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Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bill and James' excellent adventure
What if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election, making her president, and making husband Bill Clinton the first first gentleman in U.S. history — and deep into her first term, Bill had been charged with murder? Oh dear. And that's pretty much all you need to know before launching into the third collaboration between former president Bill Clinton and super-prolific thriller author James Patterson, following The President is Missing and The President's Daughter. Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press files Bill Clinton (left) and James Patterson… TK We've got a courtroom drama, political thriller and police procedural all rolled into one that's both preposterous and preposterously entertaining. The first gentleman is Cole Wright, husband of President Madeleine Wright; he's a former tight end with the New England Patriots, one of whose cheerleaders he is accused of murdering 17 years ago. The big difference this time around is that Cole isn't the first-person narrator, after two whiz-bang novels in which the narrator was a male president who was the greatest warrior in the U.S. of A. No, this time our narrator is a Black woman lawyer and Yale law professor, Brea Cooke (check the initials). She's been researching a book about the disappearance and presumed death of cheerleader Suzanne Bonanno, and had been working along with Brea's romantic and professional partner Garrett Wilson, an investigative reporter. The first few pages tell us Cole is going to trial on the charges, Garrett is dead and it's flashback time. President Maddy is a Democrat, who stands by her man but believes his conviction would scuttle her re-election chances. Clinton and Patterson obviously started writing this book before the most recent election, back when presidents didn't mess with the justice system's independence. Spoiler alert — the word 'pardon' never appears herein. Brea and Garrett met at Dartmouth, the Ivy League school where a generation earlier, Cole, Maddy and her chief of staff Burton had all hung out together. There are rumours of a young woman's having been raped at a frat party full of football players, but all witnesses were bought or threatened into silence. People who know something about the dead cheerleader having dated Cole, and he having allegedly treated her violently before she vanished, start getting murdered. Who could have seen this coming? Brea knows she's being followed by two shady characters, we know a minor-league mobster has unleashed thugs, we know there's a professional hitperson with a sniper rifle stalking a whole lot of people, we know several conspiracies and cabals are feeding Brea clues for reasons unknown, we know intrepid homicide detective Marie Gagnon is refusing to drop her sleuthing — oodles of mysterious stuff we know, without knowing a lot of the why and by whom. The First Gentleman Why did the authors choose the New England Patriots? Maybe because the Pats had a real-life tight end named Aaron Hernandez who was charged with three murders and convicted of one murder. But we digress… While her husband is on trial, President Maddy is busy trying to stop China from invading the Philippines without starting a war, and she's trying to get enough votes from both parties (Bill probably wrote this part) for a rainbows-and-unicorns plan to prevent the States from going bankrupt, by increasing taxes on the wealthy to keep basic programs such as social security and Medicaid solvent. Bill, in what parallel universe did you find these agreeable Republicans? Readers may spend several chapters thinking The First Gentleman will concentrate on violence against women. Then they may think the authors are questioning why a young man who won the gene pool and then married into unimaginable power and wealth should lose everything because of one incident that he now acts in public as though he regrets. Ultimately, the authors have used a devastating societal ill as simply a plot device on which to hang another thriller full of Clinton's intriguing insights into politics and Patterson's bang-bang, never-stop-for-breath plots. Retired Free Press reporter Nick Martin reckons American football coaches will rapidly turn pages for clues how one tight end can turn a small school like Dartmouth, where players are required to go to class and pass courses, into a national university football power.
