First Daughter

by Eric Van Lustbader

Book Overview

Sometimes the weakness we fear most can become our greatest strength . . . Jack McClure has had a troubled life. His dyslexia always made him feel like an outsider. He escaped from an abusive home as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076532170X
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

First Class

After 8 or more years of a radically Christian rightwing Presidential administration, a backlash movement has grown, considered terrorists by the administration. The movement has a peaceful wing (the First American Secular Revivalist), and a radical wing (E2, or Second Enlightenment). The first of which is simply anti-religious, the second militant atheist. Ali Carson, daughter of moderate republican (Mc Cain-like) president-elect Edward Carson is abducted and brainwashed, apparently by E2. Homeland Security agent Hugh Gardner is placed in charge of the investigation, but following the outgoing administration line, considers the mission more of an opportunity to strike against FASR and E2. However, Carson requests that secret service (ATF) agent, Jack McClure be included in the investigation. Jack's daughter, Emma (who was recently killed) had been Ali's best friend and roommate. Jack's agenda is purely finding Ali, so he is at odds with Gardner. That's the setup, but as the story progresses it twists and turns, becoming quite convoluted. Seemingly unrelated backstories (told in flashback), turn out to be highly relevant. Jack is perhaps the most intriguing "detective-like" character created in recent years. He is dyslexic, but with extraordinary analytical abilities. Still in mourning over his daughter's death, he is plagued by visions of her. Despite the comments of some other reviewers, Lustbader is clearly not anti-religious, but he does graphically illustrate how such a backlash movement could come about. The problem many reviewers have is that the book is a bit too "timely": There are many real E2 types who really think that the most recent Bush Administration was oppressively fundamentalist Christain (it wasn't), and who had little better opinion of the 2008 liberal Republican candidate, John McCain. If the novel was intended as a description of penecontemporaneous politics, then it would be offensive to many readers, myself included. But I do not believe that was Lustbader's intention. The erosion of personal liberties (including the right to believe or disbelieve) is the fundamental issue. Conservative Christians are among the most critical of the loss of personal freedom under the Bush Administration, which is accelerating under the Obama Administration. The Left blames the Right for the loss of liberty. The Right blames the Left. The problem is government, not so much Right or Left. "First Daughter" begins with a deplorable, but fashionable "flash ahead" which is unnecessary and contributes nothing to the reading experience. The premise that Jack's whole life is intertwined with the psychopathic bad guy is a bit implausible. A final twist, although unnecessary, has foundation, and is well done. "First Daughter" is captivating, spell-binding, thought provoking and very skillfully written.

Suspenseful, Couldn't Stop Reading

Great book! The author grabs you right up front in the first chapter, and from there on, you're hooked. There's lots of suspense, surprises, and twists and turns until the mystery of who kidnapped the president-elect's daughter and why is solved. This is my first book by this author, and I plan to try some more, because I'm very impressed.

First Daughter is a lightning fast read with a terrifying plot

A few weeks before President-Elect Edward Carson is to be inaugurated, his daughter Alli goes missing. Neither prone to rebellion nor suffering from depression, it is assumed that she has been kidnapped. But that assumption becomes more puzzling as time passes with no contact specifying ransom or other demands. With Alli's life at stake, Carson turns to the only man he believes can bring her safely home, ATF agent Jack McClure. Dyslexic, words stymie Jack, but he can work out solutions to problems at a speed near that of light. McClure is apparently in good company with the likes of Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci, to name a few fellow sufferers. Jack has some allies in the government, not the least of whom is Carson, but there are some men with overinflated egos in positions of power who hate Jack's guts. Unless Jack can maneuver around the resistance and attacks from that faction, rescuing Alli may become impossible. Fortunately, he has Nina to help him. An agent with ambition to match her beauty, Nina will do anything --- literally --- to further her career, and if it means getting close to McClure, so be it. She, too, has friends in high places. Not the same high places as Jack's, but they may prove to be helpful nonetheless. Despite the myriad barriers and roadblocks, Jack manages to narrow down the list of suspects to one Ronnie Kray --- at least, that's what he's calling himself these days. While not dyslexic, Kray is outstanding in his own way. Driven by a sickness, unafraid of death and lacking the fear of God, he is an explosive cocktail of emotions and motivations. And his timing is perfect. The handover of the reins to the incoming administration leaves the government vulnerable and at its weakest. Further complicating Jack's efforts is the outgoing president's religious zealotry. The man's narrow vision of God and God's plan for mankind leads the president to make some very bad decisions in the name of righteousness and pushes the investigation in the wrong direction. Fortunately, Jack sees the case differently. As Jack chases clues only he seems to realize the significance of, a deep dawning horror overcomes him. He has a growing fear that he knows this kidnapper from long ago --- only he didn't just abduct his victims back then; he killed them. To understand how Jack got where he is today, it is necessary to visit him as a youngster. He grew up in the same neighborhoods he now fights crime in. From an early age, he learned how to make his disability an asset. His education came from a streetwise mountain of a man who stuck to his beliefs despite the personal danger it placed him in. Now, Jack must use every strength and advantage that his mentor taught him in order to save Alli. FIRST DAUGHTER is a lightning fast read with a terrifying plot. There's a new twist just about every other page. Don't make the mistake of believing you know how it's going to end. Lustbader will surprise you. He has an uncanny knack for formul

