The Candidate

August 29, 2016
In this predictable second installment of the Newsmakers series, Wiehl continues to follow the career of GNN cable news host Erica Sparks. Her recent ratings slip puts her career at GNN in jeopardy, and she becomes laser-focused on breaking a big story. When a favored presidential hopeful and his wife survive a bombing just minutes before an important primary debateâand just feet from where Sparks is reportingâall she sees is opportunity. As she investigates the bombing, Sparks becomes disturbed by the Svengali-like control that billionaire businesswoman Celeste Ortiz seems to have over her husband, the now presumptive Democratic nominee. Sparks is extremely unsympathetic heroine, as her devotion to her career trumps everything elseâincluding her daughter, her fiancé, and the safety of others. Wiehl's portrayals include unambiguous evil and Sparks is singularly focused on exposing truth, with little else to round out her personality. Readers familiar with The Manchurian Candidate will no doubt anticipate the outcome early on. Agent: Todd Shuster.

A senator's wife may have more invested in the campaign than just her good name. Can a reporter uncover the truth before she becomes the next target?Investigative journalist Erica Sparks thinks it's her job to introduce the candidates for the upcoming presidential election on her show, The Erica Sparks Effect. It's not just for ratings, though Erica has recently been reminded by GNN execs that she can't live forever off the success of her past investigations (The Newsmakers, 2016, etc.). While she's covering the final Democratic debate between Sen. Mike Ortiz and Gov. Fred Buchanan, a bomb explodes, sending Erica and her viewers into shock. Erica is determined to live up to her job title and find out whether this was a random act of violence or evidence of something greater and more sinister. She's certain that the senator's wife, Celeste Pierce Ortiz, has more information than she's sharing. When she presses Celeste, the two engage in a game of cat and mouse in which Erica's belief that she has the upper hand may be unfounded. On top of this, Erica, who's won full-time custody of her daughter, Jenny, knows she needs to hire someone to lighten the load. Will hiring an intern from the show help bridge the gap or make it greater? She wishes she could confide in her fiance, Greg, though he's working his own 24/7 shift in Australia. Will Erica uncover Celeste's secret or become another pawn in Celeste's apparently mind-controlled army?Though it's easy to enter and savor the wholly fictional world of politicians driving, and driven by, the media, Wiehl's plot is well-worn and derivative, with a predictable ending unworthy of her plucky heroine. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2016

This second series installment (following The Newsmakers) sees reporter Erica Sparks observing how one of the presidential candidates seems overly reliant on his wife. Erica's curiosity is piqued, but as she closes in on the truth, more people die. The sometimes graphic violence depicted here makes this edgier read a great pick for thriller fans.

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