The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear

In the days leading up to the 2020 Republican National Convention in New Orleans, J.D. Callahan, son of a famous Louisiana civil rights lawyer and himself a savvy political campaign manager, scrambles to lure the delegates needed to secure the party nomination for his boss, Vice President Hilda Smith. Her opponent for the nomination is Armstrong George, a Donald Trump%E2%80%93esque extremist governor from Colorado looking to build a wall across the Mexican border and militarize the nation. While Callahan schemes for Smith, he finds himself also stuck dealing with his half-brothers: Paul, himself aiming to enter New Orleans politics, and Tyler, a skinhead manager of a local strip club. To make matters worse, someone is detonating small explosions around the city, frightening Smith's delegates and reinforcing George's scare tactic rhetoric. Stevens (The Last Season) offers some interesting insight into what goes into a political campaign, but his repetitive prose, narrative leaps in logic, and stereotypical characters fail to truly resonate. The real-life presidential race currently consuming the United States in 2016 makes this fictional excursion feel like a pale imitation. (June)