Another great read from Weihl. Her win streak continues! Highly recommend. ( )

Another well written page turner adventure with Erica Sparks! My favorite journalist who constantly sticks her neck out to unashamedly discover the truth. ( )

In this fourth book by Lis Wiehl, I read, GNN host and journalist Erica Sparks is put right in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign. Mike Ortiz survived Al Qaida torture in Iraq and is favorite to become president-elect. When his direct opponent is murdered, a series of killings is initiated. Erica Sparks faces the difficult task to find out who did it in order to share it with the America people.

The close she gets into the life of Mike Ortiz and his staff, the clearer it gets that Mike's wife Celeste and her mentor Lily Lau are in over their head. What is the truth, what lies, and can you really trust a brainwashed man becoming president of the U.S.? Who will be running the country?

The quest to find the exact background Erica not only puts herself in danger put also risks losing her daughter Jenny forever. Lis Wiehl, partnering with Sebastian Stewart for this novel, mixes the whodunnit and narrow escape plot with true life relationship hiccups, the fear of forsaking responsibilities back home as a working mother. The Candidate is a thrilling sequel in the Newsmaker series. ( )

The Candidate is a political thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. That in itself is a good enough reason to read this book, especially if that genre is one you enjoy. But I also could relate to the struggle between work and family so accurately portrayed in this book. As a father who had to travel 9 months a year to earn money for his family, I could definitely relate to the tough decisions the main character had to deal with. The feelings I got from reading this were so real that it made me wonder if Ms. Wiehl was writing from experience.

Erica Sparks is that main character to whom I previously referred. An investigative reporter, she is the host of one of the most popular news shows on television. But that fame is a double edged sword. She is frequently required to travel in order to obtain her stories, leaving her 11 year old daughter with baby sitters or interns from the network. Not the ideal situation for either Erica or her daughter Jenny. But Erica is dedicated to her job and believes that the American people and the world deserve the truth. Once she begins a story, Erica will not stop until it is resolved, one way or another. Despite worrying about her daughter constantly, Erica seems to always put her job first, which is hard for Jenny to accept, and maybe rightfully so.

The story Erica is working on in this novel has to due with one of the candidates running for president, Mike Ortiz. During the primaries, a bomb takes out Ortiz's main rival, practically handing him the parties nomination. But something about Ortiz doesn't seem quite right to Erica. He is constantly looking to his wife Celeste for approval whenever he is asked a question. He is rarely alone without his wife, and Celeste is constantly with her mentor Lily Lau, who is the daughter of the former Chinese trade minister. Also, Mike Ortiz seems practiced and too smooth in his actions, often giving a smile at inappropriate times. So Erica gets the itch to investigate this man, who is just a heartbeat away from the oval office, as well as his wife. Her search for the truth takes her from New York to San Francisco to Iraq and back. Many witnesses and potential allies conveniently turn up dead, spooking Erica somewhat but making her even more determined to find the truth. All during this time, Jenny is longing for more time with her mother, which tugs strongly at Erica's heart. A tough decision to make, Erica sticks with her story. What she finds is so incredible that it is hard for Erica to fathom and would be disastrous for the United States. But can she live long enough to bring her findings to the world? You will have to read the book in order to find the answer to that question.

I found the story a compelling read, and as I mentioned earlier tugged at my heart during the interactions between Erica and Jenny. The premise of what Erica found out about Mike Ortiz is a bit far fetched, but Lis Wiehl presents it in such a way as to make it seem possible. The language used by the author is basic and mostly profanity free, so I feel this would be appropriate for middle school children all the way up through adults. In fact, I would encourage adults to let their pre-teens to read this, especially if their jobs require a lot of their time, because I believe Erica accurately portrays the duality of feelings that working adults encounter. A solid 4 star read in my opinion, definitely worth your time. I would like to thank Lis Wiehl, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book. I voluntarily accepted this on a no obligation basis, and did not guarantee a review or that any review would be positive. ( )

Title: The Candidate (The Newsmakers #2)
Author: Lis Wiehl with Sebastian Stuart
Pages: 335
Year: 2016
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
My rating is 4 stars.
Erica Sparks is a tough, ambitious journalist who will stop at nothing to get to the truth. She will risk offending people, stepping on toes, even her very life in her tireless efforts to bring the truth out in the open before the American public. This dogged approach has led her to risk her life before as seen in book one of the series, The Newsmakers. In this second book, her nose for news leads her to pursue a conspiracy plot to gain control of the White House. Erica is also now dealing with her daughter living with her as she has gained custody of Jenny. Jenny faces adjusting to having a celebrity mother, going to a private school with wealthy peers as well as her mom being gone a lot for her job.
As Erica’s rating dip below #1 in viewership, her boss demands she get a lead story to catapult her to the top again. The presidential race is heating up, so Erica decides to do in-depth interviews with the candidates. Tragedy strikes before Erica can interview all the candidates, but once she meets Mike and Celeste Ortiz she knows something strange is going on. She has a gut instinct about this couple that something is very off about them and her gut is rarely wrong. The woman in charge of Celeste’s company and Celeste’s best friend, Lily, also adds another ruthless and weird dynamic to the relationship between Celeste, Mike and Lily. As Erica digs deeper, more people in her life die.
This is a good secular story, so I’m wondering why it is published by a Christian publisher and marketed toward a Christian audience. There is nothing about faith or Christianity in this entire book. Just a note to readers, in the prologue there is a risqué scene between Celeste and Mike. There is a great deal of emotional and psychological manipulation at work between Celeste and Lily. Their relationship is disturbing as Lily is a psychopath who thrives on being in control, and Celeste worships her, depends on her and will do anything Lily says. Also, the character of Becky, Erica’s personal assistant, was especially creepy! The mind games were multi-layered and involved many of the characters. The writing was well done and the book moves quickly, keeping readers engaged from beginning until the end. I thought the plot plausible and some of the events that happened in the story could have been pulled from any headline in any major city, which added realism.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )