First Victim

Rating:
Summary: First Victim is First Rate.
Review: As someone who has worked in the Machiavellian world of Washington politics, I found First Victim to be a very real and compelling view of the passions and intrigue that drive those in the halls of power. From the vivid settings to the crackling dialouge, every page of First Victim bursts with clarity, honesty, and emotion. Aside from creating a story that is a heck of a page turner, Mackinnon has stripped naked the incestuous Washington culture of quid pro quo. From the front page of the Washington Post to the floor of the House, we all know that what we see is not what we get. Mackinnon tells all with a balanced sensibility, creating a realistic cast of characters from the acrid selfservers to those who cling to their ideals in the face of cynical onslaught. Mackinnon's is the first book I've read about behind the scenes Washington where at the end of every chapter (after catching my breath) I could lean back and say to myself, "God, did he get it right." Get this one, it's a heck of a ride and you'll come away with a the kind of education you didn't get in Political Science 101. David Tiffany

Rating:
Summary: Trying to do too much too soon. Too pat.
Review: FIRST VICTIM is one of those books that start out great and then get lost in the middle. I became involved in the plot from page 1, but by the middle of the book I found things just too pat. Characters were one-sided; lots of background was referred to and never explained and, finally, the deus ex machina of the 'terrorist' plot was just too much. I was disappointed

Rating:
Summary: "First Victim" to become a network mini-series!!
Review: I am thrilled to announce that my agents at the William Morris Agency tell me that "First Victim" is going to be a Network Mini-Series next Year!
That is especially good news for me as I have always argued that the small screen was better for "First Victim."
As of today, the greatest satisfaction I have gotten from "First Victim" are the many abused women who have had the courage and kindness to come up to me around the country and tell me that the book moved them.
Just one comment like that means more than the best review.
Please send along your comments if you've read the book.
Many thanks!!
Doug MacKinnon

Rating:
Summary: I like to read from someone who knows how are things
Review: I like it very much. Mr. Mckinnon has a writing style that get one's attention from the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: A Fine First Novel
Review: We often think of our politicians as unapproachable, as different than us; They're not, but we don't know how to express it. This author does, and does well. Doug MacKinnon's bio (having moved among them as a Presidential speechwriter) gives this book credibility: What would happen if the President was a wife-beater? The dialog was tight, the plot fast-paced and the characters sympathetic, a portrait of people moving in a world of power facing choices just like our own.