A complex game of cat-and-mouse

I have always had the utmost respect for Eric Van Lustbader, ever since I picked up a copy of The Ninja many years ago. It is good to see that his skill and mastery of writing thrillers has not diminished. As we stand poised, not so far removed from our own Presidential election, and inevitable inauguration, Van Lustbader brings us First Daughter, with the basic premise that the President-elect's daughter has been kidnapped a month prior to the inauguration ceremony. Tasked with recovering her, and tracking down the kidnapper, is Jack McClure - an acquaintance of the President-elect. Born dyslexic, McClure rose up from being a runaway teenager, and came to use what many would view as a disability instead as an advantage - as a top ATF agent. Muddying the waters somewhat is the fact that his recently deceased daughter was the friend and room-mate of the President-elect's kidnapped daughter. As McClure delves deeper, running against enemies high up in the Government who seek to find ways to stop him (not the least of which includes his demise), he also tries to vindicate FASR - a group which is against organized religion, and which the current President (in the book) hates with a passion - who is fast becoming a scapegoat for the kidnapping. Soon McClure begins to realize that there are links between the kidnapper and his own past, and he must soon face a nemesis he thought he'd killed years before... Van Lustbader has provided us with a first-rate thriller, deftly handing us fairly short chapters which keeps the reader picking through the various characters like the weave of a fine tapestry. The style, and nicely kept tension, urges the reader to keep reading "just one more chapter" till you've read far more than you'd planned, to the author's credit. Van Lustbader also delves deeply into the political scene, giving the reader a sense of the power in the Administration of the Government, the layers of intrigue, the lies and deception, and the absolute uncertainty of who is friend or foe. For those who find politics boring, I assure you, there is nothing boring about this book. Finally, the author touches on the topics of guilt, redemption and the shadowy-world of the afterlife. Perhaps he's right - there is no plan, no chaos...life just is. I highly recommend this book.

Compelling and Complex Political Thriller

First Daughter is a thrilling tale of political intrigue, a shocking crime, and one man's love and loss that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Alli Carson, the daughter of President-Elect Edward Carson, has been kidnapped just weeks before the Presidential inauguration. Carson personally calls in ATF agent Jack McClure to aid in the search for Alli. Brilliant and perceptive, Jack is different; an Outsider. Jack is dyslexic and, while he struggles with simple tasks such as reading, his condition gives him an advantage over the other investigators. Because of the unique way his mind works, he is able to pick out details that would be lost to other people. He also has a personal connection to the case: his daughter Emma was Alli's best friend and college roommate. Emma was killed in a car accident months earlier, and Jack still harbors a tremendous amount of guilt and sorrow because of her death. During the course of the investigation, it becomes clear to Jack that whoever is behind Alli's kidnapping is also connected to a crime that touched his life twenty five years earlier, and, surprisingly, the last conversation he ever had with Emma. The novel starts with a jaw-dropping twist just prior to President Carson's inauguration. First Daughter then takes the reader back to the search for Alli as well as points in Jack's adolescence. All of these events build towards the threat we know is waiting at the inauguration. Flashbacks can be tricky things, and generally I'm not a fan of them as a literary device. If used unwisely, flashbacks can ruin the narrative flow and make the story seem choppy and disjointed. Eric Van Lustbader, however, uses these glimpses of the past very effectively. He masterfully weaves the flashbacks into the main narrative so that rather than disrupting the main story, they enhance it. I enjoyed the political elements of First Daughter, but the real highlight for me was the variety and quality of the characters. There's the ultimate corrupt politician in the outgoing President, the disenchanted teenager in Alli, the anguished mother in Lyn Carson, the gangster with a heart of gold in Jack's surrogate father Gus, all culminating with the broken, grieving father and brilliant investigator in Jack McClure. First Daughter is a timely political thriller that is sure to excite and surprise readers. Clear some time on your calendar during this election year to enjoy Eric Van Lustbader's latest offering.