The Slate

A prologue set twenty years in the past pulls readers into political maneuverings to make problems go away. Twenty years later political operative and fixer Agatha Cardiff is living in seclusion. She had been Congressman Paul Paxton’s chief of staff. At his request, she covered up a scandal that wou......more

Author Matthew FitzSimmons is a veteran novelist, but he is new to me. I picked up on the buzz generated by his most recent book, a political thriller titled The Slate. What a ride! This is a true thriller, one that gripped me at the outset and didn’t let me go till it was done with me. I’d had surg......more

Hits the ground running—check. Tight, flowing, readable prose—check. A super-engaging, original-feeling, lead character that you are very willing to invest in—check. Great use of close third-person POV, bringing you very close to the main characters—check. A believable and organic-feeling inciting event......more

Until the very end, I was thinking this would be a five star review. Unfortunately, the rather strange ending brought the review down to four stars. Except for the ending, this was one of my most captivating reads for 2024. This author is now on my radar for future reading.......more

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced reader copy. So excited to have a new political thriller from Matthew Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons does prickly characters so well (i.e. Gibson Vaughn), so Agnes is fun to hang with for the duration of the book (and the ones to come!). I also love......more