Before Bush V. Gore, There Was Lockwood V. Mallory

Charles McCarry worked "under deep cover" as a CIA operative during the Cold War, and has since written dynamite spy novels, as well as a few political thrillers. The recent re-publication of his 1995 novel, Shelley's Heart, gave me a nudge to read one of his I'd missed. In this oddly prescient book, McCarry departs from the spy scene and instead weaves a twisty "Election 2000"-esque story.

Set at "the dawn of the new millenium", the nation is faced with a contested presidential election. In this story, though, it's the Democrat (Lockwood, the incumbent President) who initially wins the election. On the eve of the inaugural, the Republican presidential candidate (Mallory) receives incontrovertible evidence that the election was stolen via a sophisticated computer hack. Presented with the evidence, Lockwood has himself secretly sworn in before dawn and the ensuing media frenzy, creating a constitutional crisis and initiatiating impeachment proceedings.

But there is oh so much more: a philandering alcoholic Speaker of the House, an obsessive brilliant Supreme Court justice, shadowy operatives on both sides, a Middle East assassination, the inanity of partisan politics, and a mysterious highly connected woman with no past; for starters...

McCarry's forté is to combine a slolom of braided plot turns with really great writing. Shelley's Heart does not disappoint!