I am a lover of logic puzzles.

You know the ones…there are always a handful of them in the “variety” puzzle books. You have a grid with names, objects, colors, characteristics, etc., and you have to use the clues given to figure out which items go with which. It’s all by process of elimination really…almost like a game of Clue on paper.

“Nancy likes roses but she never grows the red ones.”
“Corinne grows pink flowers.”
“The white flowers are irises.”

I told Corinne once that I wished they made a whole book of logic puzzles. Lo and behold, a quick search on Amazon proved that they do. In fact, I bought three (Logic Puzzles, 50 Logic Puzzles, and 50 More Logic Puzzles)! I also recently found an app called Cross Logic that I can play on my phone, so now I can feed my logic puzzle addiction anywhere I go.

You have to be methodical about logic puzzles though. One wrong assumption and you’re starting over because you’ve made multiple connections on false information. When I was younger, I would start my logic puzzles in pencil so I could erase when I realized I had gone down the wrong path. As I ventured into the more complicated puzzles, I’d end up going over the pencil in ink, sometimes in marker, and sometimes I’d have to redraw the grid on a separate sheet of paper.

I enjoy figuring out all the pieces, much like a detective solving a crime. But I would never assume that my love of logic puzzles makes me a detective. That would be ludicrous, right? I have no law enforcement training, no insight into the criminal code. I just like solving puzzles. Could my love of logic puzzles coupled with the proper training make me a good detective? Perhaps, if I’m actually good at solving logic puzzles. But without the training…not so much. And honestly, just because I enjoy doing logic puzzles doesn’t necessarily make me good at solving them, does it?

So I am always baffled when I read a book where the characters decide that they are better suited to solve a crime than the actual police. They know nothing about law enforcement or investigation, they get injured but manage to sneak out of the hospital to go investigate on their own. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

But…sometimes I come across a book where the characters are people who could legitimately investigate. They can solve the crime. Those are characters you root for against all odds. I finished a book recently by an author who has studied law, clerked for a judge, understands the political arena that he used for the story.

There is a saying to “write what you know.” David Pepper knows politics, and it shows. This was a fantastic read!

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Book Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐½
4.5 Stars for A Simple Choice by David Pepper

432 pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam Sons
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam Sons in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher’s Description

When one of the nation’s most prestigious senators jumps from a cliff in Maine, it is no surprise that the political elite and the media flock to the story, determined to uncover what has happened—and whether foul play was involved. Palmer Knight, a fast-rising TV news correspondent, is sent to cover the mysterious death, and finds himself embroiled in a plot that goes far beyond the Senate and  onto the global stage.

Meanwhile, Army veteran and former Supreme Court clerk Amity Jones thought she had left the fast lane behind when she moved to Ohio to care for her cancer-stricken mother. But her dogged pursuit of a local medical mystery places her back to the world of politics, and ultimately into Palmer’s investigation of the senator’s death. The unlikely duo, brought together by seemingly unconnected events, soon find themselves enmeshed in a political conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of power, and places their lives—and many others—in terrible danger.

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Main Characters:

• Amity Jones – majored in journalism in college, Army vet, former JAG lawyer, interned with a Supreme Court Justice, now has returned home to Mansfield, Ohio, to look after her mother who has advanced-stage cancer
• Palmer Knight – a relatively young reporter for CNN, comes from a wealthy family, not often taken seriously because it’s felt he takes advantage of his family connections
• Senator Duke Garber – a respected Republican Senator from Maine, in his late 70s, commits suicide at the beginning of the story by stepping off a cliff
• Dexter Mills – editor of the Mansfield News Journal and Amity’s first boss when she interned for the paper as a high school senior
• Shepherd Logan – well-respected Tennessee Senator, his wife Mary is battling cancer
• Senator Gigi Fox – wealthy, well-liked, and well-respected Senator from Florida, money was made independent from her job in the Senate
• Byron Blue – Alabama Senator with a hard right worldview
• Sam Ireland – moderate Democratic Senator from Colorado
• President Janet Moore – first-term Democratic U.S. President, had been endorsed by Senator Garber, currently thinking about re-election
• Simon Jones – Amity’s brother, works for a company that funds medical research
• Colin Gentry – six-year-old boy who lives next to Amity and Simon’s mother, recently cured of cancer

There is A LOT going on in this story! When you think about political thrillers, it’s natural to expect a lot of characters, a lot of twists, and a ton of conspiracy theories. This book does not disappoint. 

The author previously worked in politics in Ohio, so he understands the political arena. He also has some of the inside scoop, so the plots and sub-plots here ring very true. 

I was a bit concerned because I saw that the book is divided into four parts with 121 chapters. That’s an average of 3.6 pages per chapter, and it felt a little choppy and scattered at times. Typically, short chapters make you want to keep reading to get back to each scenario, but this switched so fast at times that it was more frustrating than exciting. That was one of the reasons for the 4.5 stars. 

The other reason I knocked the rating down was a situation very late in the book. As I mentioned above, I expect a lot of characters in a political thriller. It felt like this one had more than most. (The main characters list barely scratches the surface.) Where that complicates things is a chapter in which a passed-out vagrant is reported to police.

The responding officer is a brand new character, bothered by the fact the the call late in her shift will result in a late pickup fee at day care for the third time in a week. When she arrives on scene, she discovers the “vagrant” is actually a homicide victim. I believe I know who the victim is, but the person is never named, and we don’t hear about the officer or the victim again. It just added unnecessary information and possibly confusion. 

I won’t go into a lot of detail here about the story because I don’t want to give away any of the very interesting and surprising reveals. What I really liked about this is that the characters who decided to investigate things on their own are actually qualified to investigate. When one of the characters inserts himself into the mystery, he ends up in the hospital and doesn’t miraculously have the strength to break himself out and continue the investigation to save the day. I have read too many books where the main characters feel they know more than the police or have superhuman capacity to overcome serious injuries and solve a crime. 

In this case, it’s normal. Amity studied journalism, she worked with a judge, she’s a lawyer. Palmer is a news correspondent. Simon understands medical research. And the bumps in the road that they encounter are completely believable. 

This book held my interest right from the start. I wanted to figure out who was behind everything, what the Senators were involved in individually and collectively, and why Duke Garber committed suicide. I really enjoyed this one and would definitely read more by David Pepper.

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