Executive Actions (Hardcover)

~ Gary Grossman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

TV producer Grossman's first thriller might well be subtitled "The Libyan Candidate." It starts with the assassination of apparently the wrong person—the wife of Massachusetts Democratic congressman Teddy Lodge, who's running a distant second in the presidential primaries. Lodge and his handlers use the killing to stir up a media storm to win first the nomination and then the presidency itself. But several people loyal to the defeated Republican president—especially Scott Roarke, a tough and resourceful agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency—begin to have suspicions about Teddy Lodge. Is he really who he claims to be? And who is the mysterious Libyan who appears to be pulling his strings and who perhaps even arranged the assassination of Mrs. Lodge? Grossman has done lots of research on everything from political infighting to clandestine military operations; despite a certain stiffness in his narrative technique, he manages to hold reader interest right up to the inevitable conclusion.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

An assassin takes aim at a Presidential candidate during a primary stump speech. The instant he pulls the trigger, the outcome of the election is irrevocably changed. But Democrat Teddy Lodge, an upcoming media sweetheart, isn't killed. His wife is. As a result, Lodge emerges as the man to beat and the greatest threat to the incumbent President, Morgan Taylor. Under a specific directive from the President, Special Service Agent Scott Roarke devles into the case and begins to unravel a deadly plot that incubated for more than 30 years; designed to alter America's allegiances in the Middle East. From the very first page, Presidential Objective culls events from today's headlines intersecting with a scenario that's shockingly real: An insidious plot hatched in the old days of the Soviet Union continues to grow to fruition in the hands of a power hungry Middle East heir to the throne. At its core, a sleeper is awakened to take a prominent role in American Life. Presidential Option is a tense political thriller; an election year page-turner, where both the Presidency and the Constitution are at stake.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: I Books (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743486927
• ISBN-13: 978-0743486927
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid political thriller, November 24, 2004

By	R. Miller "soldierblue" (Woodstock, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel has a very intriguing plot: Can a deep cover "sleeper" spy become president of the US? Apparently so.
The story moves along at a quick pace with some interesting characters. What is amazing is that the numerous federal law enforcement agencies finally work together to stop a horrendous plot to overthrow the US government.
I thought the book was a very enjoyable read, but the editing is awful. I have never read a book from a major publisher with so many grammatical errors, omissions and incorrect punctuation.
Some of the sentences had so many errors they made no sense. It is a shame to see a good novel degraded by such sloppy editing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wait for 2nd (or further editions), October 20, 2005

By	NoVA Reader (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

Granted, the story _is_ somewhat interesting (although improbable in some places) but you really have to be patient to wade through the grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. I can't believe it was actually published in this state!

My favorite error was the consistent use of "passed" instead of "past". There are a LOT of others, sometimes making sentences totally incoherent.

The best advice I would give is to wait for the used book sales for further titles by this author or publisher.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simon & Schuster Disgrace, July 24, 2005

By	Dave Hutcheson (North St. Paul, MN, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The plot is interesting, could be 4 or 5 stars. I did read it all the way through. But I will remember this book most for the several hundred obvious spelling and word selection errors, as an example of how low standards have sunk in some parts of the publishing profession.