Prime Candidate

By Gordon Cotler

Once a columnist for a sleazy New York tabloid, Jock Caprisi takes on a job as media consultant to Morton Beaufoy, a liberal New York senator seeking reelection, but his new career is threatened by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312140282
• ISBN13: 9780312140281
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Smoothly written.

Prime Candidate by Gordon Cotler gets 5 stars from me because it delivers what it's supposed to deliver, and then some. The main character and narrator is Jock Caprisi, an ace newspaperman, who has recently become a media consultant. His client is Mort Beaufoy, the senior senator from New York. Distinguished and statesmanlike, Beaufoy is obviously modelled after the nonfictitious Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Standing in the way of Beaufoy's re-election to a fourth and final senate term is a primary challenge from sleazy and corrupt Congressman Herb Turnbull. The aggressive but alluring Ms. Poppy Hancock is Turnbull's campaign manager and a key character in this very well written novel. Prime Candidate begins with just 8 days to go before the primary election. Caprisi's worst nightmare suddenly becomes a reality when the body of an attractive young woman is discovered in the backseat of Beaufoy's car. Using the skill and connections developed during his years as a reporter, Caprisi snaps into action to exonerate his client of any wrong-doing as time rapidly runs out. This book is smartly written and has a very smooth narrative flow. Moreover, Jock Caprisi is a very appealing character. A native New Jerseyean, Caprisi is a natural born cynic. But Cotler wisely does not overdo the cynicism to the point of making him obnoxious or irritating. Prime Candidate is a first rate murder mystery made all the more interesting because it unfolds in the midst of a hotly contested political race. It is witty, suspenseful and satisfying. Read it, you'll be glad you did.