The Honorable Jonathan Jackson, an ex-state legislator and former
gubernatorial assistant, is trying to puzzle out and understand one of
those mind-boggling tragedies that occur from time to time in the course
of U.S. public life an assassination. In this case, the victim was the
man he worked for, Governor Richard N. Ellery. The anguish of this
tragedy is compounded by the identity of the killer Jonathan Jackson s
boyhood friend, a would-be Hollywood actor hung up on the dream of
American success. The climactic action is set against the backdrop of a
National Governors Conference in Los Angeles, a panorama of America s
governing elite where governors and staff members, the media and
entertainers have gathered for a final evening featuring an address by
the president of the United States. This is also simultaneously the
scene of the budding love story between Jackson and the lovely TV news
anchor who would become his wife.
Here, in the guise of a novel, is a view of our political system from
within from municipalities to counties to a state and its ties to
Washington, D.C. Whether it s walking Main Street to get the votes or
debating gun control issues in a crowded auditorium, the real side of
politics and government in O. Murray Carr springs to life in an
engrossing tale that dramatically mirrors the way our country works.
