The School on 103rd Street Book

I listened to the unabridged version of this book and the most impressive part of that experience was the reading by Michael Boatman (formerly an actor on Spin City and Arliss).  He was absolutely the best reader I have ever heard on an audiobook.  

To the actual book...

A timely and fun passing of time.  With the 2008 race upon us, it's nice to relax a little with some interesting characters, many of whom have a lot more integrity than the real folks hoping to become our next president.  Patterson's last foray into presidential politics was his trilogy on Democratic President Kerry Kilcannon.  So it's kind of fun to see him take a look at the other side of politics: the Republicans.  His main character, Sen. Corie Grace (R-OH), is a young war hero hoping to win a GOP nomination upset against the favorite, Sen. Marotta (R-PA).  It's clear that Patterson is dredging up some real-world stories from recent political history.  Marotta and his political advisor, Price, are reminiscent of the Bush-Rove duo.  An interesting re-telling of the Bush-Rove shameful shenanigans of South Carolina in the 2000 race is well done.  At times it's difficult to listen through as a disgraceful deed is told yet again.  Clearly this puts Grace in the mold of John McCain, though Grace is younger.  There's also a Colin Powell character, a Bob Jones character, and a few other folks to make it different enough from reality.  

What keeps me from rating this higher was the completely unrealistic and disappointing ending.  Still, I hope there are sequels.