Indian Express
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Bill Clinton & James Patterson return with ‘The First Gentleman', a political thriller where the President's husband is on trial
Co-authors Bill Clinton and James Patterson's are back for the third time with their latest political thriller, The First Gentleman. The collaboration that banks on Patterson's writing prowess and Clinton's insider knowledge opens with a premise that remains a pipedream, especially for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris – United States has its first female president, Madeline Wright. Wright is fighting for re-election, but predicably her campaign hits the doldrums after her husband, former NFL star Cole Wright, is accused of a decades-old murder. The victim, is a young Patriots cheerleader, Suzanne Bonanno, who vanished 17 years ago after an alleged affair with Cole. The scandal predictably ignites a media firestorm, a brutal courtroom battle, and a political crisis that could derail President Wright's economic reforms. Journalism in focus Unlike Clinton and Patterson's previous thrillers, which centered on presidents in physical danger (The President Is Missing) or protecting their families (The President's Daughter), The First Gentleman shifts the spotlight to investigative journalists Brea Cooke and Garrett Wilson. Their relentless pursuit of the 'truth' drives the narrative, a nod to the power (and peril) of a free press. The novel's most compelling moments come from Clinton's intimate understanding of political survival. The West Wing scrambles to contain the fallout, allies turn on each other, and the president must weigh loyalty against the demands of office—all while prosecutors circle her husband. The parallels to real-life political scandals are impossible to ignore, though Clinton and Patterson stop short of direct commentary. Instead, they let readers wonder how it would play out in reality. Before The First Gentleman, Bill Clinton and James Patterson had already proven their knack for blending political insider knowledge with razor-sharp thriller mechanics. Their collaborations—both bestsellers—laid the groundwork for this latest high-stakes drama. President Jonathan Lincoln Duncan faces an unprecedented cyberattack that could cripple the United States. When intelligence suggests the threat comes from within his own administration, the president disappears from the White House to personally stop the conspiracy. As terrorist attacks erupt across the country, Duncan races against time to uncover the traitors in Washington while evading both foreign operatives and his own Secret Service detail. The story unfolds over three chaotic days, blending high-tech threats with old-fashioned political betrayal. Former President Matthew Keating, a decorated Navy SEAL before entering politics, faces his worst nightmare when his teenage daughter Melanie is kidnapped. Though out of office, Keating uses his military training and political connections to track her captors across Europe and the Middle East. The chase reveals a personal vendetta against the ex-president, forcing him to confront enemies from both his military past and presidential tenure. With the current administration unwilling to help, Keating operates outside the law to rescue his child.
Mint
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Bill Clinton & James Patterson's thriller ‘The First Gentleman': A murder, a cheerleader, and a Presidency on the line
Former US President Bill Clinton and thriller writer James Patterson have reunited for a gripping new novel, The First Gentleman, set to hit shelves on June 2, 2025. The book marks the duo's third high-stakes political thriller following their successes The President Is Missing (2018) and The President's Daughter (2021). At the heart of The First Gentleman is an explosive premise: the President of the United States is a woman—and her husband stands trial for murder. President Madeline Wright is facing re-election when the nation is rocked by allegations that her husband, Cole Wright, a former NFL star and now First Gentleman, murdered a cheerleader nearly two decades earlier. As the legal drama unfolds, the stakes go far beyond the courtroom. The accusation threatens to derail Wright's political career and destroy her efforts to pass a crucial economic reform package dubbed the 'Grand Bargain.' Unlike their previous thrillers, Clinton and Patterson shift the spotlight in The First Gentleman to two dogged investigative journalists—Brea Cooke, a lawyer-turned-reporter, and her partner Garrett Wilson. The duo becomes central to the plot as they dig into the long-cold case of Suzanne Bonanno, a Patriots cheerleader who disappeared while allegedly involved with Cole Wright 17 years earlier. What begins as a journalistic investigation spirals into a sprawling political and legal thriller, with the reporters uncovering hidden motives, and deadly secrets that threaten to shake the White House. Packed with courtroom confrontations, political sabotage, and high-stakes decision-making, The First Gentleman combines Patterson's trademark pacing with Clinton's insider knowledge. The novel promises readers an intense ride through the corridors of power, media scrutiny, and a murder mystery that could determine the future of a presidency. Clinton and Patterson's unique collaboration has already yielded millions in book sales and popular acclaim. With The First Gentleman, they explore uncharted territory—America's first female president and the unprecedented scenario of a First Gentleman accused of murder. The book continues the duo's tradition of blending real-world insight with page-turning suspense. The First Gentleman goes on sale June 2, 2025, and is published by Little, Brown and Company.
