, grippingly suspenseful, Presidential Deal packs a walloping good read.

- Gail Cooke

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing throughout., August 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Presidential Deal: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel contains unlikely characters, weak dialog, and unexplained plot twists. Illogical events occur throughout which are never explained. This was a frustrating read in that I hoped it would get better while I continued to read. It didn't. My advice is "Don't bother."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best!, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Presidential Deal: A Novel (Hardcover)

Standiford is one author whose books I await anxiously. John Deal is one of my favorites along with Dirk Pitt and Spencer.

I've read all the Deal novels. Most are great. This one is a little weak. Wait for the paperback.