Synopses & Reviews
An epic story that moves with force, passion, and authority, Balance of Power begins when President Kerry Kilcannon and television journalist Lara Costello at last decide to marry. But the momentous occasion is followed by an unspeakable tragedy a massacre of innocents by gunfire that ignites a high-stakes game of politics and legal maneuvering in the Senate, the courtroom, and across the country, which the charismatic but untested young President is determined to win at any cost. But in the incendiary clash over gun violence and gun rights, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than he imagined.
Review
"A masterpiece....From the first page, President Kilcannon faces plot twists that challenge his resourcefulness and moral character." The Tulsa World
Review
"Balance of Power and Protect and Defend stand as a remarkable project in popular fiction: an extension of the genre of the legal thriller to explore the morality and strategies of U.S.'s greatest civic controversies."
The Guardian (London)
Review
"Patterson deftly keeps it all together, making even an amendment on tort reform seem exciting....There is little doubt where the author's opinions are aimed, but he does try to maintain balance, delivering a beefy book that holds a reader's attention from the first page to the last." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
"How come I couldn't put it down? Simply, Patterson is very good at what he does. He creates a black and white environment, a world in which people are either good or bad." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Synopsis
Patterson's landmark New York Times bestselling novel that cuts into the heart of politics, law, and the tragedy of gun violence.
About the Author
Richard North Patterson's twelve novels include eight consecutive international bestsellers; critics compared his novel Protect and Defend to such novels as Allen Drury's Advise and Consent and Gore Vidal's Lincoln. Formerly a trial lawyer, Mr. Patterson served as the SEC's liaison to the Watergate Special Prosecutor, and is now on the boards of several Washington-based advocacy groups dealing with gun violence, political reform, and reproductive rights. He lives with his wife, Laurie, and their family on Martha's Vineyard.