Conspiracy fanatics may enjoy Beres's second novel (after Grand Traverse
), a bizarre political thriller that focuses on Stanley Johnson, a middle-aged Chicago resident who becomes a pawn in a convoluted presidential assassination plot. The hapless, whining Johnson, whose only son was kidnapped and murdered and whose wife subsequently committed suicide, is hard to root for, even as unseen and unnamed plotters make his tragedy-filled life even worse. The aim of the plotters is unclear, though a mysterious, wealthy and powerful man appears to be pulling the strings designed to influence the re-election fight of President Andrew Montgomery. When an unscheduled presidential campaign stop brings the action to a boil, Johnson finds himself in a life-threatening situation that recalls his horrific personal losses. The denouement would be at home in the tabloids. (July)
