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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
title: First Daughter
author: Eric Van Lustbader
pages: 400
genre: thriller
first line: 'Alli Carson sat in the back of the armor-plated limo, sandwiched between Sam and Nina, her Secret Service detail.'
published: 2008
rated: 3 1/2 out of 5
This is my first time reading a book like this. I'd been wanting to read a good political thriller.
Alli Carson, the daughter of President Elect Edward Carson, is kidnapped a few weeks before the Presidential inauguration.
Agent Jack McClure is assigned to help find her. Jack is dyslexic and the way his brain works, he is able to pick up on details the average person wouldn't. Jack has a personal connection to this case, his daughter Emma was Alli's best friend and roommate in college. Emma died in a car crash and Jack has never recovered from losing his daughter.
Now Jack is in a cat and mouse chase, trying to find Alli and the man who kidnapped her.
It took me about 60 pages in, to get really hooked. Eric Van Lustbader uses flashbacks in the storytelling, which I don't usually enjoy, but once I got used to this, the storyline was pretty good.
He also writes the story from different characters perspectives, so there is alot going on in this book.
I liked Jack. You get to see into his past. He comes from an abusive home, and he's been through so much hurt and he's survived it all, that you can't help but like his character.
'He was powerless to stop his thoughts moving toward Emma. His longing to talk with his daughter, so that she could spread the balm of forgiveness over him, brought tears to his eyes. His hands shook.
He was like an alcoholic with a bottle to his mouth. Every fiber in his being ached for the chance to say he was sorry, to tell Emma how much he loved her. Why was it, he asked himself despairingly, that he could acknowledge his love for her only now, when it was too late? '
I also liked reading the story from Ali and her kidnapper's point of views. He is very creepy and the way he is brainwashing her was scary. The way Ali begins to think and the things she doesn't know about her kidnapper made the storyline very interesting.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was that the current president, who remains unnamed throughout, was too strange for me. He was this religious fanatic who uses religion as a basis for all his decisions. He just became too annoying and while I read about him, I grew easily bored with the story. I found myself at time just kind of *rolling my eyes* and wondering 'What the heck?' I think if this character wasn't such a fanatic and constantly talking about religion and how athiests rule the world, this would have been a 4 star read for me.
All in all, this is a good read. Especially if you're looking to read a decent thriller.
about the author:
Eric Van Lustbader is the author of more than 25 international bestsellers, including The Testament and the three most recent Jason Bourne novels: The Bourne Legacy, The Bourne Betrayal and The Bourne Sanction. His books have been translated into over 20 languages. He and his wife, author Victoria Lustbader, live in New York City and Long Island.
Special thanks to j.kaye for sending me this book to read & review. Visit her blog for details on how to become a guest reviewer.
